Tag Archives: Cruyff

MALAYSIA WANT CLUB BRUGGE PLAYER COOLS

Malaysia are interested in Belgian-Malaysian defender Dion ‘Johana’ Cools, according to reports.


The 21-year old was named by his parents after former football greats Dion Dublin and Johan Cruyff. The national coach NeloVingada has offered the player the opportunity to play for their national side.

Cools features currently for Club Brugge KV where he lines as a defender for the Belgian multiple time league winners. He has a mature profile at Club Brugge where he featured in 30 games last term. He has Champions League experience as well as Malaysia want him.

However, Cools has featured in various youth levels for Belgium. He was in the Under 22 Belgium Young Players’ Team of the Season last term.

Vngada said he has contacted the player and hoping he agrees to the request. The coach says he and his team have been investigating players that are eligible for Malaysian passport in a bid to boost the player pool for the national team. Continue reading →

Dick Advocaat is going to be in charge of the Dutch national soccer

Dick Advocaat is going to be in charge of the Dutch national soccer squad for the rest of their World Cup qualifying campaign.


The qualifying chances of the Dutch are hanging by a thin thread at the moment as they are far away from the first two spots in the points table of Group A.

It’s only if they are at no. 1 or no. 2 in the standings at the completion of the first round, they will have any chance of going to Russia, otherwise, they will have to suffer the embarrassment of not featuring in another big competition.

They had failed to secure their spot in the Euro Cup as well which had taken place the previous year.

The qualifying scenario for World Cup is such that if Netherlands manage to end up being the no. 1 in their group, they will qualify straightaway and won’t have to play any further games in that situation.

A no. 2 finish will send them to the playoffs where they will have to compete with the no. 2s of other groups. Continue reading →

IS BARCELONA THE MOST DRAINING SIDE TO MANAGE?

Spanish giant Barcelona have been very dominant in European club for many decades.


The legacies of the club speak for it. Managing the club comes with such high expectations that cold claim a life. Is the managerial role of Blaugrana the most draining in football?

After three years in charge, a successful Luis Enrique is set to leave the club. He leaves the side like every other manager: severely drained. During the 5-0 rout of Celta Vigo, the fans chanted: ‘Lucho, we love you, please stay’ but it was more of a farewell message as it had been established that he was leaving.

While it seems the club’s ideologies are waning, the part that the coaching role drains you to the last holds still. Only two managers have stayed at the club more than four years since the 1950s. Johan Cruyff – who changed football at the club – did eight years but he did not live long after. Frank Rijkaard spent five years and he is yet to recover.

The fans own the Spanish club – they decide who stays on as coach, who becomes the president and the extent they want to reach each term. Continue reading →

MESSI DONATES BOOT TO JORDI CRUYFF

The Barcelona forward has given his new footwear to the former Netherlands international, who played at Camp Nou in the 1990s.


The 29-year old has given new shoes for the son of the former Netherlands legend Johan Cruyff.

December is usually the time for gift giving and helping out those in need. So to keep up with tradition, Lionel Messi has donated his new boots to former Barcelona forward Jordi Cruyff.

Cruyff, who is now the sports director at Maccabi Tel Aviv, spent three seasons at Barcelona and four at Manchester United, but never quote lived up to his billing as the son of legendary Netherlands international Johan Cruyff.

The attacker scored just eight goals during his time at Old Trafford, failing to find the net during the 1997/1998 season, and later had spells in Ukraine and Malta despite a strong start to his playing career.

Conversely, Messi has scored over 500 goals for club and country, winning five Ballon d’Or trophies, and is rated as one of the best players of all time. Messi has made the former player a special present which he shared on Twitter with his followers. Continue reading →

Pep Guardiola Lauds ‘unique’ Johan Cruyff as the Best

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has lauded his former boss Johan Cruyff as the main reason why he has been hugely successful as a player and as a manager.


Guardiola managed to achieve a lot of success while being the captain of the Barcelona team. He has gone on to achieve an equal level of success as a manager. In his managerial career, Guardiola has won numerous league titles and Champions League medals. More importantly, he is seen as a coach with a vision of playing the game and being able to apply that on the pitch.

It is one of the main reasons for coaches around the world trying to replicate the Guardiola style of football. In many ways, Guardiola says that he is just trying to replicate what Johan Cruyff taught him on the pitch. As a teenager coming through the Barcelona youth ranks,Cruyff picked him up and put him into the first-team. Barcelona were under the ethos of total football during the time of the Dutchman. However, they achieved huge success with this philosophy only during the time of Guardiola. For a period of four years, Barcelona the best team in the planet by a long distance and they managed to amass several titles. Continue reading →

Carragher: Guardiola Can Revolutionise City like Cruyff at Barcelona

Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher reckons that Manchester City have done a Barcelona by appointing Pep Guardiola, as he believes that this appointment is similar to the decision taken by Barcelona with Johan Cruyff in 1988.


The Dutchman is widely credited for changing the entire face of the club. He brought about the total football concept to Catalonia. While the younger generation lauds the team under Guardiola, it would not have been possible without the presence ofCruyff. The Dutchman groomed players like Guardiola when they were coming through the youth teams.

Carragher says that City have the ability to go on and have a similar period with Guardiola at the helm. The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager moved to City after resisting offers from the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea. Widely seen as one of the best managers in the world, Guardiola will be transforming everything at the club from the youth system. Since he wants his youth teams to be playing in a similar way to the senior team, the transformation made by the manager will be evident in the next decade or more according to Carragher. A product of the Liverpool system, Carragher enjoyed a remarkably successful career and made about 700 appearances for the Merseyside club before retiring a few years ago.
Continue reading →

Cryuff Represented A Different Kind Of Football

We are here to talk about Johan Cruyff, who had a great impact on the football team of the Netherlands as well as in European football.

It is pertinent to talk about him in this context, especially at a time when the European league is underway and every country showcase their current skills as well as build on what they have achieved over the years. With Johan passing away the football world is in disbelief and it is also hard to believe that the Netherlands has been unable to clear their way into the European championships this time.

It is time to reminisce how the Dutch side was in the seventies. There was the concept of playing total football that is an alien concept today as well as Johan Cruyff, who leaves behind a legendary profile and a rich history of contributions to the world of football. The football acts that were enacted at that time were unique. Continue reading →

Southampton’s Ronald Koeman talks about the impact of Johan Cruyff

The late Johan Cruyff and the current coach of Southampton, Ronald Koeman worked together a few years ago when they met at Ajax and later at Barcelona.

It’s been a little over a year since Johan Cruyff passed away after losing his ongoing battle with lung cancer and Koeman has recently talked about how it was to lose one of his most important football figures.


‘I was sitting on a terrace in Nice when the call came. Then everything stopped. Johan’s death, it seemed impossible.Johan walks through my life. I went to the commemoration last week in Barcelona even though it did not suit me.I flew from Nice to Amsterdam to Southampton, and then had 20 minutes to pack some stuff, because I flew back to Amsterdam.’

‘It was beautiful, I am glad I was there. That’s how much respect and love there is for Johan. Everything was right, everyone was there and if you so look around you, you realize again what Johan meant. He was, is and remains the greatest. If Cruyff had played at this time, he would have still been the best.’ Southamptona’s Ronald Koeman said.

The impact and contributions that Johan Cruyff has made to football has been monumental as he helped create Barcelona to the club that they are today, it’s with his playing philosophies that has molded the Spanish club. Continue reading →

DAVID GINOLA: JOHAN CRUYFF TRIED TO SIGN ME

David Ginola in a tribute to the late Dutchman said Johan Cruyff tried signing him. Ginola ended up in Newcastle even though he was approached by Johan Cruyff and Sir Bobby Robson to sign for Barcelona. The winger played for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in face off against the Spanish giant in the 1994/1995 season. He was approached after the two-legged European as he impressed then Barcelona manager, Johan Cruyff. The Dutch legend tried the subsequent season to sign David Ginola but David couldn’t move to Nou Camp as the Catalan giant had too many foreign players.

Since the move couldn’t happen, David Ginola moved to Newcastle after being approached by the Magpies boss, Kevin Keegan.

David Ginola told TalkSport: ‘The last year I spent in Paris we played Barcelona in the qualifying round of the Champions and I played against (Albert) Ferrer, who (later) played for Chelsea, and I was fantastic (in) both games. We had a golf game and he (Cruyff) said: ‘I will sign you; you are my priority for next season.’ So I said, ‘OK’, and then we played this golf tournament and had a meeting in his house in Barcelona.’

David explained the extent the Late Barcelona boss went to sign him.

‘He said that the problem is because it wasn’t Bosman rules that they already had six foreigners in the team (at Barcelona) – and he said I need to get rid of two before I can ask the chairmen to sign you. Back in July (1995), right after that, they couldn’t find clubs for (Hristo) Stoichkov and (Gheorghe) Hagi. He (Cruyff) called me on July 14, how strange is that – it’s Independence Day in France. And he said: ‘Well David, I couldn’t get rid of the two players. I can’t sign you.’ So I had a phone call from Keegan and Terry McDermott after and so I signed at Newcastle.’ Continue reading →

Johan Cruyff is confident he will overcome lung cancer

Earlier in October of 2015, the former star of Barcelona Johan Cruyff was diagnosed with lung cancer. Cruyff is hailed as one of the best players that has ever emerged from Europe who played a key role in the: ‘Total Football’ philosophy or playing style which consists of having players performing in different positions in a same match.

This isn’t the first time that Johan Cruyff has had to deal with a medical problem as the former player and manager of Barcelona had to undergo a double heart bypass surgery back in 1991 during the time when he was when he was coaching the Spanish club.

After he went through his heart bypass surgery, Cruyff gave up his smoking habits and he replaced smoking with lollipops and former star of Barcelona could be seen in the sidelines chewing bubble gums or lollipops.

However, even though he did manage to give up on smoking, it seems like the damage has already been done as Cruyff will now have to get treatment but he has received the support of fans and footballers who have wished him luck in these difficult times. Continue reading →