Even among the outstanding football players there are those who managed to write their name in the history of this sport, as they say, in gold letters. One of these truly legendary ball game magicians in life was a man named Cruyff Johan. The biography of this already dead forward and coach we will consider as much as possible in the article.
Beginning of life and family
The future winner of the World and European Football Championships was born in one of the hospitals in Amsterdam on April 25, 1947. Our hero’s father was called Germanius Cornelis Cruyff, and his mother was Petronella Bernard Dreyer. Johan's parents were entrepreneurs and owned their own store called Cruijffs Aardappelenhandel.
The boy spent the early years of his life in the Betondorp area, near a stadium called De Mer. It was there that Cruyff Johan, along with his older brother, chased the ball for hours on end in the street. And a little later, the guys even played together in the youthful composition of the famous club Ajax. The head of the family died when Johan was only twelve years old.
The beginning of a long journey
At the age of thirteen, Cruyff leaves school to concentrate fully on football training. He began to engage in this sport at the age of seven.
In 1963, the young man signed his first professional contract in his life. And not with some passing club, but with the real titan of European football “Ajax”. At 17, footballer Johan Cruyff first set foot on the field in the main team.
Outstanding features
From the very first days of his game in the team, which was then coached by Rinus Michels, it became clear to everyone that a new football star had been lit in Ajax. Johan was very light and fast, easily maneuvering around the field. His numerous movements introduced into a stupor of enemy players. Therefore, over time, Cruyff received his nickname - "Flying Dutchman." It is worth noting that the opponents were crazy about the game of Johan, not only with the ball, but also without it. And all because in those days no one else played like that.
Among the famous techniques of the football player was the twist of the ball with the outside of the foot. And he did it so masterfully that the sphere went around all the defenders standing in his way and fell exactly at the feet of the teammates.
Cruyff Johan possessed excellent speed. In 3.8 seconds, he could run 30 meters. Such a powerful jerk from the place allowed him to easily tear himself away from his rivals, but if necessary, he also stopped easily and changed the direction of his movement. In addition, the athlete amazingly managed the ball, which was almost impossible to take away from him. Despite the apparent own lightness, the Dutchman very tightly closed the ball with his body, not giving opponents a single chance to interrupt the attack.
"Golden time
In the period from 1966 to 1973, Johan Cruyff, whose best goals to this day delight the public, won the Dutch championships as part of Ajax. The only exceptions were 1969 and 1971. However, at the dawn of the 1970s, the club was able to win the European Champions Cup for the first time in its history, defeating the Greek Panathinaikos in the final with a 2-0 score.
All in the same 1971 Cruyff received his first ever Golden Ball. This award had a positive impact on the football player, and a year later he again with his team won the European Cup, “passing” in the final on “Inter” with a score 2: 0. Moreover, both goals were scored by Johan. A year later, Ajax was again the best on the continent of the Old World.
In 1973-1974, the Dutchman again was awarded the title of best European football player. It is worth noting that all this time he also played for the national team of his own country, the debut in which fell on the nineteen-year-old age of our hero. At the same time, Cruyff literally saved the first match of the country's main team: in the last moments of the match with Hungary he scored a goal, so the game ended with a score of 2: 2.
Relocation to Spain
“Ajax” was never a materially rich club and therefore very often sold its stars. Young talent at that time from Amsterdam was no exception. Johan Cruyff in Barcelona appeared in 1973. At that time, this team was not too successful in the domestic championship. But after only a few months, “Flying Dutchman” was able to contribute to the fact that his new team became the leader of the championship. It is worth noting that initially the Spaniards had to pay a record sum of two million dollars for Cruyff for the transfer from Ajax. As time has shown, the purchase of a football player paid off in full. As part of Barcelona, ​​Johan won the championship of Spain, was his silver and bronze medalist, as well as the winner of the Cup of this country.
World and European Championships
At this world championship the Dutch “total football” showed itself in all its glory. In many ways, this became possible also thanks to the brilliant game of Cruyff as well. On the way to the finals, Michels wards were able to beat Uruguay and Bulgaria, as well as to draw a match with Sweden. Players from the GDR, Brazil and Argentina were also defeated. In the final, Holland lost to Germany with a score of 2: 1.
In 1976, the hero of the article managed to win bronze with his team at the European Championship, which was held in Yugoslavia.
In 1978, Cruyff Johan left the ranks of the national team shortly before the start of the next world championship. Moreover, he did not change his decision, even despite persuasion from colleagues. Thus, the Dutchman for the national team spent 48 games in which he scored 33 goals.
Player career sunset
Between 1979 and 1980, Cruyff played overseas with the Los Angeles Aztex and Washington Diplomats. Not having gained much fame in the United States, the Dutchman returned to Europe and ended up in the ranks of the Spanish Levant, after which he moved to his native Ajax, with whom he twice won the gold of the national championship. The final chord for Johan turned out to be the Feyenord club.
Executive positions
In 1985, Cruyff Johan became the coach of his own Ajax. Under the command of a former striker, the club wins two Cups of the country, one Cup of European champions and twice silver medals of the championship of the Netherlands.
After that, the Dutchman is at the helm of Barcelona, ​​with which he also worked out successfully. For four consecutive years, the Catalans won the championship of Spain, once took the Cup and the Super Bowl of the country, and also received the status of owners of the European Cup. In addition, once the club reached the final of the Champions League and Cup of Cups.
In 1996, Cruyff stopped coaching. In 2011-2012, he served on the Supervisory Board of Ajax. News 2012 was the sports director of the Mexican team called Guadalajara.
Other achievements
Throughout his busy life, Johan Cruyff, whose cause of death will be indicated below, has managed to receive a huge number of titles and regalia, but it is worth noting, in addition to those already mentioned in the article, the following:
- The best football player of the Netherlands for the period 1954-2003 (jubilee prize for the 50th anniversary of UEFA).
- Winner of the Bronze Ball.
- Eight-time Golden Ball nominee.
- Twice the best foreign footballer of the year in Spain.
- Twice the best scorer of the championship of the Netherlands.
- The best scorer of the European Cup.
- The second scorer in the history of Ajax.
- According to World Soccer, 3rd place in the list of the greatest football players of the 20th century.
- Third place in the number of goals scored in the championship of the Netherlands in the history of the championship.
- The strongest soccer player in the world championship in 1974.
- Two-time best coach of the year in Europe according to Onze Mondial.
- According to World Soccer, the best coach of 1987.
End of life
It should be noted that Cruyff was a rather heavy smoker, despite the scope of his detail. Largely because of this bad habit, he developed lung cancer, which was diagnosed by doctors in October 2015. A few months later, on March 24, 2016, Johan died after a hard fight with the disease. The demise overtook this great man in Barcelona. The legendary player and coach died surrounded by his closest people.
The memory of this great man is still alive. In particular, the Johan Cruyff Arena stadium got its name in the spring of 2018 after the death of an outstanding Dutchman. Also in the fall of 2016 in the Spanish province of Tarragona, an opening ceremony was held, the name of which is the name of Johan Cruyff.
We also point out that the Dutch dynasty was not interrupted. Johan had a son, Jordi, who followed in the footsteps of his father and was a footballer, and now holds a coaching position in the Chinese club Chongqing Lifan.
In conclusion, I would like to note the fact that Johan Cruyff is rightfully considered one of the most influential figures in the history of world football, who managed to make a significant contribution to the development of this game, so beloved by millions of people.