Johan Cruyff

Johan Cruyff, or Cruijff, is the greatest Dutch player of all time and probably one of the greatest European players in history. Dominant in every aspect of the game, modern, charismatic, temperamental, and untamable, Cruyff had a sharp personality that was not always easy, often clashing with both teammates and coaches. He was the symbol of the great Dutch generation between the late 1960s and the 1970s, a universal and versatile player, anarchic yet never chaotic. A center forward, second striker, attacking midfielder, and even a box-to-box midfielder, he was in many ways a European counterpart to Di Stéfano in terms of technical completeness. Johan embodied the Dutch spirit of the time, libertarian, unconventional, and rebellious, both on and off the pitch. On the field he acted as a roaming playmaker as well as an advanced forward, orchestrating play from central areas before finishing moves himself with a powerful shot. His greatest qualities, beyond his vision that made him a coach on the pitch from a very young age, were his sharp and deadly dribbling and his explosive acceleration over very short distances; when Cruyff ran at you, nine times out of ten he would beat his man. His trademark move was the “Cruyff turn,” a feint he made famous. With Ajax he won everything, but relationships eventually deteriorated to the point that he moved to Barcelona, despite being long courted by both the Blaugrana and Real Madrid; Cruyff chose to honor a promise he had made years earlier to the Barcelona president. There he reunited with Rinus Michels and ended Barcelona’s fourteen-year title drought, immediately winning a league title and then the Copa del Rey. At Barcelona, Cruyff played in a deeper role compared to his time at Ajax, almost as a pure playmaker, something of a blend between Xavi and Iniesta.