Cruyff was a proponent of the football philosophy known as Total Football explored by Rinus Michels, which Cruyff employed as a manager.
108 Facts About Johan Cruyff
2.
Johan Cruyff led the Netherlands to the final of the 1974 FIFA World Cup with three goals and three assists; he received the Golden Ball as player of the tournament.
3.
At club level, Johan Cruyff started his career at Ajax, where he won eight Eredivisie titles, three European Cups, and one Intercontinental Cup, where he had two assists in the final.
4.
Johan Cruyff came third in a vote organised by the French magazine France Football consulting their former Ballon d'Or winners to elect their Football Player of the Century.
5.
Johan Cruyff was included in the World Team of the 20th Century in 1998, the FIFA World Cup Dream Team in 2002, and in 2004 was named in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players.
6.
Hendrik Johannes "Johan" Cruyff was born on 25 April 1947 in the Burgerziekenhuis hospital in Amsterdam.
7.
Johan Cruyff grew up on a street five minutes away from Ajax's stadium, his first football club.
8.
Johan Cruyff was the second son of Hermanus Cornelis Cruijff and Petronella Bernarda Draaijer, from a humble, working-class background in east Amsterdam.
9.
Johan Cruyff, encouraged by his influential football-loving father and his close proximity in Akkerstraat Stadium, played football with his schoolmates and older brother, Henny, whenever he could, and idolised the prolific Dutch dribbler, Faas Wilkes.
10.
Johan Cruyff's mother began working at Ajax as a cleaner, deciding that she could no longer carry on at the grocer without her husband, and in the future, this made Cruyff near-obsessed with financial security but gave him an appreciation for player aids.
11.
Johan Cruyff joined the Ajax youth system on his tenth birthday.
12.
When he first joined Ajax, Johan Cruyff preferred baseball and continued to play the sport until age fifteen when he quit at the urging of his coaches.
13.
In total that season, Johan Cruyff scored 25 goals in 23 games, and Ajax won the league championship.
14.
Johan Cruyff ended the season as the leading goalscorer in the Eredivisie with 33.
15.
Johan Cruyff was named Dutch footballer of the year for the second successive time, a feat he repeated in 1969.
16.
Johan Cruyff made his comeback on 30 October 1970 against PSV, and rather than wear his usual number 9, which was in use by Gerrie Muhren, he instead used number 14.
17.
Johan Cruyff endeared himself to the Barcelona fans when he chose a Catalan name, Jordi, for his son.
18.
Johan Cruyff gave them speed, flexibility and a sense of themselves.
19.
In 1974 Johan Cruyff was crowned European Footballer of the Year.
20.
The goal was featured in the documentary, in which fans of Johan Cruyff attempted to recreate that moment.
21.
Johan Cruyff played two games with Paris Saint-Germain in 1975 during the Paris tournament.
22.
Johan Cruyff had only agreed because he was a fan of designer Daniel Hechter, who was then president of PSG.
23.
In May 1979, Johan Cruyff signed a lucrative deal with the Los Angeles Aztecs of the North American Soccer League.
24.
Johan Cruyff had previously been rumoured to be joining the New York Cosmos but the deal did not materialise; he played a few exhibition games for the Cosmos.
25.
Johan Cruyff stayed at the Aztecs for only one season, and was voted NASL Player of the Year.
26.
Johan Cruyff played the whole 1980 campaign for the Diplomats, even as the team was facing dire financial trouble.
27.
In May 1981, Johan Cruyff played as a guest player for Milan in a tournament, but was injured.
28.
Johan Cruyff loathed playing on artificial surfaces, which were common in the NASL at the time.
29.
In January 1981, Johan Cruyff played three friendly matches for FC Dordrecht.
30.
Also in January 1981, manager Jock Wallace of English club Leicester City made an attempt to sign Johan Cruyff, competing with Arsenal and an unnamed German club for his services, and despite negotiations lasting three weeks, in which Johan Cruyff expressed his desire to play for the club, a deal could not be reached.
31.
Johan Cruyff instead chose to sign with Spanish Segunda Division side Levante in February 1981.
32.
In June 1981, Johan Cruyff returned to the US and he played for Washington Diplomats in 1981 NASL season.
33.
In December 1981, Johan Cruyff signed a contract as "player" with Ajax until the summer of 1983.
34.
Johan Cruyff put the ball down as for a routine penalty kick, but instead of shooting at goal, Cruyff nudged the ball sideways to teammate Jesper Olsen, who in return passed it back to Cruyff to tap the ball into the empty net, as Otto Versfeld, the Helmond goalkeeper, looked on.
35.
Johan Cruyff's season at Feyenoord was a successful one in which the club won the Eredivisie for the first time in a decade, part of a league and KNVB Cup double.
36.
Johan Cruyff ended his Eredivisie playing career on 13 May 1984 with a goal against PEC Zwolle.
37.
Johan Cruyff played his last game in Saudi Arabia against Al-Ahli, bringing Feyenoord back into the game with a goal and an assist.
38.
Accusations of Johan Cruyff's "aloofness" were not rebuffed by his habit of wearing a shirt with only two black stripes along the sleeves, as opposed to Adidas' usual design feature of three, worn by all the other Dutch players.
39.
Johan Cruyff led the Netherlands to a runners-up medal in the 1974 World Cup and was named player of the tournament.
40.
Johan Cruyff scored twice against Argentina in one of his team's most dominating performances, then he scored the second goal against Brazil to knock out the defending champions.
41.
Johan Cruyff retired from international football in October 1977, having helped the national team qualify for the upcoming World Cup.
42.
In 2008, Johan Cruyff stated to the journalist Antoni Bassas in Catalunya Radio that he and his family were subject to a kidnap attempt in Barcelona a year before the tournament, and that this had caused his retirement.
43.
In May and June 1985, Johan Cruyff returned to Ajax again.
44.
Johan Cruyff immediately had his Barca charges playing his attractive brand of football and the results did not take long in coming.
45.
At Barca, Johan Cruyff brought in players such as Pep Guardiola, Jose Mari Bakero, Txiki Begiristain, Andoni Goikoetxea, Ronald Koeman, Michael Laudrup, Romario, Gheorghe Hagi and Hristo Stoichkov.
46.
On 2 November 2009, Johan Cruyff was named as manager of the Catalonia national team.
47.
Later in his reign as Barcelona manager, Johan Cruyff suffered a heart attack and was advised to quit coaching by his doctors.
48.
Johan Cruyff left in 1996, and never took another top job, but his influence did not end there.
49.
Johan Cruyff continued to be an adviser for him, although he held no official post at Barcelona.
50.
In summer 2008, Rijkaard left the club and even though Jose Mourinho was pushing for the job at Camp Nou, Johan Cruyff chose Pep Guardiola.
51.
On 26 March 2010, Johan Cruyff was named honorary president of Barcelona in recognition of his contributions to the club as both a player and manager.
52.
On 20 February 2008, in the wake of a major research on the ten-year-mismanagement, it was announced that Johan Cruyff would be the new technical director at his boyhood club Ajax, his fourth stint with the Amsterdam club.
53.
Van Basten said that Johan Cruyff's plans were "going too fast", because he was "not so dissatisfied with how things are going now".
54.
On 11 February 2011, Johan Cruyff returned to Ajax on an advisory basis after agreeing to become a member of one of three "sounding board groups".
55.
Johan Cruyff became a technical advisor for Mexican club Guadalajara in February 2012.
56.
Johan Cruyff is widely seen as a revolutionary figure in the history of Ajax, Barcelona, and the Netherlands.
57.
The style was honed by Ajax coach Rinus Michels, with Johan Cruyff serving as the on-field "conductor".
58.
Johan Cruyff always talked about where people should run, where they should stand, where they should not be moving.
59.
At the start of the move that led to the opening goal, Johan Cruyff picked up the ball in his own half.
60.
Johan Cruyff was known for his technical ability, speed, acceleration, dribbling and vision, possessing an awareness of his teammates' positions as an attack unfolded.
61.
Johan Cruyff always considered the aesthetic and moral aspects of the game; it was not just about winning, but about winning with the 'right' style and in the 'right' way.
62.
Johan Cruyff always spoke highly of the entertainment value of the game.
63.
For Johan Cruyff, choosing a 'right' style of play to win was even more important than winning itself.
64.
Johan Cruyff always believed in simplicity, seeing simplicity and beauty as inseparable.
65.
Johan Cruyff always wants to do things prettier than strictly necessary.
66.
Johan Cruyff perfected a feint now known as the "Johan Cruyff Turn".
67.
Johan Cruyff looked to pass or cross the ball, then, instead of kicking it, he dragged the ball behind his planted foot with the inside of his other foot, turned through 180 degrees, and accelerated away.
68.
Johan Cruyff wants to gel winning teams and has a militaristic way of working with his tactics.
69.
Johan Cruyff's side reads as follows: Lev Yashin ; Ruud Krol, Franz Beckenbauer, Carlos Alberto ; Pep Guardiola, Bobby Charlton, Alfredo Di Stefano, Diego Maradona ; Piet Keizer, Garrincha, and Pele.
70.
For humility, Johan Cruyff did not put himself in there, but there is a spot for his pupil, Pep Guardiola and his former teammates, Ruud Krol and Piet Keizer.
71.
In 2018, Johan Cruyff was added as an icon to the Ultimate Team in EA Sports' FIFA video game FIFA 19, receiving a 94 rating.
72.
Johan Cruyff had a small hit in the Netherlands with "Oei Oei Oei ".
73.
Johan Cruyff suffered a heart attack in his early forties.
74.
Johan Cruyff used to smoke 20 cigarettes a day prior to undergoing double heart bypass surgery in 1991 while he was the coach of Barcelona.
75.
Johan Cruyff was forced to immediately give up smoking, and he made an anti-smoking advertisement for the Catalan Department of Health.
76.
Johan Cruyff was working on another book, using De Jong's photographs, and claimed unsuccessfully that Tirion's book violated his trademark and portrait rights.
77.
In 1979, Johan Cruyff was reaching the twilight of his career in Barcelona.
78.
Johan Cruyff began to imagine creating a range of footwear himself to challenge the technical and luxury qualities of those on the market beforehand.
79.
Johan Cruyff wrote his weekly columns for El Periodico and De Telegraaf.
80.
How well I remember seeing Johan Cruyff surrounded by journalists from all over the world in 1978 to whose questions he replied almost casually in a multiplicity of languages.
81.
The Johan Cruyff Foundation has provided over 200 Cruyff Courts in 22 countries, including Israel, Malaysia, Japan, United States and Mexico, for children of all backgrounds to play street football together.
82.
UEFA praised the foundation for its positive effect on young people, and Johan Cruyff received the UEFA Grassroots Award on the opening of the 100th court in late 2009.
83.
Johan Cruyff joined Barcelona just weeks later, two years before the Spanish dictator Francisco Franco died, maintaining to the European press corps en route that he chose Barcelona over rivals Real Madrid because he could never join a club "associated with Franco".
84.
Johan Cruyff's season at Feyenoord was a successful one in which the club won the Eredivisie for the first time in a decade, part of a league and KNVB Cup double.
85.
Johan Cruyff's strong personality played a role in the struggle between Puma and Adidas, the two rival brands that were born from the divisions between the two Dassler brothers.
86.
Johan Cruyff was a fan of Puma's King boots and by 1974 had signed a sponsorship deal with the German sportswear and equipment supplier.
87.
On 30 October 1970, Johan Cruyff was coming back from a long-term injury to play Ajax's rivals PSV.
88.
Johan Cruyff offered his shirt to Muhren and went to the basket to pick another one at random.
89.
Johan Cruyff only cares about the result and does not care much for good football.
90.
Johan Cruyff loves an argument, and his conflict-model method of working can be bruising.
91.
Johan Cruyff was well known for his vocal criticism and uncompromising attitude.
92.
Johan Cruyff's father was Dutch businessman Cor Coster who happened to be Cruyff's agent.
93.
Johan Cruyff was credited with engineering Cruyff's move to FC Barcelona in 1973.
94.
Contrary to his well-known strong personality and superstar status, Johan Cruyff led a relatively quiet private life beyond the world of football.
95.
In 1977, Johan Cruyff announced his decision to retire from international football at the age of 30, despite still being lean and wiry, after helping the country qualify for the 1978 World Cup.
96.
Johan Cruyff named his third child after the patron saint of Catalonia, St Jordi, commonly known in English as Saint George of Lydda.
97.
Johan Cruyff had to fly his son back to the Netherlands to register his birth as the name "Jordi" had been banned by the Spanish authorities.
98.
Johan Cruyff's decision to go to such great lengths to support Catalan nationalism is part of the reason he is a hero to Barcelona supporters and Catalan nationalists.
99.
Jordi Cruyff played for teams such as Barcelona, Manchester United, Alaves and Espanyol.
100.
Johan Cruyff wore "Jordi" on his shirt to distinguish himself from his father, which reflects the common Spanish practice of referring to players by given names alone or by nicknames.
101.
Estelle Cruijff, a niece of Johan Cruyff, was married to Ruud Gullit for 12 years, and their son Maxim Gullit plays for Cambuur.
102.
Johan Cruyff had always been a heavy smoker from his boyhood until he underwent an emergency bypass operation in 1991.
103.
Ahead of their league game against Eibar at the Camp Nou, Barcelona players showed their support for Cruyff by wearing orange T-shirts bearing the words "Anims Johan".
104.
Johan Cruyff appeared to be in good spirits and it is believed this was the last time he was seen in public.
105.
Johan Cruyff was cremated in Barcelona within 24 hours of his death.
106.
Thousands of Barcelona fans passed through the memorial to Johan Cruyff, opened inside the Camp Nou stadium, to pay tribute.
107.
Former Barcelona president Sandro Rosell, who did not have a good relationship with Johan Cruyff, was among the early visitors to the memorial.
108.
The play was stopped in the 14th minute as players, staff, and supporters gave a minute's applause for Johan Cruyff, who wore the number 14 shirt for his country.