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| 1970 1971 1972 |
Johan Cruijff is the personification of "total football", the style that Rinus Michels implemented while coaching Holland in the seventies (then dubbed "Clockwork Orange" alluding to Stanley Kubrick's film).
Despite playing as forward, he would often run the pitch and take other responsabilities under his belt, such as "10" or wingman. His main skills were vision, speed and ball control, which made him a lethal weapon while he played for Ajax, Barcelona and also his national team.
It was after recovering from a groin injury that he started wearing number 14 (as a starter, even in an era when 1 to 11 was mandatory) because he didn't want to deprive a colleague from wearing "his" number 9 after his absence. He is the first football idol which number is not between 1 and 11.
His best year was 1972, when he won the national title with Ajax, was the domestic leading scorer (25 goals), won the Intercontinental Cup against Independiente (from Argentina), won the European Champions Cup against Inter (from Italy) in what was called "the death of catenaccio" and also led Holland to the World Cup final, where they lost 1-2 against the host nation (West Germany) after a remarkable tournament, where they "demoralised" all teams that crossed their path, Argentina (4-0) and Brazil (2-0) among them.
After being dismissed by Ajax in his second sting there (1964-74, 1981-83), he joined arch-rivals Feyenoord and won the national title the immediate year, something that the Rotterdam team hadn't achieved in some 10 years.
Always a strong personality, he made a natural transition to the coaching spot, where he had a successful career with Ajax (1985-88) and Barcelona (1988-96). He coaches the Catalunia team since 2009.
After being dismissed by Ajax in his second sting there (1964-74, 1981-83), he joined arch-rivals Feyenoord and won the national title the immediate year, something that the Rotterdam team hadn't achieved in some 10 years.
Always a strong personality, he made a natural transition to the coaching spot, where he had a successful career with Ajax (1985-88) and Barcelona (1988-96). He coaches the Catalunia team since 2009.
