Hendrik Johannes Cruyff, known in the sporting world as Johan Cruyff, has been one of the key figures in the advancement of football as we know it. His beginnings took place within the Ajax Amsterdam team until he demonstrated his value as a human being and footballer as part of Barcelona FC, where he became honorary president, years later.
If you want to know more about his way of thinking, read on. Here you will find a selection of the best phrases of Johan Cruyff
The soccer star was not only praised for his skills on the field, but for his humane, fun and animated way of leading the teams. For this reason, we bring a compilation with the best phrases and reflections of Johan Cruyff.
1. It’s all very simple: if you score one more than your opponent, you win.
A result that seems simple, but in reality requires an enormous strategy to achieve.
2. The money should be in the field, not in the bank.
A criticism of the greedy nature of football representatives.
3. There are problems with values ​​within the game. And this is sad because football is the most beautiful game. We can play it in the street. We can play it everywhere. Everyone can play it, but those values ​​are being lost. We have to bring them back.
Lamenting the situation of consumerism and greed that is generated within football, due to all the money that is made in it.
4. If you have the ball, the opponent does not have it.
So each player must concentrate on having the ball as long as possible.
5. Soccer is a game that is played with the brain.
Despite being a physical sport, strong strategies are needed on the field.
6. I want players who can make decisive moves in small spaces, I want them to work as little as possible to save energy for that decisive action.
Players who prioritize thinking over looking good on the field.
7. The ball is an essential part of the game.
The key element of football.
8. Every disadvantage has its advantage.
We can take advantage of every situation experienced if we take a lesson from it.
9. How many children have not used purses, backpacks, coats or simple stones to mark the goal?! This detail, and so many others like it, show us that it is not always necessary to have everything and that shortcomings can be made up for with imagination and enthusiasm.
Soccer is a sport that can be played in any situation and anywhere in the world, without the need for high-end equipment.
10. It is very difficult to say who is the best. Today, the most spectacular is Messi and the best is Xavi.
About the star athletes of the moment.
11. On my team, forwards only have to run 15 meters, unless they are stupid or sleeping.
The demands that Cruyff gave to his forwards.
12. If you can’t win, make sure you don’t lose.
You can leave traces with your actions, even if you are not always number 1.
13. I am not a believer. In Spain, all 22 players cross themselves before going out onto the field. If it turned out, it would always be a tie.
Talking about the rituals that players do before going to a game.
14. The simple game is the most precious. How many times do you see a 40-meter pass when 20 are enough?
The simple things are sometimes the most effective.
15. When you go out onto the field, look at the stands, because they have done all of this for you. So get out there and enjoy.
Enjoying the game was the most valuable lesson that this coach left his athletes.
16. Soccer basically consists of two things. First: when you have the ball, you must be able to pass it correctly. Second: when the ball is passed to you, you must be able to control it.
So all players must be agile and clever to take advantage of every opportunity they get.
17. Technique is not about juggling a ball 1,000 times. Anyone can do it through practice. In fact, he can go to work in a circus.
Cruyff gave more priority to a good strategist than to a personality who only wants to show off his talents.
18. In my teams, the goalkeeper is the first attacker and the striker is the first defender.
The most demanding positions, because the future of the party depends on them.
19. Mourinho may be a very good person in private and a very good coach, but what he teaches the world is something else.
Warning about Mourinho’s character.
20. Playing soccer is very simple, but playing simple soccer is the most difficult thing there is.
Two things that no player should confuse and an objective that they need to pursue.
21. The entire philosophy of how football should be played was established in the 1974 World Cup. That philosophy is still valid today.
A time where it was shown what true players are made of.
22. I am a former player, former sports director, former coach, former manager, former honorary president… A nice list that also shows that everything has an end.
A resume that he earned through his own strength and shared with the rest of the world.
23. There is only one time when you can be on time. If you’re not there, you’re either too early or too late.
One second is enough to change the fate of the match.
24. I believe that people should be able to play in all positions on the field. That’s why it’s so important for everyone to listen during tactical conversations.
It is a mistake to believe that football is not a group sport.
25. It’s disgusting to compare Messi and Maradona. The people who saw Diego enjoyed it and those who saw Leo too.
They are both excellent players, just from different eras.
26. It is better to fall with our own point of view than with someone else’s.
Never regret following your course.
27. Everyone knows how to play soccer if you give them five meters of space.
Soccer is one of the most enjoyed sports in the entire world.
28. When you are winning 4-0 and there are 10 minutes left in the game, it is better to hit the post a couple of times so that the crowd shouts ‘ooooh’.
Creating exciting games for the audience.
29. People who are not on my level cannot affect my integrity.
Don’t be intimidated by the comments of others.
30. Before the game I go out to the field and smell it, and between that climate and the one I have detected reading the press, I decide what to do.
A rather unusual way to prepare your game strategies.
31. English football has grown a lot when foreign players have started to arrive.
Seeing the notable growth and improvement of football, thanks to inclusion.
32. Catalans don’t have much of a sense of humor. They only laugh a lot if they beat Madrid.
Talking about how Barcelona people celebrate when they defeat Madrid.
33. I represent an era that made it clear that beautiful football is fun and that, in addition, triumphs are achieved with it.
It was that same representation that inspired him to bring a message of enjoyment, honesty and encouragement to his players.
34. Play to win or to enjoy? This is a false debate.
If you enjoy what you do, you will always get good results.
35. We show the world that you can have a lot of fun as a footballer, that you can laugh and have a great time.
Just because it’s a professional sport doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it.
36. You have to make sure your worst players get the ball most of the time. You would get new results in no time.
The only way for someone to improve is to be given thousands of opportunities to overcome their failures.
37. The best office is a ball. You just sit and observe, analyze and think of new ideas.
All football revolves around what you can do with the ball.
38. To reach the level of the ‘Dream Team’, 10,000 hours of training were necessary.
No team becomes invincible overnight.
39. In my life I have had two great vices: smoking and playing soccer. Football gave me everything. On the other hand, smoking almost took it away from me.
Understanding that smoking could take his life before his time.
40. Before I make a mistake, I don’t make that mistake.
All decisions are important, there are never bad teachings.
41. Football is now about money.
A reality that he completely despised.
42. Quality without results is meaningless. Results without quality are boring.
It’s not just about being the best but about leaving an indelible mark, for the right reasons.
43. Winning is something important, but having your own style, for people to copy you, for them to admire you, that is the greatest gift.
It was never about bragging about being the best, but about proving his worth in the sport he loved most.
44. To play well, you need good players, but a good player almost always has the problem of lack of efficiency. He always wants to make things prettier than strictly necessary.
A reference to the fact that there are players who are only on the court to show off, instead of learning to play well.
45. Street footballers are more important than trained coaches.
His greatest wish was to see more people interested in the sport.
46. ​​My tribute match was a birth.
Referring to the moment he became a father.
47. In some ways I am probably immortal.
Cruyff will be captured in the history of Barcelona and in the memories of all those he has inspired.
48. There are some teams that always have to fight to win and, at the end of the competition, they have to be there, in the leading group. That is logical and, furthermore, it is imposed by their prestige, their history or the means at their disposal. But winning should always be related to having fun.
Demonstrating that there are differences between earning through marketing and earning because you love what you do.
49. My all-time idol was Di Stefano, he is the only one I have asked for an autograph in my life and I will never forget what he did for me, because of how he treated me when they gave me the Ballon d’Or.
The people we admire the most are those who have marked our lives in a positive way.
50. Speed ​​is often confused with understanding. When I start running before others, I look faster.
For Cruyff, the essential thing above all is to have a strategy, instead of being carried away by instincts.
51. Football should always be played in an attractive way, you should play offensively, it should be a spectacle.
Emphasizing the idea that football should be a spectacle that everyone admires watching.
52. I have always loved that sound when the ball hits the post hard…
A passionate sports spirit that never went out.
53. One pigeon does not make a summer.
Things don’t happen just because, we make them happen with our actions.
54. Play as if you can never make a mistake, but don’t be surprised when you do.
Mistakes are part of life itself, we cannot escape them.
55. You have to make the field small when you don’t have the ball, and make it big when you have it.
Different approaches for each scenario.
56. The most difficult thing about an easy match is making a weak opponent play bad football.
All teams have their style of play.
57. Soccer is played with the brain.
Not only do you have to prioritize physical condition, you also have to do so with mental agility and response.
58. Today’s players only shoot with their instep. I could shoot with the inside, with the instep and with the outside of both feet.
A criticism of new players’ lack of enthusiasm for learning.
59. I was at home watching television when the doorbell rang. A voice said that he was a messenger. When I opened the door I found a gun to my head and the man forced me to the ground.
Talking about the time he was almost murdered in his own home.
60. The Italians can’t win, but you can lose to them.
Praising the persistence and strength of the Italian team.
61. It is a problem in today’s football, the leaders know very little.
A good game is not only the responsibility of the athletes, but also of the board.
62. Why couldn’t he beat the richest club? I’ve never seen a bag of money score a goal.
The money should not benefit any football team.
63. Technique is passing the ball with a single touch, with the appropriate speed and to the right foot of our teammate.
Referring to the proper technique that your players must have.
64. If you don’t control it, you can’t pass it either. You can play a lot, but if you don’t make it, you don’t win.
Victories are measured by the number of goals you can score.
65. The solution that seems easiest is in fact the most difficult.
There are no easy ways out in football games.
66. In the world of the blind, the one-eyed man is king, but he remains one-eyed.
Although the greedy in football boast about what they have achieved, they are still greedy.
67. All coaches talk about movement, about running a lot. I say it’s not neccesary running so much.
While other coaches focus on exploiting the physical capacity of their players, Cruyff opted for a well-planned game.
68. If I had wanted you to understand me, I would have explained myself much better.
Response to an annoying journalist.
69. You must be in the right place, at the right time. Neither too soon nor too late.
An opportunity that for no reason can be missed.
70. The best player in the world does not exist, because there are different positions…
There is no single excellent player, but there may be players who stand out in their different positions.
