Cruyff won the double with Ajax in 1983 but when told was no longer in their plans, he left for rvials Feyenoord, where he proceeded to win another double
Tag: cruyff
For Olsson and Dabizas, smart, gifted defenders, their careers will be immortalised by two moments of genius from Cruyff and Bergkamp
This feature is part of Virtuoso It was November 2005, at the Santiago Bernabéu, when Ronaldinho took Real Madrid apart with such speed and flair that at least two nervous looking Madridistas…
In King Lear, when the hapless footman Oswald is tripped up by a duke and called a “base football player”, the audience is expected to sneer and snicker. Indeed, in the 16th…
This feature is part of Duology In school, one learns about the importance of a literary foil – a character whose qualities and attributes contrast with the protagonist while highlighting important elements…
Johan Cruyff is one of the true legends of football, and without any doubt the biggest Dutch star of all time, however it wasn’t always that way. In his younger years at…
This feature is a part of Hot Bovril and Cold Terraces, a series looking at first-hand memories of football before the flash. If you get the opportunity to see a legend in…
I’VE HEARD IT SAID that non-football fans are – to paraphrase Bart Simpson – the MTV Generation, knowing neither highs nor lows. Anyone not hooked up with a femme fatale of a…
BARRY HULSHOFF – beard unkempt, socks rolled down and a mullet with a life of its own – was something of a prototype. Looking something like the love child of Rod Stewart…
To a child falling in love with football right now, there’s a world of difference between FC Barcelona and Ajax Amsterdam. Barcelona play in a popular league with megastars in every position,…
Illustration by Federico Manasse The multifarious sphere of footballing history encompasses many greats. Some prove greatness via a trophy cabinet, some gain notoriety for a single goal or piece of skill, some…
Johan Cruyff’s impact on football was far-reaching to say the least. His influence on the game in the Netherlands and Spain has been rightly lauded, and his role in the revolutionary Total…
Nature or nurture? It’s a question psychologists have debated for centuries. In the context of sport, it’s interesting that so many gifted individuals have raised children who have also gone on to…
Pareidolia – the perceiving of familiarity where none exists – is a more common psychological phenomenon than you might think. Frequently reported examples include; finding images in cloud formations, visualising a man…
After Luis Enrique announced his seemingly inevitable resignation as Barcelona coach, he made a poignant statement: “The reason clearly had to do with the way of life I need to have in this…
BENEDIKT TASCHEN’S BOOK ON 1970s FOOTBALL PHOTOGRAPHY is titled The Age of Innocence. An apt title, perhaps – it was the final time when footballers were still at some level “our lads”, clubs…
*Main photo: Jany van der Veen is standing in the back row, fifth from the left Many remember the great Ajax team that dominated the 1970s and the legendary Dutch side that…
‘That was Cruyff’. So many things in football are indeed Johan Cruyff. Senior TFT writer Jon Townsend, a man heavily influenced by Cruyff as a player and now coach, looks back in celebratory fashion at the beautiful gifts the Dutch legend left behind.