• The Magazine
  • Interviews
  • Current
  • Nostalgia
  • Legends
  • European
  • World
  • Log in
  • Subscribe
Menu
  • The Magazine
  • Interviews
  • Current
  • Nostalgia
  • Legends
  • European
  • World
  • Log in
  • Subscribe

Dutch master fires a broadside towards his former club

Pink by Pink
August 26, 2015
in Latest
Dutch master fires a broadside towards his former club

BY STEVE MITCHELL

The great Dutch footballing superstar of the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s Johan Cruyff, has heavily criticised his former club Ajax and the country’s top-flight football league, the Eredivisie, over its current coaching strategies.

In a frank interview last week, the three-time World Player of the Year stated that the coaching staff at the Dutch giants were “ignoring the basic principles” after the club was eliminated from the Champions League qualifying rounds by Austrian side Rapid Vienna.

Growing up inside the Ajax youth academy in the late 1950’s, Cruyff exploded onto the scene during the mid-1960’s before going onto become the greatest player of his generation throughout the early 1970’s under the watchful eye of master tactician Rinus Michels. Four back-to-back league titles from 1966-70 was followed by a famous European Cup Final win at Wembley in 1971 against Panathinaikos before Michels departed for Barcelona. Cruyff’s Ajax team retained European football’s greatest prize for two more seasons before he re-joined his mentor in Cataluña.

Speaking about Michels’ philosophy this week Cruyff, now 68, explained that; “He was able to look at football in a simple way” adding that; “he taught me things like if you’re not a good header of the ball then don’t try to win headers, or try to sprint past someone who is faster than you. In other words, when you are not as strong as someone in certain aspects you need to be smarter.”

In a successful managerial career where he built the “dream team” at Barcelona in the mid 1990’s, Cruyff explained that he used these basic principles in exactly the same way; “I took what Michels taught me and added my own ideas for example, I always believed a friendly match to be much more useful than a training session. At Barcelona I let our goalkeeper, Andoni Zubizaretta, play as an outfield player to improve his ball skills.”

Having just seen his beloved Ajax eliminated from the Champions League before the end of August Cruyff stated that; “At the moment Ajax are ignoring these basic principles,” before going onto explain that; “This is not an attack on coach Frank de Boer, he is just the last piece in the chain, there are many people involved.”

Now Cruyff has seen enough and on his recommendation, Ajax have brought in former player Tscheu La Ling in an advisory role to try to get to the bottom of what is wrong at the country’s biggest club and with the football coaching system in general in the Netherlands. Cruyff clearly has his own ideas stating that; “Just look at Dutch clubs in Europe, it was clear to see how little the ball was played to the forward moving player, this is a basic positional tactic. Here is a player where you do not play the ball to his feet but play it a few meters ahead of him. This rarely happens now in Dutch football and it is a big problem.”

Cruyff clearly still cares passionately for the game. In a trophy laden career both as a player and coach, he cites Michels as the single most important influence on his life, a man who tried to make the beautiful game as simple as possible to understand. Its over 40 years ago that Dutch football ruled the world and whilst Cruyff is all too aware that it would be foolish to predict that it can ever return to the glory years of the 1970’s, going back to the basics that made it great in the first place would be a good place to start.

YOU CAN FOLLOW STEVE ON TWITTER @barafundler

Related Posts

Latest

Bengals vs Chiefs Betting Odds, Spread, Predictions & Key Match Info: NFL Championship Game Summary (2023)

It’s time for the 2023 AFC Championship – and we have Bengals vs Chiefs for the third year in...

by Jamie Ingram
January 27, 2023
0
Latest

WWE Royal Rumble Betting Odds, News, Predictions & Picks (Fans Believe In The Rock)

WrestleMania season is upon us, with the WWE Royal Rumble 2023 just days away. In addition to the men’s...

by Jamie Ingram
January 27, 2023
0
Open Sud de France 2023 Betting Odds: Latest Open Sud de France Betting Lines, Tips, Bonuses, and More
Latest

Open Sud de France 2023 Betting Odds: Latest Open Sud de France Betting Lines, Tips, Bonuses, and More

The 36th edition of the ATP 250 Open Sud de France starts on January 30. The Open Sud de...

by Jamie Ingram
January 23, 2023
0
Latest

Liverpool vs Brighton Betting Odds, Predictions, Team News, and Line-Ups (Premier League 2022/2023)

Brighton welcomes Liverpool to the AMEX Stadium this weekend in what promises to be an exciting game of football,...

by Jamie Ingram
January 13, 2023
0
Load More
Next Post
Inside Sky Sports News – An Interview with Pete Graves

Inside Sky Sports News – An Interview with Pete Graves

Events

Grammy Predictions and Odds (2023): Who Will Win Best Pop Solo Performance & Other Prestigious Awards?

by Jamie Ingram
February 3, 2023
0
0

The Grammy Awards are set to take place on February 5 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California. Based...

Read more
UNC vs Duke Betting Odds: Bet on Duke Blue Devils vs North Carolina Tar Heels (NCAA Men’s Basketball, Feb 4, 2023)

UNC vs Duke Betting Odds: Bet on Duke Blue Devils vs North Carolina Tar Heels (NCAA Men’s Basketball, Feb 4, 2023)

February 2, 2023
0
golf betting

Best Golf Betting Odds: Top 5 Golf Betting Sites for PGA Tours, US Open, Masters Tournament, and Other Major Golf Events

January 31, 2023
0

Bengals vs Chiefs Betting Odds, Spread, Predictions & Key Match Info: NFL Championship Game Summary (2023)

January 27, 2023
0

WWE Royal Rumble Betting Odds, News, Predictions & Picks (Fans Believe In The Rock)

January 27, 2023
0
  • About
  • Contact Us
  • Profile

© Copyright 2023 – Football Pink

  • About
  • Contact Us
  • Profile

© Copyright 2022 - Ronnie Dog Media All Rights Reserved. Live Score

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Gmail
  • Print Friendly
  • LinkedIn
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr