51 Quotes From Johan Cruyff That Will Change Your Life

Johan Cruyff is often recognized as the greatest football player of all time. He was a coach as well as a professional football player. Johan won the Ballon d’Or three times during his playing career. He was also a proponent of the Total Football theory pioneered by Rinus Michels.

Johan was also named European Player of the Century in 1999. He also won the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player in the 1974 FIFA World Cup. He turned down the 1978 World Cup squad after finishing third in UEFA Euro 1976 due to Argentinian dictator Jorge Videla.

Aside from that, he established the tradition of wearing shirt numbers other than the standard 1-11 starting line-up. He passed away on March 24, 2016. To be successful in life, you need to follow Johan Cruyff’s statements.

“You have to shoot if you want to score.”

“I don’t make that mistake before I make it.”

“Keith Spurgeon taught me English.”
He had some tiny children, and I was also young, so we talked the language together, which was amazing.”

“The most essential element is that the fans are happy, and that the individuals going home are happy.”
It’s their time off, and you should make it enjoyable for them.”

“Every difficulty has a benefit.”

6th of 51 Quotes by Johan Cruyff

“Football is a game of errors.”
“The person who makes the fewest mistakes wins.”

“Perhaps coincidence is rational.”

“I’m not a religious person.”
Before entering the pitch in Spain, all 22 players make the sign of the cross.
If it succeeds, all matches must end in a tie.”

“Sometimes something has to happen before something can happen.”

“We can’t beat the Italians, but we can certainly lose to them.”

“Soccer is easy, but playing simple is difficult.”

“I don’t want to steal my own wallet.”

“Speed and insight are frequently confounded.
I appear speedier when I start jogging sooner than the others.”

“You can’t win without the ball.”

“To win, you must score one goal more than your opponent.”

“When I look at Messi, he makes me giggle.”
A lovely footballer who still acts like a child.
A global superstar, yet still a child.
You know, innocent.
He’s just having fun.”

“My foundation currently has 120 football fields put out for children, many of them are immigrants.”
We live in a diverse culture.”

“Disabled persons who participate in sports don’t think about what they don’t have; they aim to improve with what they do have.”
That is also true for me.”

“One prize is nice, but two are even better.”
That way, when a hero passes by with his medals on his breast, at least his steps are level.”

20th of 51 Johan Cruyff

“Street footballers are more vital than skilled coaches.”

“It’s all about having the best offensive play possible in football.”
Nobody can make me change my mind about playing offensive football.”

“Ajax is a cosmopolitan club, and we’ve discovered that many talented immigrant players drop out when they reach adolescence.”
So we wanted to handle this problem with someone who has been through it before.
And his name was Edgar Davids.
I brought this out to him during one of our disputes.
But it had nothing to do with the color of his skin.”

“Nowadays, football is all about money.”
There are some issues with the game’s values.
This is unfortunate because football is the most attractive sport.
We can play it on the sidewalk.
We can use it anywhere.”

“If you play golf, you have a teacher for the drive, an approach play teacher, and a putt instructor.”
Three specialized instructors for one player.
In football, one coach is responsible for 25 players.”

“What do I do when I don’t have control of the ball?”
I hit the button to get it back.
It’s a form of defense.
But, more importantly, I enjoy having the ball.
This is why I believe in individual coaching sessions to adequately prepare players.”

“It’s the same in football as in life.”
You must look, you must think, you must move, you must find space, and you must assist others.
In the end, it’s quite straightforward.”

“Van Gaal has a good football vision, but it is not mine.”
He strives to form winning teams and employs a militaristic approach to his methods.
I want people to think for themselves.”

“Everyone could use the money, but you don’t play for it; you play with your heart, and that’s a major difference in Barcelona.”
Everyone wants to play there; everyone wants to have fun.
It could be a little amount, but it could be the difference.”

“How can you form a team and bring all of these egos together?”
Manchester United’s main goal is to play well – and not have a player say, ‘I play good; I scored two goals.’
Because if I score two goals but three goals are scored in our net, we lose.”

“Ajax was spending too much money and buying too expensive players.”
You can’t spend 120 percent if you obtain 100 percent.
It’s fairly simple.”

“I always exploit people’s basic qualities to achieve what I want to achieve.”
That is a unique way of thinking.
I always appreciate what they do.
And if something goes wrong, attempt to repair it in some way.”

“Money is a problem in the Premier League, but I don’t know how to handle it.”

33rd of 51 Johan Cruyff

“We are currently experiencing a major crisis in football.”
It is not only Rangers; it is a number of clubs.
Despite their enormous income, big clubs inevitably produce additional debt.
Isn’t it almost an accomplishment?
They make a lot of money, yet their debts continue to pile up.
What causes this?
It’s ridiculous.”

“Football should never be a source of concern.
It should be thrilling.
A child does not need to be concerned when playing football outside.
Professionals should behave similarly.

“I’m always delegating.”
If someone is exceptionally skilled at something, he will be in charge.”

“All of these countries, such as Holland and Scotland, create their own issues.”
They are constantly moaning, yet they never solve anything.
Look at what you can build rather than what you don’t have.”

“It’s not about pain in football.”
It’s all about having fun.
Control the ball, make friends with it, attack, and score goals.
Of course, defending is a part of it, but there are many ways to defend.”

“It’s incredible.
I altered Barcelona’s style of play.
Spain has now had to adapt.

“What do I do when I don’t have control of the ball?”
I hit the button to get it back.
It’s a form of defense.”

“Quality is meaningless without results.”
“Results without quality are tedious.”

“Football is a mental game that you play.”

“It’s incredible.
I altered Barcelona’s style of play.
Spain has now had to adapt.”

“There is no higher honor than being recognized for your style.”

“It’s disheartening to watch how football, the world’s most popular sport, is not the most developed.
A plethora of practical football expertise appears to be squandered in my opinion.”

“Some people may have greater technique than me, and some may be fitter than me, but the most important thing is strategies.”
Tactics are lacking in the majority of players.
Tactics are classified as intelligence, faith, and courage.
I believe I have a tactical advantage over most other players.” – Johan Cruyff

“English football has a beautiful romanticism, but it has lost its individuality due to the impact of foreign cultures.”

“When I was in the Ajax youth teams – maybe, 14, 15 – you started getting all those international youth tournaments.”
All of the English teams showed up.
The English, on the other hand, were far further ahead of us.”

“My generation put in a lot more hours after school playing football than kids today.”
These days, all of the football these kids play is at their clubs, so the clubs must work hard on the fundamentals.”

“We’ve had numerous coaches throughout the years, but there are no teachers anymore.”
And you can see it in the play.” – Johan Cruyff

“If you look at other countries, you will notice that they have different values: they defend more, pass the ball out more, and winning is sacred.”
Sport itself is considered holy in England.
‘Look, folks, it’s about more than simply winning,’ they say.

“After retiring, I wanted to acquire my coaching badges, and I asked to take the exam, but they said I needed to study for four years.”
They were insane, I told them.
Who will study for four years?
“How can someone teach me technical skills when I know more than they do?”

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