Johan Cruyff best quotes

by Guilherme Neto

This Thursday was a very sad day for football, as one of this sport’s greatest players ever has passed away at the age of 68.

Johan Cruyff, one of the fathers of “Total Football” died of a lung cancer on March 24 of 2016, just one day before completing his 69th anniversary. He had been diagnosed with cancer in October 2015, but the news of the Dutchman’s death still shocked the world because he gave no signs of being beaten by the disease. In recent statements the former Ajax and FC Barcelona legend even said that he felt he was beating cancer 2-0.

Nevertheless, Cruyff leaves this world with the certainty that his legacy will long be remembered. The 3-time Ballon d’Or winner scored a total of 369 goals in 661 appearances throughout his career (1964-1984) and is the main inspiration for Barcelona‘s current style of play that has led them to dominate Spain and Europe over the last decade.

Now let’s take a few minutes to read some of Johan Cruyff’s best quotes over the past years.

Johan Cruyff playing for the Netherlands

«We showed the world that you can enjoy yourself playing football, that you can smile and have a good time. I represent a generation who proved that beautiful football is fun and that on top of that, it also allows you to win titles.»

«Football should always be played in an attractive manner, with an attacking mindset, to entertain people.”

«Simplicity in football is something very valuable in this game. How many times do you see a 40-meter pass when a 20-meter pass would have been enough? The solution that appears to be the easier one is often the the most difficult one as well.»

«Playing football is very simple, but to playing simple football is the most difficult thing to do.»

«Every manager likes to talk about the importance of constantly moving on the pitch and to run a lot. In my opinion, players don’t need to run that much. Football is a game that you play with your brain. A player should just focus to be in the right place, at the right time.»

«No other team runs less than Barcelona and that’s because they always have the ball. They are the one who set the pace and decide where the game takes place on the pitch. There’s only one ball and whoever has it decides what’s going to happen.»