Date of birth April 25, 1947 (1947-04-25) (age 60)
Place of birth Amsterdam, Netherlands
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position Striker,Second striker,Winger,Midfielder
Youth clubs
1959-1964 Ajax
Senior clubs
Years Club App (Gls)*
1964-1973 Ajax 240 (190)
1973-1978 FC Barcelona 143 (48)
1979-1980 Los Angeles Aztecs 028 (14)
1980-1981 Washington Diplomats 032 (12)
1981 Levante 10 (2)
1981-1983 Ajax 36 (14)
1983-1984 Feyenoord 33 (11)
Total 522 (291)
National team
1966-1978 Netherlands 48 (33)
Teams managed
1986-1988 Ajax
1988-1996 FC Barcelona
Total Football
"the total footballer."
"Pythagoras in boots"
Hendrik Johannes Cruijff (Johan Cruijff) - often spelled Cruyff outside the Netherlands, born April 25, 1947 in Amsterdam. Is a Dutch football manager/coach and former player. He was named European Footballer of the Year three times (1971, 1973, 1974) which is a record jointly held with Michel Platini and Marco van Basten. Cruijff was the most famous exponent of the football philosophy known as Total Football, developed by Rinus Michels.
Through his career Cruijff became synonymous with the playing style of "Total Football." It is a system where a player who moves out of his position is replaced by another from his team, thus allowing the team to retain their intended organizational structure. In this fluid system no footballer is fixed in his or her intended outfield role; anyone can be successively an attacker, a midfielder and a defender. The style was honed by Ajax coach Rinus Michels around the time Cruijff came to prominence.
Strictly speaking, Cruijff played centre forward in this system. But he would drop deep to confuse his markers or suddenly move to the wing with devastating effect. No one had seen a centre forward like that before. Due to the way Cruijff played his game he is still referred to as "the total footballer."
