The Legend of Johan Cryuff

"If I wanted you to understand it, I would have explained it better"

At 6 PM this Thursday, in a seemingly lazy evening I was just sitting on my couch scrolling through my phone until my eyes fell on a certain article about the unfortunate death of the great Johan Cruyff at the age of 68, who was suffering from lung malignancy. The world seemed to have stopped for a moment. I could feel the blood veins in my head pump while immersing into this sudden numbness. And then dawned the realisation of the fidelity.

An younger Johan Cruyff

Football is a game of strategy and calculation. You induce precise tactics and formation and hope your players execute the plans perfectly. That's a perfect winning formula isn't it? Unless, of course, if you are a Johan Cruyff. He was simply an artist, a painter,who painted in the football field. An enigma, whom the world failed to understand. The genius of the Ajax bred footballer was beyond the knowledge of the football world. And we, the fans, simply watched him to feel good. Through the 60s and 70s, Ajax and Netherlands seemed to have pioneered the revolutionary 'total football'. And Cruyff was the man who put the ideas into action. Ajax won 3 European cups in succession. Dutch football captured the imagination of the world, reaching the World Cup final twice, unfortunately, to lose against the host in both the finals. And the game was played around the boy from Amsterdam. With 33 goals in 48 games for the Oranje and 290 in 519 in the club level, he was one of the most prolific players to have played the game. But in true sense, Cruyff's vision and perception of the game was pristine. He could make passes that others could not. He could spot a run quicker than anyone else. He was a perfect football player in every way.

                                            He was simply special!


It's a pity that he is not among us anymore, yet he still is. There is a Cruyff inside  every kid in the streets of Amsterdam aspiring to play for his nation, he is in every pass, every move in the football pitch. He is alive, can't you see? He is an evergreen figure in the turf, with everything associated to football. Tomorrow morning you will wake up, the world will move on, you will move on. Players will take their positions, teams will score, coaches will win, fans will love and Cruyff? He will keep watching football from somewhere, we are all  unknowingly living, breathing under his grace.

“He had it all – vision, attitude, presence. He was also very flexible, so when opponents tried to kick him he would always anticipate what was about to happen and move just in time. Defenders couldn’t touch him. He would be the provider for the main striker but was a prolific goalscorer himself too.”

 - Ruud Gullit

Dedicated to an amazing footballer, an artist, a loving father and a husband and, more importantly, a lovely human being. Rest In Peace Johan Cruyff.




About the author :- 

Shreyan Mukherji is a student of English literature hailing from Asutosh College, Kolkata! While football, comic fiction and movies occupy the larger chunk of his interests, this dude is a massive sports fanatic and a social worker too.