The 70 best phrases (and reflections) of Johan Cruyff

Hendrik Johannes Cruyff, better known as Johan Cruyff, has been listed as one of the best soccer players in history, being his stardom in the Amsterdam Ajax team and revolutionizing the form of the game within Barcelona F.C. After his retirement as a player, he served as coach of Ajax and Barcelona and even became honorary president of the same.

• We recommend you read: "The 90 best phrases of Pep Guardiola"

Best quotes and phrases of Johan Cruyff

To remember his legacy and the valuable lessons he has left to the world of football, we have brought you a compilation with the best quotes from Johan Cruyff.

1. If you have the ball, the rival does not have it.

An obvious idea but difficult to carry out.

2. Before I make a mistake, I don't make that mistake.

A man who plans every move he makes.

3. The money must be invested in the field, not in the bank.

A critique of where the money goes in football.

4. Soccer is a game that is played with the brain.

A strategy game.

5. All the trainers talk about movement, about running a lot. I say it's not neccesary running so much.

Cruyff is a coach who has a different method of training.

6. When you go out to the field, look at the stands, they have done all this for you. So get out there and enjoy.

His way of motivating his players.

7. Football basically consists of two things. First: when you have the ball, you must be able to pass it correctly. Second: when the ball is passed to you, you have to be able to control it.

The two basic principles of football.

8. I want players who can make decisive moves in small spaces, I want them to work as little as possible to save energy for that decisive action.

Players who can create quick strategies in their mind.

9. The ball is an essential part of the game.

It is the element where football is focused.

10. It's all very simple: if you score one more than your opponent, you win.

The 'simple' rules to win football.

11. My forwards should only run 15 meters, unless they're stupid or sleeping.

What forwards should focus on.

12. I am not a believer. In Spain, all 22 players cross themselves before going out on the pitch. If it turned out, it would always be a tie.

Without having any kind of weird belief in the game.

13. The whole philosophy of how football should be played was established at the 1974 World Cup. That philosophy is still valid today.

The date football changed forever.

14. I was at home watching TV when the doorbell rang. A voice said that he was a messenger. When I opened the door I found myself with a gun to my head and the man forced me to lie on the ground.

Recounting the attempted kidnapping of him.

15. If I had wanted you to understand me, I would have explained myself much better.

Talking to a journalist who was looking to twist his words.

16. If the opponent has a player who gets away very well, let him not be marked by anyone. He will not stand out.

Knowing and respecting the strengths of the opponent.

17. I am a former player, former sports director, former coach, former manager, former honorary president... A nice list that also shows that everything has an end.

All his achievements and the pride of having gone through each one of them.

18. Players today only shoot with the instep. I could shoot with the inside, the instep and the outside of both feet.

Showing his disappointment with the way current soccer players play.

19. The Italians can't win, but you can lose to them.

The Italians are a big force in football.

20. Catalans don't have much of a sense of humour. They only laugh a lot if they beat Madrid.

On rivalry in football teams.

21. My idol has always been Di Stefano, he is the only one I have ever asked for an autograph from and I will never forget what he did for me, how he treated me when they gave me the Ballon d'Or.

Showing his admiration for the Italian player and the special moment as a fan.

22. The technique is not about juggling a ball 1,000 times. Anyone can do it through practice. In fact he can go to work in a circus.

It is useless to juggle, but to have a fixed goal on the court.

23. In my teams, the goalkeeper is the first attacker and the striker is the first defender.

The most challenging roles in the teams led by Cruyff.

24. The best player in the world does not exist, because there are different positions...

There are excellent players for different positions on the court.

25. Real Madrid has 9 more Champions than us (Barcelona) and won 31 Leagues, that is, 11 more than us.

Recognizing the achievement of Real Madrid.

26. There is only one moment when you can be on time. If you're not there, you came too early or too late.

Things have their time, but some are very exact.

27. It is better to fall for our own point of view than someone else's.

Our own beliefs are sacred.

28. It is a problem in football today, the leaders know very little.

One of the great conflicts in football according to Cruyff.

29. The best dispatch is a ball. You just sit and watch, analyze and think of new ideas.

Talking about his work.

30. Before the match I go out on the field and smell, sniff, sniff, and between that climate and the one I have detected reading the press, I decide what to do.

A very peculiar way of creating your plan for the game.

31. My tribute match has been a birth.

One of his greatest personal achievements.

32. We show the world that you can have a lot of fun as a footballer, that you can laugh and have a great time.

A job that requires a lot of effort, but that can also be enjoyed.

33. I invested in pig farming. How could I get to do it? If only I would have liked. It was inexplicable.

Talking about a bad investment move.

34. To reach the level of the 'Dream Team', 10,000 hours of training were necessary.

Any achievement requires incredible effort.

35. When you're leading 4-0 with 10 minutes left in the game, it's best to hit the post a couple of times to get the crowd going 'ooooh'. I've always loved that sound when the ball hits the post hard...

What you prefer to do if the team is losing.

36. When you play a match it is statistically proven that players do not have the ball for more than three minutes on average.

Measuring the time in which each player has the ball in his possession.

37. You have to make sure your worst players get the ball most of the time. You would get new results in no time.

Giving a notorious responsibility to each player on his team.

38. Quality without results is meaningless. Results without quality is boring.

Quality is important to achieve good results.

39. Street footballers are more important than trained coaches.

Street footballers have an incomparable passion.

40. People with disabilities who play sports don't think about what they don't have, but try to make the best of what they do have. This is the same for me.

Showing his admiration for players with disabilities and his love for the sport that leads them to challenge their abilities.

41. I don't want to be a thief of my own pocket.

Being very careful in the financial steps you take.

42. What is the speed? Speed ​​is often confused with understanding. When I start running before others, I seem faster.

Sometimes speed is a wasted ability when not used wisely.

43. If you have the ball in your possession you have to make the field as big as possible, and if you don't have the ball you have to make it as small as possible.

What players must do when they have the ball in their possession.

44. The most important thing is what you do during the 87 minutes you don't have the ball. It's what makes you a good player or not.

The player must be active at all times on the court.

45. The surgeon knew perfectly well that the world was staring at me. And I knew that this man would do everything possible to make the operation go well. From then on I freed myself from the fear of dying young like my father.

Recounting his passage through the operating room to undergo surgery for a heart condition that was tormenting him.

46. Núñez did not hire me because he shared my views, I was a political recruit and he needed to save his position.

The true intention of his signing.

47. I represent a time that made it clear that beautiful football is fun and that, in addition, with it triumphs are conquered.

A golden age in football, for the right reasons.

48. I'd rather win 5-4 than 1-0.

Your preferences to win a game.

49. We go first because we have more positive points.

Concentrating on receiving positive points in each game.

50. English football has grown a lot when foreign players have begun to arrive.

Foreigners have enriched football in Europe.

51. Football should always be played attractively, you should play offensively, it should be a show.

A show to draw the attention of viewers.

52. The hardest thing about an easy game is getting a weak opponent to play bad football.

Any type of game has its difficulties.

53. Mourinho did in 8 years what took our club more than 100. Anyway, we are better than them.

Not all the time it is about winning, but about having good references.

54. It is very difficult to say who is the best. Today, the most spectacular is Messi and the best is Xavi.

His opinion on who was the best at Barça.

55. Why couldn't he beat the richest club? I have never seen a bag of money score a goal.

Money should not be an influential factor in football.

56. Technique is passing the ball with a single touch, with the right speed and to the right foot of our teammate.

The true technique for Cruyff.

57. He was my idol and I have no words to thank him for how he always treated me.

Talking about Di Stefano.

58. Everyone knows how to play football if you give them five meters of space.

Soccer is a sport that takes place in any environment.

59. It's disgusting to compare Messi and Maradona. The people who saw Diego enjoyed it. And the one that sees Leo too.

Every era has its star player.

60. In other words, I am six times better than today's players.

Showing his value against today's football.

61. Playing soccer is very simple, but playing simple soccer is the most difficult thing there is.

There are no simple things in a soccer game.

62. There is only one ball and whoever has it decides.

Whoever has the ball can decide the fate of the match.

63. If you can't win, make sure you don't lose.

Finish the game in a way that is memorable.

64. They stole the 1977 League from us. I was sent off against Malaga. According to the referee I called him 'son of a bitch', a word that has never come out of my mouth.

About the injustice that happened in the 1977 league.

65. When I arrived at Barça, General Franco was in charge in Spain and I had remorse for going to play.

A very hard time to go play.

66. The simple game is the most precious. How many times do you see a 40-meter pass when 20 are enough? The solution that seems easiest is in fact the most difficult.

The fact that it is simple does not imply that it does not require a great strategic effort.

67. Every disadvantage has its advantage.

We can get something positive out of any bad moment, a lesson that serves us for the future.

68. In the world of the blind, the one-eyed man is king, but he is still the one-eyed man.

Even if you are the best of the worst, you still have to constantly improve.

69. Mourinho may be a very good person in private and a very good coach, but what he teaches the world is something else.

Not everyone shows their true face in public, but a facade that serves as a defense.

70. To score, you must shoot.

You can't achieve something if you don't dare first.