Product Description

Between 1974 and 1997 Frits Barend and Henk van Dorp have conducted numerous interviews with Johan Cruyff, one of the greatest footballers the world has ever seen. In these extraordinarily candid interviews, Cruyff talks about how he learnt his trade, going on to play football for Barcelona and Ajax, two of the world's greatest club side. He also talks about the philosophy behind 'total football', the driving force behind the great Dutch side of the seventies, and a style of football many top teams attempt to emulate today. Then there was the eight years of success as manager of Barcelona, one of the most stressful jobs in the game, and back to Ajax, where with his emphasis on youth and home-grown talent, he put together another team of fantastic ability.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #311302 in Books
• Published on: 1999-02-18
• Original language: Dutch
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Johan Cruyff stands among the elite in the pantheon of football's greats. Perhaps, only Pelé ever surpassed him. And that is arguable. Ajax Barcelona Cruyff constitutes a collection of interviews with Holland's greatest ever player conducted by Dutch journalists Barend and Van Dorp. Most of the conversations transcribed here touch on the issues which followed Cruyff throughout his successful career as player and coach, both with Ajax of Amsterdam, and Barcelona. The authors refer to Cruyff as an obstinate maestro, an impression certainly evident in the text. However, it is also undeniably clear that under the surface remains a man who cares, with perhaps unparalleled insight into the mechanics of football and of modern footballers themselves. While Cruyff's view of his numerous disputes with coaches, chairmen, players, journalists and just about anyone else willing to argue, are well-aired here, and provide another perspective on an already well-documented career, the most intriguing dialogue deals with tactical matters. This provides elementary reading for anyone thinking about the game today. Few, if any, players have had such an impact on the tactical side of modern football. As the innovator responsible for the total football played thrillingly by the Dutch in the 1970s, Cruyff passes comment on Dutch masters past and present such as Van Basten, Koeman, Rijkaard and Bergkamp. When the interviews turn to Cruyff's own playing systems, the Dutch superstar's comments seem at once revelationary and simplistic. Unintentionally, this superb book could have become as essential as any ever written on football tactics. Meanwhile, it stands as a tour de force in its own right. --Trevor Crowe

Customer Reviews

Football and philosophy from old Grumpy
The book is little more than a collection of interviews with Cryuff by two Dutch journallists over a period of some 30 years, but a fascinating character emerges. When Cryuff speaks in English (as last seen at Euro 2000) he appears to be a very enthusiatic expert in the game: in Dutch (translated here, thank God!) he comes across as by turns philosopher, coach, cynic, family man and occassionally a real grumpy, old git.

His insights into football (especially as manager of the great Barcelona side centre round Koemans) are enlightening. His pieces as a player give a flavour of a different era that seems almost as far away now as that of Stanley Matthews - did players really play in finals with injuries?

Scarely less controversial than Brian Clough, but technically more perfect. I thought I'd just read through each interview now and then but I ended up devouring it in one sitting. A good read.

Kneel Before Cruyff
Anyone who thinks they understand the mechanics of football will have to think again having read this book. Cruyff's views on the game and how it should be played approach genius at times; in fact there are times when it is almost comical how much he thinks about football. There are some duller moments dealing with the frankly tiresome politics of Dutch football, but these are amply compensated by Cruyff's fascinating insights. There is also an unintentionally very funny description of a groin injury and a revelation about how Cruyff would deliberately aim for the crossbar that will amaze anyone who has ever kicked a ball. Should be required reading for any football coach.

Fascinating - what was said; intriguing - the as yet unsaid!
The ideal book on a football manager's life might be split into two (halves) or three parts, the first containing 4 chapters, the second also 4 and the third 2. The ideal book on Johan Cruyff's life might simply recount his life in 14 chapters, in deference to the shirt number he made his own. But that would be too cheap a shot for this, the Book of Interviews between Cruyff and two Dutch journalists whose presentation of the chief protagonist is never hagiographic and whose role is often that of Devil's Advocate. The reported dialogues are lively and entertaining. If you're a football fan, you'll be a Cruyff fan, and will lap up news of his experiences in Holland (at Ajax and Feyenoord) and Spain (with Barcelona) and his disputes with the administrators, bureaucrats and bean counters within the footballing institutions of those countries. This is no trip down memory lane for Cruyff, who, with his great clubs, and his country, plied his trade against all the great clubs and countries of the planet. But there is no harking back to the European Cup victories of the great Ajax team of the early seventies, no blow-by-blow account of the greatest Cruyff personal performances. Reminiscence is not the book's theme. This book is actually typical of a lot of good writing on football coming from Holland at the moment. I'm thinking, in particular, adaptations of "Fever Pitch", the Granta-like quarterly paperback that originated in the Netherlands. Fans who have witnessed some mediocre Holland performances (as well as great ones) - even if only by proxy (on TV) - may be hard pressed to agree with the odd outburst of genuine arrogance that occasionally surfaces, e.g. his description of the Egypt team that almost upset the Holland-England-Ireland applecart during the group qualifiers in the 1990 World Cup: "Egypt don't want to play football". That's not my recollection of a skilful and spirited display by the Egyptians that day, when for long periods they outplayed the Dutch. And did he approve the Dutch and the Irish wasting the last 10 minutes of their drawn game so as to be sure of qualifying from the group - shades of the much-criticised Austria-Germany match that kept the Algerians from advancing in the 1982 World Cup? Who cares? He probably answered those questions, discussed those topics, a long time ago, too. The answers might even materialise in a second volume of these dialoguoirs. From a personal point of view, I'd like to hear his opinion of the four European Cup games he played against Glasgow Celtic (against whom his record reads W1 L2 D1). Maybe he'll even tell us how close he was to coming to Scotland, to play for Motherwell, no less, in his twilight years. And also of what it was like to fulfil the dreams of managing the Dutch national team and ... Real Madrid, the arch-enemy of Barcelona, and with whom he has been recently linked.