“When I heard the news about his cancer, that was a bad day, but then I was buoyed by the news recently that he was winning the battle”, said Hodgson.
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And a statement on Cruyff’s website on Thursday announced that the 68-year-old had died. “In other words, I was six times better than today’s players”. “Football has lost a man who did more to make the lovely game attractive than anyone in history”. “Between two drags on his cigarettes, he always spoke of the young, coaching, and education through football”.
“We will never forget you, skinny”. It was also the first time the world saw the move that would become known as the Cryuff turn, a deceptive dragback that baffled his Swedish opponents in the group stages.
“He was not only a very good friend; he was like a brother to me”, said former West Germany and Bayern Munich player Franz Beckenbauer.
With his precision passes, speed, technique and goalscoring ability, Cruyff set new standards as a player.
A World Cup finalist in 1974, Cruyff was the main playing protagonist of the “Total Football” style employed by both Ajax and the Netherlands national team in their prime in the 1970s. “He knew better than anyone how to take advantage of what every member of the team did best and he knew my skill was scoring goals”. “It will help you understand a lot about football, and also that there is another way of living – to challenge things and think differently”.
He enjoyed a spell with American soccer sides before returning to The Netherlands, via Levante, for stints with Ajax and Feyenoord.
Cruyff was once a heavy smoker who gave up after heart bypass surgery in 1991. They beat Sampdoria of Italy 1-0.
Even after he stopped coaching he remained a key figure at both clubs, with his philosophies on the game influencing coaches galore, including the likes of Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger and Manchester City’s manager-in-waiting Pep Guardiola.
Yesterday in Barcelona, surrounded by his family, he finally lost.
And Perez, president of Barca’s great rivals Madrid, has joined the tributes to the footballing icon.
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But Cruyff, arguably the finest footballer Europe has ever produced, could not win the match of his life.
