Life and death are but one thread. In a world such as this, where misery is prevalent, death can be seen as freedom. Indeed, the people that shed tears for the lifeless body are the ones that truly die for a part of them just goes away with their beloved.
Death, they say, is the end of life. But is it really? The world bemoans the death of legendary Dutch former footballer and coach, Johan Cruyff. His soul might have left his body, but he is far from dead.
A man needs to have two things in life: strong ideals and the will to hold on to them. The Dutchman had both. His ideals and the ruthless commitment to them is what made Barcelona the team they are today.
Be it his total football style or wonderful displays of brilliance with the ball at his feet, the legend will forever be remembered for his football-changing philosophies. However, there are some facts about him only a few people know, so here is our attempt to reveal seven Johan Cruyff facts which you probably didn’t know:
1) Cruyffisms
As a legendary figure in the Netherlands, he has his fair share of contribution to the daily lives of the Dutch people. While he made his name for his unreal abilities as a footballer and then a visionary manager, he was also known for quirky quotes that are used by the people in their regular life.
His quotes are known as Cruyff-isms—a series of paradoxical quotes that depict the obvious truth, partial truth or something utterly untrue. His most quoted one-liner is “De bol is rond,” which means the ball is round.
Other much-quoted one-liners are:
“Every advantage has its disadvantage.”
“Without the ball you can't win.”
“Always make sure you score one more goal than the opposition.”
“Look, you have to at least get the ball between the posts.”
2) He became a footballer as a tribute to his father
Parents are the biggest security a child could have. They are the ones that guard the child and try to give them what they require. Some children are unfortunate in the sense that they lose one or both of their parents at a very young age.
Johan Cruyff was one of those kids. At the age of 13, he had to go through the unspeakable pain of losing his father due to a heart-attack. Most boys of his age would give up their dream of becoming a footballer and do a job in order to financially support a family hovering around the poverty line.
However, Johan Cruyff was made of something else.
His father’s passing away made him even more determined to become a football as, for him, it was a way to pay tribute to his pops. Ultimately, thanks to the sacrifices of his mother, who worked as a cleaner at Ajax, and the inspiration of his stepfather, he became the greatest Dutch footballer of all time.
Cruyff senior must be a very proud man as he greets his son in heaven.
3) He was heavily into baseball
While he made his name as an astute footballer, it could have been different as Johan Cruyff was a very talented baseball player in his early-teens.
Indeed, not only was he in the football side of Ajax’s academy, he also was associated with the baseball section and showed tremendous talent as a pitcher and a catcher behind the plate. However, his love for football meant that he quit the baseball division and became fully devoted to the beautiful game at the age of 15.
Perhaps, if he was in the USA, we might have known him as the legendary baseball player right now.
4) Almost joined Real Madrid
Alfredo Di Stefano is the greatest Real Madrid player of all time. Winning a grand total of five European Cups and eight La Ligas, his name has been stamped in the history books of Real Madrid. However, it could have been different as he almost joined Barcelona.
Similarly, Johan Cruyff was Barcelona’s greatest ever player until Lionel Messi entered the fray. At a time when they were in the shadows of mediocrity, he came and took them to the light. However, at one point, this all couldn’t have been.
"I remember my move to Spain was quite controversial. People said I was going to a fascist country. The president of Ajax wanted to sell me to Real Madrid," Cruyff said in a documentary on TV3.
"I was born shortly after the war, though, and was taught not to just accept anything.
"Barcelona weren't at the same level as Madrid football wise, but it was a challenge to play for a Catalan club. Barcelona was more than a club."
And then that was it. Ajax wanted him at Real Madrid, he wanted him at Barca—and Cruyff was someone who always got it his way.
5) Held hostage at gunpoint
You are sitting at your home with all comforts around you. You feel safe inside, that you are invulnerable within the walls. But that is not always the case—certainly wasn’t with Johan Cruyff on a fateful day in 1977.
As he was enjoying his time with the family, a group of kidnappers broke into his home and held him hostage at gunpoint while also tying his wife up in front of the children in his flat in Barcelona.
Speaking to Catalunya Radio in 2008, Cruyff said: "You should know that I had problems at the end of my career as a player here and I don't know if you know that someone [put] a rifle at my head and tied me up and tied up my wife in front of the children at our flat in Barcelona."
Luckily, he managed to escape and had to be guarded by authorities.
He said: "The children were going to school accompanied by the police. The police slept in our house for three or four months. I was going to matches with a bodyguard.
And it was because of this that he missed one of the biggest competitions in the world.
6) Didn’t play in the 1978 World Cup
For years, tabloids ran a lot of versions of this story—his refusal to play the 1978 World Cup, in a tournament where the Oranje finished runners-up. Till this day, many Dutch fans believe that their nation would have won the World Cup had their greatest player been playing.
Many reasons were cooked up about him not joining the camp with Netherlands in Argentina, with the most prevalent being that his beloved wife, Danny Coster, forbidding him from doing so over fears that he may cheat on her.
However, as mentioned in the previous slide, Cruyff revealed the real reason for his decision to not go to the 1978 World Cup was the kidnapping attempt
"All these things change your point of view towards many things. There are moments in life in which there are other values,” he said.
"We wanted to stop this and be a little more sensible. It was the moment to leave football and I couldn't play in the World Cup after this."
7) Cruyff refused to follow the norm while naming his son
We all know that Johan Cruyff has a son named Jordi Cruyff who played for Barcelona and Manchester United. We also know that he wasn’t as good a footballer as his father was. And to be fair to him, not many players were or are.
However, what few people know is that his name, Jordi, was kept in somewhat controversial circumstances.
The patron saint of Catalonia is named Jordi. So when the registrar came to know of the Dutchman’s intentions to name his son that, he asked him to change it. However, he didn’t oblige.
“[At the registry office] I said: ‘What’s not allowed? I decide: I’m Dutch. I decide the name of my son.’”
He decided. Always did. Last night, he decided to become an immortal. And so he did. Rest in peace, Johan Cruyff. You will live through videos, through words of people like me and your name shall echo in the eternal blue sky.
