Pep Guardiola has paid a moving tribute to Johan Cruyff, as the Spaniard who is considered to be the best manager in the world, has opined that he ‘knew nothing about football’ before he met the Dutchman. Guardiola also noted that the legacy that Cruyff has left at Barcelona is ‘infinite’, and said that the Dutchman’s contribution to football is incomparable.
Speaking to Jordi Baste on Spanish radio network RAC 1, Guardiola noted Cruyff’s contribution to his footballing development, saying “When I started out I knew nothing about football. I didn’t know how to interpret it. He opened this world for us. It’s such a fascinating world, a film, a constant shock. He opened our minds to see football in another way.
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Cruyff gave Guardiola his debut in 1990 and went on to win 4 La Liga titles and a European Cup in the next six seasons. Guardiola remains eternally grateful, saying “He protected me when I started out in football. Every day he would put me in my place. He gave me a football lesson about how I should behave, how I should deal with the media… His legacy is infinite.”
Titles immaterial
Pep Guardiola has won more trophies than Cruyff, but the Spaniard dismissed that statistic, noting that Cruyff’s legacy in incomparable, saying “As a player and as a manager he won a lot of titles, but that’s not his legacy. The titles only help. Johan has changed two clubs. Not only did he change Ajax, but also Barcelona - and then the Dutch and Spanish national teams, too.
“Forget the titles. I’ve won more titles than him. Messi, for example, is someone runs less and in that he’s the best of Cruyff’s alumni. I would not have been capable of doing what he did at Barcelona. He changed everything. He did it all. What Cruyff’s done for football cannot be compared. The statue thing is superficial. He has made us love this sport so openly that there’s no way we can forget him.”
Cruyff still influences Guardiola
Pep Guardiola’s footballing philosophy was guided by Johan Cruyff and the Bayern Munich manager revealed that he still looks to the Dutchman for inspiration, noting that when the Bavarians were staring a Champions League exit in the face after going 2-0 down to Juventus, Cruyff’s lessons came back to bail Guardiola out.
“He would encourage you to follow your instinct, your nose, to take decisions. He would tell you if you could be guided by your instinct, you would never fail. Sometimes I ask myself what Johan would do. Against Juventus when we had the rope prepared around our necks, it happened and I was able to move forward.”
