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Johan Cruijff Quotes

Soccer player

Dutch football legend, former captain of the Netherlands national team, and a legend at Ajax and Barcelona. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of football.

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All Football Change Player Balls Soccer Ifs Play Winning Games Loses Mistake Opponents Simple Team Knows Coaches Great Football Running Two World

Famous Johan Cruijff Quotes

“However good an English team is, they will always have an additional advantage. It is that European players know that their English opponents will come at them in the belief they will win, and they can always be guaranteed never to stop fighting. They have a natural aggression that they are born with. If it ever goes, English football will lose its most valuable dimension.”

Ifs Knows Fighting Winning Belief Born Loses Natural Player Team Football Advantage Valuable Soccer Analysis Opponents Dimensions Aggression English Football

Author:Johan Cruijff

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

Ifs Winning Loses Can't Win

Author:Johan Cruijff

“If you play on possession, you don't have to defend, because there's only one ball”

Ifs Play Balls Possession

Author:Johan Cruijff

“If you want to play quicker you can start running faster, but it's the ball that decides the speed of the game.”

Ifs Want Play Running Games Balls Speed Faster

Author:Johan Cruijff

“A counter-attack can only arise when you make a mistake. That's why there are rules. A horizontal pass? Prohibited. In my line-up there are as many lines as possible. Because you must have the option to pass the ball forward, even if it's a meter. Because then I can still make up for the loss of possession. After a horizontal pass this is impossible.”

Ifs Stills I Can Lines Loss Mistake Impossible Balls Possession Arise Meter Horizontal Counter Attack

Author:Johan Cruijff

“Mourinho is a coach of titles, not football. Or rather, not a football coach if we understand the sport is a spectacle or entertainment for those who watch it, either at home or live in the stadium.”

Ifs Home Sports Watches Football Entertainment Coaches Titles Stadiums Football Coach Mourinho

Author:Johan Cruijff

“If my forward arrives in a one vs one situation, I always say: 'let him work it out.' Then my players say: But we can help him!'. My reply is: First, there's a good chance you'll only run in his way, and as a second attacker you're drawing a second defender with you, and two vs two is harder than one vs one.'”

Ifs Way Firsts Two Helping Running Chance Situation Player Harder Drawing Working It Defenders Good Chance

Author:Johan Cruijff

“Football is simple, you're either on time, or you're too late. If you're too late then you have to leave earlier.”

Ifs Simple Football Late Too Late Netherlands

Author:Johan Cruijff

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

Ifs Winning Simple Football Opponents Score

Author:Johan Cruijff

“I'm not religious. In Spain all 22 players make the sign of the cross before they enter the pitch. If it works all matches must therefore end in a draw.”

Ifs Ends Change Religious Player Football Draws Crosses Spain

Author:Johan Cruijff

“There’s only one moment in which you can arrive in time. If you’re not there, you’re either too early or too late.”

Ifs Moments Change Football Late Too Late

Author:Johan Cruijff

“I always threw the ball in, because then if I got the ball back, I was the only player unmarked.”

Ifs Change Player Football Balls

Author:Johan Cruijff

“What is speed? The sports press often confuses speed with insight. See, if I start running slightly earlier than someone else, I seem faster.”

Ifs Seems Running Sports Change Football Presses Insight Speed Faster

Author:Johan Cruijff

“If you have the ball, you must make the field as big as possible, and if you don't have the ball, you must make it as small as possible.”

Ifs Bigs Change Fields Football Balls

Author:Johan Cruijff

“If I wanted you to understand it, I would have explained it better.”

Ifs Wanted Change Football Soccer Dutch Best Football Football Game Great Football

Author:Johan Cruijff

About the Author

Born: April 25, 1947
Died: March 24, 2016
Known for: Soccer player
Quotes: 82

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