Johan Cruijff Quotes

The ball is an essential part of the game.

He deserves ten out of ten for doing what he does. He is a sensation, but still he can improve. He must know when to move the ball on quickly and when to try the impossible mission. When he learns this, he won't win a single Golden Ball, but an entire collection.

Choose the best player for every position, and you'll end up not with a strong XI, but with 11 strong 1's.

The most difficult thing about an easy match is to make a weak opponent play bad football.

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

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.

It is better to fail with your own vision than to fail with another man's vision.

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.

He has been outstanding. [Manuel] Neuer is an extraordinary goalkeeper, who would deserve to win it.

Football is about having the best offensive play possible. I always like to play offensive football, and nobody will convince me otherwise.

You know I don't think there will ever be a time when the English player is not respected, and feared, across the world of football. The English footballer is very brave and strong and committed and there is always enough high-class players in his team to cause concern in any opponent. It is a national characteristic.

For the world of football, Messi is a treasure because he is role model for children around the world.

Soccer is simple, but it is difficult to play simple.

Surviving the first round is never my aim. Ideally, I'd be in one group with Brazil, Argentina and Germany. Then I'd have lost two rivals after the first round. That's how I think. Idealisitic.

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.

Why couldn't you beat a richer club? I've never seen a bag of money score a goal.

The fun part of golf is the variety of shots. In football you can do anything with a ball, but you can do anything with a golf ball as well. When you hit a shot and the ball does exactly what you want it to do ... that's wonderful. It's just great when you hit the ball well. You should always try not to make the ball cry.

Often you see people who move there and then, once they have arrived, the ball moves here after which they also come here, but then the ball goes there again. I say: just stay where you are, then you are in any case at the right place half of the time.

Italians can't win the game against you, but you can lose the game against the Italians.

We must make sure their worst players get the ball the most. You'll get it back in no time.

I look at Messi, and he makes me laugh. A beautiful footballer who is still like a kid. A world superstar, but still a kid. Innocent, you know. He just plays.

The difference between right and wrong is often not more than five metres.

Sometimes something's got to happen before something is going to happen.

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

I find it terrible when talents are rejected based on computer stats. Based on the criteria at Ajax now I would have been rejected. When I was 15, I couldn't kick a ball 15 meters with my left and maybe 20 with my right. My qualities technique and vision, are not detectable by a computer.

I felt sorry for the match ball - it came off the pitch crying.

To win you have to score one more goal than your opponent

When you play a match, it is statistically proven that players actually have the ball 3 minutes on average ... So, the most important thing is: what do you do during those 87 minutes when you do not have the ball. That is what determines wether you're a good player or not.

In small space a player has to be capable of acting quickly. A good player who needs too much time can suddenly become a poor player.

Every advantage has its disadvantage.

Every disadvantage has its advantage.

In my teams, the goalie is the first attacker, and the striker the first defender.