Legends Database

Johan CRUYFF

Johan CRUYFF

Second Striker

Overall RATING
0
0%
Attacking Skills
0%
Playmaking
0%
Defending Skills

Other Positions

AM – ST

178cm x 67kg; Right Footed; Prime 1970 – 1975

Physical Skills

0
Acceleration
94%
Agility
87%
Balance
85%
Jump
87%
Natural Fitness
77%
Speed
86%
Stamina
84%
Strength
72%

Technical Skills

0
Ball Control
95%
Dribbling
96%
Free Kicks
85%
Heading
77%
Long Passing
85%
Shooting Accuracy
89%
Shooting Power
79%
Shooting Technique
92%
Short Passing
87%

Tactical Skills

0
Defensive Positioning
56%
Off the ball
88%
Teamwork
97%

Mental Skills

0
Anticipation
92%
Concentration
85%
Consistency
85%
Determination
84%
Leadership
88%
Vision
91%

Attacking Skills

Finishing
85%

Defensive Skills

0
Marking
53%
Sliding
60%
Tackling
53%

Info Box

– Known as “The Flying Dutchman”
Create a move called the “Cruyff Turn
– A versatile and charismatic player blessed with superb speed and dribbling skills

– Comes deep to get the ball
– Dictates tempo
– Knocks ball past opponent
– Likes to beat man repeatedly
– Moves into channels

Additional Skills

0%
Crossing
0%
Creativity
0%
Penalties
0%
Versatility
  • Charismatic Leader

  • Complete Midfielder

  • Speedster

  • Trickster

Johan Cruyff was more than a footballer — he was the architect of an entire philosophy. Quick, intelligent, and endlessly mobile, Cruyff embodied the essence of Total Football: a player who could press, pass, dribble, score, and organize the game — all within the same phase of play. Operating as a false nine, attacking midfielder, or even deep-lying playmaker, he brought positional fluidity to life with unmatched elegance and decision-making speed.

With Ajax, he won three consecutive European Cups (1971–73), turning a provincial Dutch club into a continental dynasty. His time at Barcelona further elevated his status, both as a player and later as a visionary manager who laid the foundations of the modern Barça identity. On the international stage, he carried the Netherlands to the 1974 World Cup Final, electrifying the world with his intelligence, movement, and the now-iconic “Cruyff Turn”.

Cruyff wasn’t a brute force forward — he was football’s strategist on the pitch, dictating rhythms, manipulating space, and seeing angles others couldn’t. He had exceptional spatial awareness, a magnetic first touch, and an ability to make the complex look effortless. His influence didn’t end with his retirement: his ideas reshaped coaching, youth academies, and tactical frameworks globally.

To understand modern football — from Guardiola’s positional play to Ajax’s academy model — one must first understand Cruyff. He wasn’t just a player of his era; he invented a new one. His legacy is not just measured in trophies or goals, but in the entire way football thinks, plays, and teaches itself today.

Cruyff's Skills