Johan Cruijff Quotes

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

Technique is not being able to juggle a ball 1000 times. Anyone can do that by practicing. Then you can work in the circus. Technique is passing the ball with one touch, with the right speed, at the right foot of your team mate.

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.

There's not one club in Europe with an anthem like You'll Never Walk Alone. There's not one club in the world so united with their fans. I sat there watching the Liverpool fans and they sent shivers down my spine. A mass of 40,000 people became one force behind their team. That's something not many teams have. For that I admire Liverpool more than anything.

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

Players that aren't true leaders but try to be, always bash other players after a mistake. True leaders on the pitch already assume others will make mistakes.

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.

Playing football is very simple, but playing simple football is the hardest thing there is.

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.

Every disadvantage has its advantage.

The hardest thing about an easy match is making a weak opponent play poor. A poor player isn't poor because he tends to kick the ball in his own goal. It's because when you put intense pressure on him, he loses control. So you have to increase the tempo of the game and he'll automatically give the ball away.

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.

I'm ex-player, ex-technical director, ex-coach, ex-manager, ex-honorary president. A nice list that once again shows that everything comes to an end.

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

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.'

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

Football is a game of mistakes. Whoever makes the fewest mistakes wins.

Every trainer talks about movement, about running a lot. I say don't run so much. Football is a game you play with your brain. You have to be in the right place at the right moment, not too early, not too late.

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.

YOU NEED BOTH QUALITY AND RESULTS. RESULTS WITHOUT QUALITY IS BORING; QUALITY WITHOUT RESULTS IS MEANINGLESS.

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.

In a way I'm probably immortal.

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

Before I make a mistake, I don't make that mistake.

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

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.

Playing against 10 is harder than playing against 11 players. You know why? The team with 11 will think "ok, we can take it easy now", while the team with 10 will think "We really have to work hard now."

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

Every advantage has its disadvantage.

When you're playing against a team that has two great central defenders, the best option is to play without a striker.

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

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.

You have got to shoot, otherwise you can't score.

Speed is often confused with insight. When I start running earlier than the others, I appear faster.

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

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

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

Footballers from the street are more important than trained coaches.

Actually I never make a mistake, because it takes a huge effort for me to make a mistake.

Football is simple but the hardest thing to do is play simple football.

There are very few players who know what to do when they're not marked. So sometimes you tell a player: that attacker is very good, but don't mark him.

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

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

One trophy is good, but two are better. That way, when a hero wears his medals on his chest, at least his steps are level as he walks by.

Coincidence is logical.

For the world of football, Messi is a treasure because he is role model for children around the world... Messi will be the player to win the most Ballons d'Or in history. He will win five, six, seven. He is incomparable. He's in a different league.

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.

The ball is an essential part of the game.

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

Italians can never win from you, but you can lose to them. (when asked about Ajax's chances in the 1995 Champs League final against AC Milan)