Saw yesterday also the 1978 Copa del Rey final by the way. Was interesting to see him as a defender in the second half although he was also helped by the fantastic Migueli next to him. Perhaps coincidence but all goals were scored in the first half. He was not at his best but I did not notice the frequent fouls, although most of them were not very rough.
One one day George Knobel assembled the players and said: “We’ll have to decide who’s captain”. To this day he insists that it was simply the club tradition: “It was the custom for many years. The assistant coach Bobby Haarms told me that every year it was the same system. I was not even in the room when they voted”. The names of the three candidates were written on the blackboard: Cruyff, Keizer and Hulshoff. No one voted for Hulshoff. Keizer received about 12 votes. Cruyff got between 3 and 7. Gerrie Muhren: “It was not a question of tradition. It was Knobel who said we’d have an election. It was never happened before, this was the first time. I played 9 years for Ajax and that was the only time we had an election. I voted for Johan because I knew that if we did not vote for him he would go to Barcelona and we would all have a problem. Some players said: ‘We can play without Johan.’ – there was a little bit of jealousy in it. The vote was the last drop for Johan”. Johnny Rep voted for Keizer: “We just wanted to take someone else.I think it broke something for Johan. That was it for him. I think Johan got only 2 or 3 voices”. Barry Hulshoff voted for Keizer: “Keizer thought more about the team so when things had to be done for the team Keizer was better. Johan was clearly the star – he did not the captaincy for that. But he misunderstood the election. He said: ‘You did not vote for me because you don’t like me’”. Jan Mulder: “After the meeting Cruyff went upstairs. At that time he had a room together with Heinz Stuy. Heinz and myself went upstairs and Johan was there. He said: “It’s OK”. But there was a phone hanging on the wall and we saw him go to the phone. He called his father-in-law; he was open about it. We heard him say: “You have to call Barcelona immediately. I am leaving here””. George Knobel: “I was not surprised when Cruyff left because I already knew for a long time that he would not stay at Ajax Everyone knew it. The election had nothing to do with that. Cruyff had the impression that the other players did not like him anymore. And that was right. The players DID NOT like him anymore because everybody was jealous. All the publicity was for Cruyff and some of the players thought ‘We are as good as Cruyff’ ”. Jan Mulder: “Players like Haan and Krol wanted to earn as much money as Cruyff did. There was a bit of jealousy but that is human nature”.
This has been researched quite a few times. It is now known from books like "1974 - we were the best" [title was by the way meant in a sarcastic fashion because the author tried to dispel the myth] and "Ajax 1966-1974" as well as "100 years Ajax" that Neeskens, A. Mühren, G. Mühren, Stuy, Blankenburg, Mulder and Cruijff himself voted for Cruijff. For the national team it was also crucial that Van Hanegem backed him without hesitations. Mulder, the brothers Mühren and Neeskens are until this day loyal followers of Cruijff and vice versa. Mulder is now a television personality. Here do both feature at one and the same table: [you'll not understand what they say but just as info; Mulder is a loyal supporter of Cruijff] Neeskens followed him to Barcelona and Arnold Mühren was his extension on the field when Cruijff was the coach of Ajax between 1985 and 1988. Suurbier, Haan, Keizer, Krol and Hulshoff voted with absolute certainty for Keizer. Of the others it is unclear - or debated - who abstained from voting or voted for Keizer. Haan started by the way the whole process with a thorny column about the second Bayern game, where Cruijff did not play in and even refused to travel to Munich.
Matches against top five sides (Ajax) 1964/1965 1. 22/11/1964 --- Ajax - PSV 5:0 [1] 2. 29/11/1964 --- Feyenoord - Ajax 9:4 3. 10/01/1965 --- Ajax - ADO 5:1 Note: assisters partially known/verified 1965/1966 4. 21/10/1965 --- DWS - Ajax 0:2 [2] 5. 28/11/1965 --- ADO - Ajax 2:3 1 assist 6. 09/01/1966 --- Feyenoord - Ajax 1:1 [1] 7. 20/03/1966 --- Go Ahead - Ajax 1:2 [1] 8. 09/04/1966 --- Ajax - DWS 2:1 9. 24/04/1966 --- Ajax - ADO 5:1 [2] 1 assist 10. 18/05/1966 --- Ajax - Feyenoord 2:0 [1] Note: assisters partially known/verified 1966/1967 11. 25/09/1966 --- Ajax - Sparta 5:0 [1] 12. 30/10/1966 --- Go Ahead - Ajax 2:3 [2] 13. 13/11/1966 --- Ajax - Feyenoord 5:0 [2] 1 assist 14. 12/02/1967 --- Sparta - Ajax 2:1 [1] 15. 19/03/1967 --- Ajax - Go Ahead 4:1 [1] 1 assist 16. 27/03/1967 --- Feyenoord - Ajax 1:1 17. 02/04/1967 --- Ajax - Feyenoord 3:1 [1] [Dutch Cup, 1st round] 18. 15/05/1967 --- Ajax - ADO 5:3 [2] 1 assist 19. 28/05/1967 --- Go Ahead - Ajax 1:2 (a.e.t.) [1] [Dutch Cup, sf] 1 assist Note: assisters partially known/verified 1967/1968 20. 13/08/1967 --- Ajax - Go Ahead 2:0 [1] 1 assist 21. 03/09/1967 --- Feyenoord - Ajax 1:0 22. 29/10/1967 --- Sparta - Ajax 1:0 23. 03/12/1967 --- ADO - Ajax 1:0 24. 17/12/1967 --- Go Ahead - Ajax 0:1 [1] 25. 10/03/1968 --- Ajax - Feyenoord 1:0 1 assist 26. 15/04/1968 --- Ajax - Sparta 3:0 1 assist 27. 26/05/1968 --- Ajax - ADO 2:1 1968/1969 28. 03/11/1968 --- FC Twente - Ajax 5:1 1 assist 29. 17/11/1968 --- Ajax - Feyenoord 0:1 30. 08/12/1968 --- PSV - Ajax 0:1 31. 05/01/1969 --- Ajax - Go Ahead 4:3 [2] 1 assist 32. 09/03/1969 --- Ajax - Feyenoord 1:2 [Dutch Cup, 3rd round] 33. 20/04/1969 --- Feyenoord - Ajax 1:1 34. 15/05/1969 --- Ajax - PSV 1:2 1969/1970 35. 24/08/1969 --- Sparta – Ajax 2:4 [1] 1 assist 36. 05/10/1969 --- Ajax – PSV 3:0 [1] 1 assist 37. 12/10/1969 --- FC Twente – Ajax 0:3 38. 02/11/1969 --- Feyenoord – Ajax 1:0 39. 25/02/1970 --- Ajax – Sparta 2:1 40. 30/03/1970 --- PSV – Ajax 1:3 41. 05/04/1970 --- Ajax – FC Twente 3:0 2 assists 42. 26/04/1970 --- Ajax – Feyenoord 3:3 [1] [some sources state 2 goals] 43. 14/05/1970 --- Ajax – FC Twente 4:0 [2] [Dutch Cup, semi-final] 1 assist 44. 27/05/1970 --- Ajax – PSV 2:0 [1] [Dutch Cup, final] 1970/1971 45. 30/10/1970 --- Ajax – PSV 1:0 46. 20/12/1970 --- Feyenoord – Ajax 1:1 47. 24/01/1971 --- Ajax – ADO 3:0 [1] 1 assist 48. 07/04/1971 --- Feyenoord – Ajax 1:2 [Dutch Cup, quar.-final] 1 assist 49. 18/04/1971 --- PSV – Ajax 0:3 [2] 50. 27/05/1971 --- Ajax – Feyenoord 1:3 1 assist 1971/1972 51. 15/08/1971 --- FC Twente – Ajax 0:2 1 assist 52. 22/08/1971 --- Ajax – FC Den Haag 1:0 1 assist 53. 29/08/1971 --- Sparta – Ajax 1:1 54. 07/11/1971 --- Ajax – Feyenoord 2:1 55. 18/12/1971 --- Ajax – FC Twente 1:0 56. 02/01/1972 --- FC Den Haag – Ajax 1:2 [1] 57. 16/01/1972 --- Ajax – Sparta 2:1 [1] 58. 15/04/1972 --- Feyenoord – Ajax 1:5 [2] 1 assist 59. 11/05/1972 --- Ajax – FC Den Haag 3:2 [1] [Dutch Cup, final] 1 assist 1972/1973 60. 17/09/1972 --- Feyenoord – Ajax 2:0 61. 21/10/1972 --- FC Twente – Ajax 0:1 [1] 62. 03/12/1972 --- Sparta – Ajax 3:1 63. 03/03/1973 --- Ajax – Feyenoord 2:1 64. 07/04/1973 --- Ajax – FC Twente 1:0 65. 21/04/1973 --- Ajax – FC Den Haag 5:0 [1] 1 assist 1981/1982 66. 06/12/1981 --- Ajax – Haarlem 4:1 [1] 1 assist 67. 18/04/1982 --- Ajax – PSV 3:0 68. 15/05/1982 --- Ajax – AZ67 3:2 1 assist 1982/1983 69. 12/09/1982 --- Ajax – Sparta 1:1 70. 28/11/1982 --- Feyenoord – Ajax 2:2 71. 23/01/1983 --- Ajax – FC Groningen 5:5 1 assist 72. 27/02/1983 --- Sparta – Ajax 1:1 73. 06/03/1983 --- Ajax – PSV 3:3 74. 30/03/1983 --- Ajax – PSV 2:0 [1] [Dutch Cup, semi] 75. 13/04/1983 --- PSV – Ajax (w. pens) 3:1 [Dutch Cup, semi] 76. 01/05/1983 --- Ajax – Feyenoord 3:3 76 matches, 41 goals, 27 assists ------- Cup overview: 1964/1965: Eliminated against RCH (2:0) in first round match, known for producing Johan Neeskens. Cruijff did not play. 1965/1966: Eliminated in quarter-final against Go Ahead Eagles (1:0). Cruijff did not play. Did play in the second round (Veendam; 7:0 win) and a few group stage matches [ link ]. 1966/1967: Won cup against NAC (2:1). Scored one goal (1:0), Piet Keizer had both assists. 1967/1968: Runner-up against ADO (2:1). Cruijff did not play, he was injured. Did also not play in semi-final, against Twente, which Ajax won with penalty-kicks (2:2 after 120 minutes). 1968/1969: Eliminated in third round against Feyenoord (1:2). Cruijff played. 1969/1970: Won cup against PSV (2:0). Cruijff scored one goal (2:0). 1970/1971: Won cup against Sparta (2:1). Cruijff caused penalty-kick (1:0). Had an assist on Neeskens (2:1). 1971/1972: Won cup against Den Haag (3:2). Scored one goal (1:0), caused a PK (2:0), had an assist on Keizer (3:1). 1972/1973: Eliminated in second round, in their first cup match against NAC (2:2, pens). Cruijff did not play. 1981/1982: Eliminated in third round against DS'79. Cruijff played full match. 1982/1983: Won cup. Scored one goal (1:3) and one assist (0:2). Cruijff played full match.
This is taken from the 'Brilliant Orange' book right? Here a different version of the episode in English: http://backpagefootball.com/johan-cruyff-the-total-voetballer/26050/ Notorious are the pre-season friendlies of 73/74.
Cruijff earned 90000 guilders. Haan and Krol each 50000 guilders. That are not really unbalanced proportions, compared with nowadays. Certainly if you think about the fact that Haan and Krol did not appear in Ballon d'Or lists. Besides, at that times the eventual bonuses levelled out a bit the differences in income. What made the difference were his sponsor-contracts. Although not anywhere near the regions of other world superstars at that time, he earned a lot more than his other team-mates. The second greatest star Keizer made a conscious choice in evading the spotlights; rarely gave interviews and so on. Another thing is that he also negotiated income improvements for his team-mates because he felt that his fame was based on Ajax and Ajax was not only Cruijff. In some ways the jealousy was a bit strange. Cruijff did some things for his team-mates, which was widely appreciated until the spring of 1973; his wage was not disproportionally higher and the second best player explicitly evaded the spotlights. Perhaps the causes will never become entirely clear.
Here once more his stats for the national team: 1. 07/09/1966 --- Netherlands - Hungary 2:2 [1] [Euro-qualifiers] 2. 06/11/1966 --- Netherlands - Czechoslovakia 1:2 [Friendly] 3. 13/09/1967 --- Netherlands - East-Germany 1:0 [1] [Euro-qualifiers] 4. 04/10/1967 --- Denmark - Netherlands 3:2 [Euro-qualifiers] 5. 01/11/1967 --- Netherlands - Yugoslavia 1:2 [Friendly] 6. 01/05/1968 --- Poland - Netherlands 0:0 [Friendly] 7. 26/03/1969 --- Netherlands - Luxembourg 4:0 [1] [WC-qualifiers] 8. 07/09/1969 --- Poland – Netherlands 2:1 [WC-qualifiers] 1 assist 9. 05/11/1969 --- Netherlands – England 0:1 [Friendly] 10. 14/01/1970 --- England – Netherlands 0:0 [Friendly] 11. 02/12/1970 --- Netherlands – Romania 2:0 [2] [Friendly] 12. 24/02/1971 --- Netherlands – Luxembourg 6:0 [2] [Euro-qualifiers] 2 assists 13. 10/10/1971 --- Netherlands – East-Germany 3:2 [Euro-qualifiers] 3 assists 14. 17/11/1971 --- Netherlands – Luxembourg 8:0 [3] [Euro-qualifiers] 2 assists 15. 01/12/1971 --- Netherlands – Scotland 2:1 [1] [Friendly] 16. 16/02/1972 --- Greece – Netherlands 0:5 [2] [Friendly] 17. 03/05/1972 --- Netherlands – Peru 3:0 [Friendly] [caused also PK] 18. 30/08/1972 --- Czechoslovakia – Netherlands 1:2 [1] [Friendly] 19. 01/11/1972 --- Netherlands – Norway 9:0 [2] [WC-qualifiers] 1 assist 20. 19/11/1972 --- Belgium – Netherlands 0:0 [WC-qualifiers] 21. 02/05/1973 --- Netherlands – Spain 3:2 [1] [Friendly] 22. 22/08/1973 --- Netherlands – Iceland 5:0 [2] [WC-qualifiers] 1 assist 23. 29/08/1973 --- Iceland – Netherlands 1:8 [2] [WC-qualifiers] 2 assists 24. 12/09/1973 --- Norway – Netherlands 1:2 [1] [WC-qualifiers] 1 assist 25. 10/10/1973 --- Netherlands – Poland 1:1 [Friendly] 1 assist 26. 18/11/1973 --- Netherlands – Belgium 0:0 [WC-qualifiers] 27. 27/03/1974 --- Netherlands – Austria 1:1 [Friendly] 28. 26/05/1974 --- Netherlands – Argentina 4:1 [Friendly] 2 assists 29. 15/06/1974 --- Uruguay – Netherlands 0:2 [WC, 1st grp stage] 30. 19/06/1974 --- Netherlands – Sweden 0:0 [WC, 1st grp stage] 31. 23/06/1974 --- Netherlands – Bulgaria 4:1 [WC, 1st grp stage] 1 assist 32. 26/06/1974 --- Netherlands – Argentina 4:0 [2] [WC, 2nd grp stage] 1 assist 33. 30/06/1974 --- East-Germany – Netherlands 0:2 [WC, 2nd grp stage] 34. 03/07/1974 --- Netherlands – Brazil 2:0 [1] [WC, 2nd grp stage] 1 assist 35. 07/07/1974 --- West-Germany – Netherlands 2:1 [WC, final] 36. 04/09/1974 --- Sweden – Netherlands 1:5 [1] [Friendly] 1 assist 37. 25/09/1974 --- Finland – Netherlands 1:3 [2] [Euro-qualifiers] 38. 20/11/1974 --- Netherlands – Italy 3:1 [2] [Euro-qualifiers] 39. 10/09/1975 --- Poland – Netherlands 4:1 [Euro-qualifiers] 1 assist 40. 15/10/1975 --- Netherlands – Poland 3:0 [Euro-qualifiers] 41. 25/04/1976 --- Netherlands – Belgium 5:0 [Euro, quarter-final] 3 assists 42. 22/05/1976 --- Belgium – Netherlands 1:2 [1] [Euro, quarter-final] 1 assist 43. 16/06/1976 --- Czechoslovakia – Netherlands 3:1 (a.e.t.) [Euro, semi-final] 44. 13/10/1976 --- Netherlands – Northern-Ireland 2:2 [1] [WC-qualifiers] 45. 09/02/1977 --- England – Netherlands 0:2 [Friendly] 46. 26/03/1977 --- Belgium – Netherlands 0:2 [1] [WC-qualifiers] 1 assist 47. 12/10/1977 --- Northern-Ireland – Netherlands 0:1 [WC-qualifiers] 48. 26/10/1977 --- Netherlands – Belgium 1:0 [WC-qualifiers] 48 matches, 33 goals, 26 assists Competitive matches only: 32 matches, 25 goals, 22 assists Friendly matches: 16 matches, 8 goals, 4 assists I'll now begin with his last season, 1983/1984.
Ernst Happel in 1978 about Cruijff: "I am pretty optimistic about a future after Cruijff. Yes, you have as small country a population disadvantage and you are not a 'magnet' [pull-factor] towards other high-skilled people too. But enough talent exists in the nation to be present at tournaments after Cruijff. Also remind that a player like him is only born once in every 100 years. To phrase it exactly: others are just as good if not a better player than him but someone like him only surfaces once in every 100 years." He also said: "The lack of an economy of scale makes nations like Austria and Holland inventive."
Some more pictures, related to the article posted on the previous page: [Cruijff as 'technical advisor' next to Beenhakker, 1980] [Cruijff as 'technical advisor' in the infamous Twente match, November 1980] [idem] [idem] [peace, January 1981] [idem; Beenhakker, Cruijff and Haarms] [comeback Cruijff is announced in a press-conference, 1981] [idem] [idem]
[idem] [Cruijff with coach De Mos] [Cruijff injured in the PSV match in 1982; did not play second half] [Celebrations in the 3:3 match against Feyenoord in 1983, sealed the title]
De Mos 30 years later: Cruijff opens new homes in 'his' borough Betondorp, Amsterdam: [Cruijff against students on a university: "Football is simple, therefore it is not a science. But most do not see the basics."; 1985] [Cruijff and Van Hanegem support the football philosophy of Wiel Coerver because "it saves football", 1983] [at the testimonial game of Van Hanegem, 1983] [idem] [Football club Willem II is threatened with starvation, Cruijff helps them] [idem] [the end] [the end]
Nothing in particular about Ajax other than issues with his transfer. It would cost Barcelona 120 million pesetas, but they only wanted to go no higher than 80 million. There was also the issue that Ajax didn’t want to release him until December 1st. Cruyff said he would take the case to the tribunal, and if the transfer was unsuccessful, he would hang up his boots! But everything eventually worked out well.
La Liga: 20/03/1977 --- Real Burgos 1-0 Barcelona Headline “La Liga is lost” “Even Cruyff missed a penalty in the 89th minute” There was no doubt that for Barcelona to continue having chances in their aspirations for the tittle they were obligated to win. “This Barcelona that had played like a champ in the first half of the season simply has dropped” “Michels had his team play with too much caution. The fact that Burgos, a team fighting in the relegation zone was able to control most of the match and take it to Barcelona, is unacceptable for a team that has aspirations to win the league.” It was a dull first half with a slippery pitch because of the rain. After Burgos took the lead in the 46th min Barcelona couldn’t recover; they seemed tired and had no response. To make matters worse Cruyff missed a PK in the last minute which would have tied the game. But the decision was very controversial by the ref which would have consequences after the match. “Cruyff played mostly on the left wing and produced about 3 crosses in the whole game. He was anonymous through large phases of the match. It is very little for a player of his class” After the game there was a brawl with the home fans and the ref. Even the chairman of the home side went into the stadium and attacked the ref. Michels: “It looked like a fight with lions and gladiators. The PK miss of Cruyff shows that he’s human” Real Burgos manager: “There’s no right that Barcelona is always protected. Cruyff and Michels are instigators, always talking to the refs. They are responsible for these things that occur”
That Burgos match is well known. According to Dutch accounts the violence on and around the pitch was extreme. According to Cruijff himself, he was harassed in the players tunnel. The match was also played in muddy and rainy circumstances. The shot went on the post. He also shot in (successfully) a penalty kick in the Sevilla match of March 13 1977. That is confirmed by your reports. However, according to my sources primary PK-takers as Neeskens missed two/three other PKs before him.
Arsenij posted a few good quotes. Infamous are the pre-season friendlies. Such as before the Metz game where it was unsure whether the match could continue! Or the match against Spartak Trnava. 3:0 ahead after 50 minutes, lost with 3:5. Remarkable was though that they could put away the infighting for the Tottenham game in 1973 (08/08/1973), the farewell match of 'Mister Ajax' Sjaak Swart. Cruijff scored two goals and two assists in one half but the whole team played OK. Cruijff wanted to show that they, the players, made a mistake but they had the 'class' and manners too to understand that Swart deserved a proper farewell. Swart was and is a symbol of Ajax, some say the symbol. A product of Amsterdam and of Jewish descent; also widely appreciated among supporters of other clubs. Nice person. Anyhow, I found a good interview on youtube, with a Belgian journalist. I'll translate it. Video also has a few nice football scenes during the interview. He has a few very good quotes. So I decide to translate it.
Thanks. I have something more. I think it is in total 8 or 9 parts. It is a long interview. Talks later on a bit about himself as footballer.