Did Johan Cruijff cost Holland two World Cups?

Discussion in 'The Beautiful Game' started by Gregoriak, Oct 22, 2004.

  1. Gregoriak

    Gregoriak BigSoccer Supporter

    Feb 27, 2002
    Munich
    I found this article at planetworldcup http://www.planetworldcup.com/GUESTS/ruud20010525.html

    The author is Dutch, and he comes to the conclusion 'yes'...

    Johan Cruijff cost Holland two World Cups

    Holland has been known for an attacking, entertaining style of football throughout the last 30 years. One of the masterminds behind their style was Johan Cruijff, the elegant dribbler and good finisher, who also set up attacks while showing his teammates where to go. What a blessing to have him around? By no means! The presence of Cruijff, and most of all his struggle for power behind the scenes, cost Holland dear. To be more exact, two World Cup titles! On the field, Johan Cruijff has been one of the best things that could ever happen to Dutch football, off the field he has been the worst by far.

    Jan van Beveren, the extremely talented PSV-goalkeeper, was a man who played for the crowd. A wizard, capable of doing magical things between the posts. The best Holland had ever had, by a mile. Cruijff and Van Beveren, the biggest row in Dutch football history. With the most dramatic consequences. They must have been enemies since they first met. The tall and flexible Van Beveren opposed very heavily to all privileges Cruijff had in the Dutch squad: arriving late for trainingcamps, not having to play at all because of business-affaires, smoking in the dressingroom. And, like so often in Holland, it was about money. Van Beveren, not afraid of standing up against the emancipated Ajax-players, said: we're in it together, everyone has to work for a good result, so we all have the same rights and the same duties. But that was not the case in the Holland-team, Cruijff was the "animal to be created equal, but a little more equal than the others".

    When Van Beveren got injured badly in 1973, Cruijff immediately took his chance to get rid of this powerthreatening teammate. With his big influence on coaches, he talked Amsterdam-born Jan Jongbloed into the squad for the World Cup 1974. He was a rather mediocre, elderly goalkeeper who previously had played just one cap, as a substitute in 1962. Of course Jongbloed, who never in his life had expected this invitation, gladly accepted a role in Cruijff's shadow, where Van Beveren - with the world at his feet - wanted to win the title and to get global recognition for the superb goalie he was. With both Cruijff and Van Beveren in the team, it had been to be seen who would have been considered as the greatest star in the Dutch team. Cruijff knew it, couldn't accept another superman beside him and persuaded coach Rinus Michels to draft in Jongbloed. Van Beveren still could have made it to the finals, since he had recovered in may. He just needed one or two weeks to regain match-fitness. But Michels urged him to play a meaningless testgame against Hamburger SV, or to stay at home. Other more or less injured players got the chance to prove their fitness until a couple of days before travelling to Germany. Van Beveren, had he gotten the same opportunity, would have been fit for the first match against Uruguay. It wasn't to be, Holland lost the final after conceding two soft goals.

    Between 1974 and 1978, Cruijff again managed to keep his big rival out of the team. Because Van Beveren was in his best form they just couldn't ignore him, again the were some quarrels (Van Beveren left the team in 1975 but came back later) and in the end he was left on the bench behind three different goalkeepers. When he asked Jan Zwartkruis why he had been picked at all when it was clear that he would never play, the coach said: "Jan, don't blame, I am being manipulated. I have no chance." Cruijff had threatened never to play for Holland again, with Van Beveren in the same team. And the Dutch people would never have forgiven the coach, who let Cruijff go. Van Beveren knew enough, withdrew from the Dutch team after 32 caps. It was 1977, the world's best goalkeeper was just 29 years of age.

    Jan van Beveren is the best goalkeeper the world has ever seen. But he's never recognized as the best, and that is mainly because he never made it to the stage of the World Cup. And that is because he wasn't a part of the Ajax-clan of the seventies. Everybody may say I'm crazy, I don't mind. I can judge him, I've seen many games of him, I can compare him to other goalies and .... I have a sense of soccer. He could stop shots like I've never seen anybody doing, and in a majestical style. He would have saved Müllers soft shot easily, with both eyes closed and with his left hand bound on his back. He would have had a fair chance to save Breitner's weak penalty-kick. Don't ever think that Van Beveren would have allowed Kempes and Bertoni to squeeze through and take Argentina to the worldtitle. With Jan van Beveren as their goalkeeper, Holland would have been World Cup winners in 1974 and 1978. Cruijff also wanted to be a world champion, but only if he could be the one and only star himself. And it proved to be not enough.
     
  2. Teso Dos Bichos

    Teso Dos Bichos Red Card

    Sep 2, 2004
    Purged by RvN
    That's a very interesting article. If all of the facts are true, then that puts Cruijff down a few rungs in my estimation. I've heard of Jan van Beveren, but I haven't seen enough of him to say whether he was the best or not. Let's see what others have to say.
     
  3. unclesox

    unclesox BigSoccer Supporter

    Mar 8, 2003
    209, California
    Club:
    FC Barcelona
    FYI, here's a link to (what I think is) a neat web page I found by accident. It's dedicated to the '74 Dutch World Cup squad. On the left side of the page is a link to similar page on the '78 World Cup squad.

    http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/~goldkeep/Holland74/index.htm

    In the "qualification" section, the author briefly mentions van Beveren's absence from the squad that went to Germany:

    "Of those who played in the qualifiers, several would not appear in the tournament proper.... Regular goalkeeper Jan van Beveren of PSV Eindhoven would also be absent during the tournament for reasons which partly involved injury but were allegedly more to do with his uncomfortable relationship with Cruyff."
     
  4. Dr. Wankler

    Dr. Wankler Member+

    May 2, 2001
    The Electric City
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    I think having the misfortune of running into the host nation in back-to-back World Cup Championship matches had a lot more to do with it.
     
  5. tpmazembe

    tpmazembe Member

    Jun 13, 2002
    The Midfield (S.Fla)
    Very interesting article indeed. If - big "if" -this is so, it could not have helped Holland; whether it explains their defeats is another matter.

    We see time and again that many of the greats had big egos and that these sort of "crowd-outs" of potential teammates have occured through footballing history (DiStefano/Didi, Beckenbauer/Netzer, Maradona/Pasarella).

    As we discussed in the Draft of Drafts thread, Johan is culpable for letting his teammates down at WC'78 by pulling out under some rather dubious pretext.
     
  6. tedwar

    tedwar Member

    Jun 24, 1999
    Richmond, CA-EastBay
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    How is 'I don't want to go to Argentina' dubious?

    He helped them qualify and from what I understand, was always clear (for Cruyff) that he wasn't going to Argentina.

    I think Dr Wankler is a lot closer to the truth here.

    If Rep's (??) shot from a tough angle goes in, do they even get out of the stadium alive?

    Tony
     
  7. tpmazembe

    tpmazembe Member

    Jun 13, 2002
    The Midfield (S.Fla)
    Its dubious because he intially claimed it was as a protest against the dictatorship, and several years later articles came out citing his wife's unhapiness with "shenanigans" on the team being the real reason. Someone with more insight should jump in and help clarify; but either way, did he go through the qualifications with the forewarning "If we qualify, I will not serve" ?

    If your best player and captain leaves prior to the cup it has to have an effect on your team. I don't think it was positive...but who knows...
     
  8. tpmazembe

    tpmazembe Member

    Jun 13, 2002
    The Midfield (S.Fla)
    It becomes more fascinating the closer you look. Cryuff did indeed participate in the WC'78 Qualifiers http://www.rsssf.com/tables/78qual.html.

    Did he really indicate that his participation stopped at the qualifiers? If he did, why on earth would the Dutch federation go along with that? Would it not have been better to wean the team away from him sooner rather than later?

    Any Dutch football experts out there to help enlighten?
     
  9. OmiKell

    OmiKell New Member

    May 2, 2004
    Tarrytown/Luxemburg
    Netherlands national sport: blaming each other.

    Holland arrogance DID cost 4 World Cups and few other Euros. Successively, Gullit/Koeman/Rijkaard and Davids/Seedorf/De Boer(s) teams were the best in the world. They never managed to win anything big (Except Euro 88) and they even not qualified for Japan 2002.

    I'm always disappointed by dutch team's lack of professionalism.
     
  10. ruudboy

    ruudboy New Member

    Jul 6, 2000
    Sunnyvale
    The 88 team was better,with better stars and better attitudes.
     
  11. dor02

    dor02 Member

    Aug 9, 2004
    Melbourne
    Club:
    UC Sampdoria
    Nat'l Team:
    Italy
    That's true. They looked like a team that wanted to win.
     
  12. dor02

    dor02 Member

    Aug 9, 2004
    Melbourne
    Club:
    UC Sampdoria
    Nat'l Team:
    Italy
    Cruyff is just a guy with too many problems. He is just plain nuts. Jongbloed was a dud. It wouldn't have made a difference if Van Beveren was in. Every Dutch player wants things to go his way and they all have an idiotic mentality. That's what had cost them in 74. In 1978 it was just bad luck that Rensenbrink's shot hit a post.
     
  13. Excape Goat

    Excape Goat Member+

    Mar 18, 1999
    Club:
    Real Madrid
     
  14. BongartzUndRivera

    Sep 24, 2004
    NYC
    Club:
    SS Lazio Roma
    Based on the article my conclusion was NO for WC74, because I have no idea how the author could judge the gaols to be a goalie's mistake.
    The autho probably never played football himself.

    For WC78, YES not because of van Beveren, but because Krrayffy boycotted the WC. But who knows like at EM76, the Dutch might not even made the final with Krrayffy.

    No doubt van Beveren was a great goalie (for myself, he was the best goalie I've ever seen), but there wasn't a huge problem with Jongblood at the World Cups.
     
  15. Sempre

    Sempre ****************** Member+

    Mar 4, 2005
    NYC
    Club:
    AS Roma
    Nat'l Team:
    Italy
    There is actually a long history of talented Dutch players
    spurning the national team. Simon Kuper writes about it in
    his book Football Against the Enemy.

    There he says it is a trait of Holland, an opnionated Calvinist
    country, to have much in-fighting and arguing on the NT.
    In the words of Cruyff himself: "The Dutch are pig-headed."

    So what has cost Holland so much glory, I think, is the
    extreme individuality of the players, who seem to have
    little interest in uniting for the sake of the country.
     
  16. Real Ray

    Real Ray Member

    May 1, 2000
    Cincinnati, OH
    Club:
    Real Madrid
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I'll have to watch Muller's goal again to see if the keeper could have done better. You can't blame him for not stopping the penalty.

    I do think some of the blame does fall on Cryuff for 1974-but because of what transpired in the match.

    After the penalty which he set up, Vogts took him out of the match physically and mentally. Those who have the match tape, watch the end of the first half where as the go off the pitch, he chases down the referee, going on and on.
     
  17. Bertje

    Bertje New Member

    Nov 10, 2004
    Leiden
    But who needs cups when you allready know you are the best?
     
  18. Dead Fingers

    Dead Fingers Moderator
    Staff Member

    Jan 22, 2004
    St. Paul, Minnesota
    Club:
    Minnesota United FC
    You keep telling yourself that. :p
     
  19. arthur d

    arthur d Member

    Oct 17, 2004
    Cambridge England
    Exactly. That's what we Germans think. We won so many things, so we don't have to prove anything anymore. We can just take it easy for a while, not stressing about winning tournaments, just picking them up when they come along. :)
     
  20. Dead Fingers

    Dead Fingers Moderator
    Staff Member

    Jan 22, 2004
    St. Paul, Minnesota
    Club:
    Minnesota United FC
    All we got is a lousy Gold Cup. I don't think we can brag on that one :rolleyes: But you know, jrod is starting to persuade me that US dominance is in the works :D
     
  21. CoAdriaanse

    CoAdriaanse New Member

    Mar 30, 2005
    On A Moving Platform
    i'm glad van basten is head coach now...he's leaving all the stars out of the team...and bringing in young creative team players that dont have an ego thats bigger than there talent, and who can give up there induvidual qualities for the team. the defence and midfield are tops the only problem is a left back...the attack needs to find a final form(ruud doesn't seem to fit in )...another great thing is that we have found a replacement for robben ,babel....and he's only 18 years old...he's also a lot stronger physicle and has a better technique...only he's not that fast.
    maybe this team has less quality induvidual...but more as a team that gives us a bigger chance to show something on WC 2008....
     
  22. PsychedelicCeltic

    PsychedelicCeltic New Member

    Dec 10, 2003
    San Francisco/London
    I'm a big Dutch soccer fan. I have some Dutch relos (my aunt's lived in the Hague since 1972) and I've been innudated with Ajax and Oranje kit since I was a little kid. So from that perspective..

    Cruijff helped cost the team two World Cups, but not necessarily through the non-selection of van Beveren. From what I have heard, Jongbloed was obviously a surprise decision, but actually played rather well during the tournament.

    And of course, in 78, he just flat out wasn't there. He may have been, and probably was, a colossal jerk, but he's Johan bloody Cruijff. The Netherlands probably win if he's in the team.
     
  23. Bertje

    Bertje New Member

    Nov 10, 2004
    Leiden
    have you ever seen him play? :D
     
  24. CoAdriaanse

    CoAdriaanse New Member

    Mar 30, 2005
    On A Moving Platform
    robben is faster...
     
  25. Bertje

    Bertje New Member

    Nov 10, 2004
    Leiden
    Not sure about that, but even if Robben is faster Babel is stil fast.
     

Share This Page