When Johan was informed that Ajax wouldn’t be renewing his contract at the end of the 1983 season, he signed for their arch rivals Feyernord. He played almost every game, won the league (first for Feryernord in a long time), the Dutch cup and Dutch player of the year. Then he retired.

Joe: why should I care about Johann Cruyff? Alex: he was instrumental in shaping the way football would be played forever Joe: meh Alex: he also lost money in a pig farming scam Joe: TELL ME MOAR!

The main thing about Cruyff is he could afford himself a sandwich he saw in a sandwich shop without having to resort to eating pogs.

There is a quote By Johan Cruyff that changed my football life Forever, which is "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 you do during those 87 minutes when you do not have the ball. That is what determines whether you’re a good player or not" This quote made me realize how so important is playing off-ball.

Why should I care about literally the most important person of the modern age of football

"Playing football is simple but playing simple football is difficult"- Cruyff

In his last season as a player, 36yr old Cruyff joined Feyernoord and helped them win their first Dutch League in 10 years…he did this to spite Ajax.. Not only a Great Player but also a Bad@ss..

Love Alex’ knowledge mixed with Joe’s personality. This series has been very fun to watch.

Maybe a bit biased as a Dutch guy but Cruijff is by far the most important and influential person in football history

Cruyff, Pele, Gerd Muller, Puskas, Di Stefano... the statistics of those guys are unreal. I don't know if Cruyff was the greatest player ever, but he was definitely the smartest. I mean, he was the embodiment and torch bearer of what became modern football. Also, he created modern Barcelona. The "Barcelona philosophy" is basically the Ajax philosophy brought by Cruyff. That's why I found it pathetic when some Barca fanboys were attacking Cruyff when he said, years ago, it made sense to sell Messi at the time. Considering the fact Barca haven't won anything in Europe since then and got into financial problems, he clearly knew what he was talking about (with all due respect to Messi being phenomenal).

All Joe want's is for Alex to tell him stories , all Alex does is talk about numbers and symmetricality and asymmetricality. Me like.

I am old and lucky enough to have seen Maradona, Best, Moore, Keegan, Zidane, Gascoigne and Cruyff play live. Cruyff was second to only Maradona in the way he could completely run a game. Immense footballer !

If you love football, you'll obviously love Cruyff, guaranteed.

Joe's descent into madness is amazing. Thanks for making my summer better, TIFO people!

This is a guy who literally made a formation by himself (the 343 diamond) to counter the opposition 442 and 433 popular back then

The Gospel of Johan "If you play for ball possession you don't have to defend. Cause there is only one ball." "Experience. You’ve either got it or you don't." "The average of a team is determined by its weakest player." "If you give Italians one opportunity, they score two goals" "I am seldom in error, because I find it difficult to make mistakes." "The difference between right and wrong is often no more than five meters." "The simpler the better, because the fewer options you give to a player, the higher the chance that he will be doing the right thing." "I absolutely hate a player that moves, but doesn't know where to." "People say life is a flow. That's correct. When I tried to spit against the wind recently, it landed in my own face." "We did fantastic, simply because we couldn't do any better!" "Well, the ball has to go between those two posts. As a minimum." "Play the game as it should be played. Football is made for the spectators. They most enjoy seeing an attack, so you have to attack." "Am I dictatorial? No, I'm not, but the players have to do what I say." "I don't believe, because I'm not a believer, but I do think that there is something else and therefore I believe in the thing that I think is there" "Well, if you understood football, YOU would be sitting here" "I have got to be able to trust the people in my team, and they have to challenge me. I have no use for brownnosers" “I'm still convinced that the way that I do it is how it has to be done, otherwise I wouldn't be doing it.” "If you see a player sprint, then he has started too late" (at Barcelona) “Before the match 22 players are praying, I never understood that. If there was a God and he would treat everyone equal, every match would end up a draw" "We started searching for the victory and then you always automatically find it.” "I wasn't there just like that when I was 17, falling out of the sky! I was there already when I was 14, stealing the bikes of Ajax' first team. I didn't look up to them, I knew I was going to be one of them, sooner or later." "Ajax is a fantastic club! If you make sure that you're in charge, otherwise it is impossible to work there" "I always take decisions myself. If at Ajax they tell me "You're too old" then I say "You don't decide that, that's my decision" "I've got an office in Barcelona. But you'll never find me there, cause I don't like paper." "Italians? They can not win from you. But you CAN loose from them." "Often something has to happen, before something happens" “Playing football is very simple. But playing simple football is the hardest thing there is.” "I love working! As long as it is work that I love ..." (on TV football analysis) "When I come home from a TV talk show, Danny (wife) always asks "what did you say?". Then I reply "For the life of me, I can't remember" "I'm always against everything. Until I take a decision, then I'm in favor of it. Seems logical to me ..." "A rich club? I've never seen a bag of money score a goal" "It's better to go down with your own vision, then with the vision of somebody else" "First point, there is only one ball so you've got to have that one, but the essence is: what are you then going to do with that ball?" (at Barcelona) "Now there is unity, everybody does what I'm asking for. That's because they're not Dutchmen, that always say as soon as I take a breath 'Yes, but ...' ” "The time that I carried money is long behind me. I always bring my name and my face." "Misfortune is what you get with a negative attitude and luck is what you get with a positive attitude” "What do you prefer? One good elevensome or eleven good onesomes?" "You're not getting it? Well, if I'd wanted you to understand it, I would have explained it better" "The dot has to be put there on the i where it belongs!" "If you're not there somewhere, then you are either too early or you are too late." "People have to drive faster. Then they are quicker off the roads and there are fewer traffic jams.” "If I ask you to show what you can do, you will show me. But then I also know what you can not do, because you're not showing me that." "Money that you earn after your 30th birthday is what you save. What you earn before is what you spend." "Coincidence is logical" - Johan Cruijff - 1947 - 2016

ABC - Ajax Barcelona Cruyff - is one of the best football books of all time. The new Simon Kuper book also contains amazing passages about Cruyff. In terms of his combined playing, managerial career, his influence on countless clubs and fundamental changes to Barcelona and Ajax, he is the most important football man of all time (in Europe). When he had two goals in a game he would deliberately aim for the post or bar, because he saw more beauty in the drama of that than in the pure success. He was unbelievable.

Landing his closing statement on the zero marker makes Alex sort of a Johan Cruyff of argumentation

People don't realise this at the moment but he's actually one of the greatest players of all time. He's in my top 6. He is one of the few players who single handedly has a major influence on the performance of a team.

"He was a renegade?" There was a fascist dictatorship back then in Spain and the Catalan language and Catalan names were forbidden. He calls his son Jordi, the Catalan version of 'jorge', after the patron saint of Catalonia Sant Jordi. So I guess so. I'm actually quite impressed with the deeper understanding of his role in Dutch society and Dutch football. The sixties had been swining very much in the Netherlands but football as a working class sport was still pretty hierarchical and only recently professional. The Dutch had been looking up and copying English hoofball for a very long time with the managers often being 2nd tier Englishmen. That changed a bit with Surinamese players with Brazilian flair coming in since the 50's, but an own Dutch style started with Cruijff and Michels. I believe still the Dutch do individuality within the collective better than anyone. If one player scores a hattrick but another one who didn't score is MotM big chance it was either a Dutch team or a Dutch player. 3 European cups (ECI's) is indeed impressive, especially when you realize that already back then Europe's giants had 5 to 10 times more to spend on salary and transfers than Ajax. He was also a bit of style icon like Beckham for a while and he introduced the car lease into the Netherlands in the contract negotiations with Citroen for his Citroen-Maserati, which he drove for free. That's just one of many examples of him just doing things his own way and not caring about how things were used to be done.

prolific uploads from Tifo, far exceeding xU, love it

when i was a young lad playing football, in my mind i *was* a combination of Cruyff & Spurs era Modric

If you’re having a difficult time caring about Cruyff, you should probably shift to watching baseball instead

About JC coaching capabilities. Around 1981 JC was playing with the Washington Diplomats. Living in the suburbia, he would watch his 7 year old son Jordi kicking a ball with his friends. One day JC saw a boy standing aside, not playing with the rest. JC approached the boy and noticed he had Down syndrome. JC fetched a ball and showed the boy how to kick it, how to run, where to run. For one hour. Next time JC went to watch his son play, the boy with Down syndrome was not standing at the side anymore. He was running and playing and kicking with the rest of the boys.

"Why?" Always trust a person with a Kashima Antlers jersey. That’s why.

The mutual hatred between Cruyff and Van Gaal is another interesting point imo.

I love this series, it is very informative and really fun to see someone got swayed on football topics, great job Tifo as usual

Things I would've mentioned: 1. The guy used to smoke cigarettes during half time in the dressing room. 2. He transformed Barca: is Guardiola's main inspiration and brought total football to Barca 3. He has amazing sayings in Dutch which the Dutch started calling ''Cruijffiaans''. Like it was an entire new language. 4. He was unintentionally funny, also due to his sayings 5. He was an incredible player with amazing technique, dribbles, vision and passing.

Theirs never been a more influential person in football, a lot of tactics employed by Pep today inspire the new generation of coaches, managers and tactics but nearly everything Pep learned he learned from Cruyff while playing for him at Barca in the early 90's Many tactical applications in football today that people think are modern were actually orchestrated by Cruyff 30 years ago, like the full backs tucking into midfield & the false 9 Cryuff was a football genius

Greatest of all time, reinvented the sport

without Johann,Barca wouldnt win any champions leagues or dominate football in any form.Gracias Johann!

I suspect the care-o-meter peaked when Joe repeated "Blankenhorst", with a look on his face remining me of Homer Simpson "mm donuts"

Cruff was not only a player but also the whole enitre ecosystem of modern football He is the genesis of the modern football He created a legacy which will always be remembered by all for the beautiful game

Keep this series coming its amazing

Loving tifo these days. Super fun and unique vids

Most Influential person in football especially on the old/modern era..

Johan Cruyff’s Period at Barca is maybe the most interesting: *After 14 years of not winning a title, he delivers them one. *shamed Real Madrid at bernabeu 0-5 * UN MOMENTO DADO (as a manager) legendary quote for Catalans * Named his son after the saint of Barcelona, people would really give him a free bread in Brcelona.

That Kashima Antlers kit is fresh

I absolutely love this series. I also love Cruyff incidentally.

It's nice to see you guys play with new formats and good to see more faces and hear more voices than just Joe's. And of course the Total Philosopher talked about caught my attention, but the delivery of the video could use some improvement for sure. Why just a silly thumb up from Joe after the 7 min outlining by the other guy? Why not give a proper reaction, make this more exciting. The idea works, but this needs refinement guys. Dank je wel anyway.

I can't keep up with the number of amazing videos that are being released every day! My performance at work is suffering because of it 👌👌👌

I really like this format guys, I think it better fits with alex's temperament. I mean he is a lot more interesting to listen when he talks about those things than when he does general tactics explainations (in which JJ is excellent). Not that it wasn't interesting, but he didn't seem to be very comfortable face to face with the camera. That said continue doing what you do guys it's great :)

Joe has the greatest character arc period

Video suggestion: The story of the "german Messi" Max Meyer. Where did it all go wrong for the Schalke wonderkid? How did a player with the world on his feet and on the brink of superstardom collapse into obscurity?

Did Joe really need some convincing to actually care about Johan Cruyff....

One of my favorite series!

Top series this, lads :) Cruyff was a renegade

Football need more guys like Cruyff who did things the way he wanted.

I could easily have made it through the full 10 minutes on this, love the format but please don't keep cutting it down on the time limit!

Thanks for the vid

Always used to use the badge on the top Alex is wearing on Fifa. Niche

Johan grew up without a father. He pretty much grew up in Ajax. The organization pretty much taught him to be who he was.

great video!

I love this channel!!!

Didn't know y'all watched the J-League, nice to see the Antlers jersey. Also, could y'all make a video on the J-League and the Thai League?

Kashima Antlers shirt, w number too! Respect!

I love how the time limit is getting less each episode. I believe it is a metaphor for the fact that all time will eventually run out and everything, including football, will end.

Dear Tifo, Considering your great love of tactics, perhaps an episode about Ernst Happel might be a good idea. Either here at TifoIRL or at the regular Tifo channel.

Both Johan and Alex deserved more time for this one 😂😭

No, not the best - but definitely in the conversation... Top five!!!

Read his book! Good read . True trailblazer regarding sponsorship etc....one of the 1st to have a representative, well his wife's dad was his manager

Alex has known Joe for so so long and they have that special bond that only the closest of mates have meaning that Alex knows Joes character and what makes him tick, despite this he didn't lead with the pig farm...

How can you not appreciate what Cruyff did for the game??? Cmon Joe how can you be a football literate person and not have any sort of appreciation for the impact he had on the game. He was the Messi/Pele/Maradonna of his era. His impact on FC Barcelona was more than scoring and creating hundreds of goals for them as a player. Messi’s schooling at la masia would not be what it was without cruyff’s influence on their football and youth development. Messi was the perfect player for that football play style. The coach that helped Messi reach his full Potential in 2009 was also shaped by the influence of cruyff from his days in la masia.

Thirty seconds into the video, and I just have to say I’m a huge fan of Alex’s Kashima Antlers jersey

The last part of this video just describes why Parquet Courts' "Total Football" is such a great song

One of the all time greats

I love the Reindeer guy he's really on it ;D

this is very good keep it up Team was that henry with the hmm for the pig scandal?

Y’all should add some rules: 1. Display the car-o-meter with the allotted time. 2. The car-o-meter needs numbers. 3. Make an equation where time is divided by the car-o-metre score to rate which players convinced the host the fastest. 4. As soon as the host cares about said player, they will to push a button to stop the time. 5. The host can’t talk. 6. Get them really really high.

That was actually really interesting. But can we get a video on the pig farming?

I really like these videos, but actually prefer when there isn’t a time limit countdown. Don’t mind if the video length stays short, but would be much easier to let them talk openly

That Ajax of the 70's were seen in whole Europe as rock stars. With their long hairs and new style of football.

Could you make these longer? I get they are supposed to be comedic but it’s kind of annoying having the constantly worry about a time limit

‘Fine Thankyou’ ‘yes indeed’

'Football is a simple game, but playing simple football is very difficult' -Johan Cruijff

7 minutes of Cruyff? That's too little for anyone! Fun video, just wish the time limit was longer. Other things which would be easy meter points imo would be his mild arrogance, his million quotes (getting run over by Ferrari) or the story of why he didn't play the '78 world cup (he was threatened), his disdain for fascism etc. I believe that's what Joe meant by the knowing the 'person'. Of course, I barely know anything about his on-field stuff despite being a huge fan and that is why I know all the above. I see him as an icon and a role model in my head for reasons not limited to football alone. He's just that awesome to me.

My best player ever. i love him

I wish he’d been around in my era. I’m running out of time to watch Messi or Ronaldo live, but Cruyff isn’t even around anymore. The Definition of Football brilliance.

Can we have a part 2 ?

Alex is wearing a sick jersey today

Joe Devine's comfort macbook

Alex with his incredible internal clock

bring this back

The father of modern football. Barcelona,Ajax and football as a whole will always consider him as one of the greatest both as a player and manager and also the figure head of my club Barcelona.

From Shelvey to Cruijff! Unbelievable

To me, Cruijff is the greatest because he was more than just a great player or a great coach. He was a cultural influence. He changed the way people think about football.

What about a Video about the real Müller Gerd "Der Bomber der Nation" Müller? RIP

Joe with his Vince McMahon's "Good Job Pal" gets me everytime..

Johan Cruyff was the most interesting man in the world of footballers. 👍

I would pay an ungodly amount of money for a full range of Joe Devine quote buttons.

"Good job, pal" 😄

@Alex Stewart what are the chances of you doing one of these on new Celtic Manager Ange Postecoglou???

At 1:14, somebody didn't quite succeed at spelling 'Eredivisie'.

Cruyff is the best of modern football. Because he both identified the timeless beauty of the game and made it relevant in a modern setting.

Wasn’t he also the first (major) player to wear numbers beyond 1-11?

Time isn't enough!!

A lot of the information in this is from David Winner's Total Orange which has quotes from Cruyffs Ajax teammates that state he was a great player but his tactical impact on Michels team is highly exaggerated. There's nothing in this video that talks about what Cruyff did to improve upon Michels system. What did he actually do in his time as manager to be heralded as a major influencer of modern football? Articulating someone else's vision is all good and all, but it's different to coming up with the idea.

This is a question you're not even allowed to ask in the Netherlands :P

El Salvador!

Great vid. Please do this for Beckenbauer next bc I’m real tired of hearing from zoomers about how Ramos is the GOAT CB