Understanding Football by Johan Cruyff

[swansongs]

RIP

1. 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.

2. Someone who has juggled the ball in the air during a game, after which four defenders of the opponent get the time to run back, that’s the player people think is great. I say he has to go to a circus.

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

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

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

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

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. What is speed? The sports press often confuses speed with insight. See, if I start running slightly earlier than someone else, I seem faster.

10. 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.

11. Before I make a mistake, I don’t make that mistake.

12. 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.

13. After you’ve won something, you’re no longer 100 percent, but 90 percent. It’s like a bottle of carbonated water where the cap is removed for a short while. Afterwards there’s a little less gas inside.

14. There is only one ball, so you need to have it.

15. I’m not religious. In Spain all 22 players make the sign of the cross before they enter the pitch. If it works all matches must therefore end in a draw.

16. We must make sure their worst players get the ball the most. You’ll get it back in no time.

17. 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.

18. Every professional golfer has a separate coach for his drives, for approaches, for putting. In football we have one coach for 15 players. This is absurd.

19. Surviving the first round is never my aim. Ideally, I’d be in one group with Brazil, Argentina and Germany. Then I’d have lost two rivals after the first round. That’s how I think. Idealisitic.

20. Players today can only shoot with their laces. I could shoot with the inside, laces, and outside of both feet. In other words, I was six times better than today’s players.

21. Quality without results is pointless. Results without quality is boring.

22. 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.

23. 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.

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

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

[Lobaeux4]

I love this! RIP Johan Cruyf.

[swansongs]

6 is a good one that you don't see much of in modern football even though it makes sense. It's always the full-back taking a throw in, then looking like a deer caught in headlights when he gets the ball back.

I haven't noticed simple knock-backs to the taker in FM, though. Mostly my players just throw the ball to the opposition. Do they happen?

[Dr. Hook]

6 is a good one that you don't see much of in modern football even though it makes sense. It's always the full-back taking a throw in, then looking like a deer caught in headlights when he gets the ball back.

I haven't noticed simple knock-backs to the taker in FM, though. Mostly my players just throw the ball to the opposition. Do they happen?

Yes they do, especially down deep in the opponents half and the taker gets the ball back offsides more often than not.

[Chema]

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

There is no way to say it better!

RIP Johan!

[Guest]

I wonder who he was having a dig at with #2.

Realising I'd made a mistake when tying that & having to change is to was.

[Bitner]

I wonder who he was having a dig at with #2.

Realising I'd made a mistake when tying that & having to change is to was.

He described Robinho, imo.

Anyway, RIP. Cruyff is and always will be an inspiration for (almost) every FM player.

Cheers,

Bitner

[Gee_Simpson]

RIP...

Nice quotes there

[roggiotis]

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

[heddy]

He described Robinho, imo.

Anyway, RIP. Cruyff is and always will be an inspiration for (almost) every FM player.

Cheers,

Bitner

Or Denilson.

[Chr1s Lawson]

Cruyff explains tictacs

[swansongs]

Cruyff explains tictacs

Great clip. Been discussed on Swansea message boards after the club's experimentation with the diamond this and last season, and the problems he points out ("losing the diamond") are clear when watching many of those games.

Started a new career yesterday and have just changed to a "Cruyff Diamond" halfway through preseason (RIP my tactical familiarity).

I've already dismissed Inside Forwards as my strikers as they narrow too early, Raumdeuter's played well but I didn't score in my last game until I changed one to a Winger. W-A comes narrow only in the box, which is exactly when you want it.

Still experimenting with the balance of midfield, too. Early stages but some nice football on display against middling Spanish teams and Ajax as I round off preseason.

[Gee_Simpson]

Great clip. Been discussed on Swansea message boards after the club's experimentation with the diamond this and last season, and the problems he points out ("losing the diamond") are clear when watching many of those games.

Started a new career yesterday and have just changed to a "Cruyff Diamond" halfway through preseason (RIP my tactical familiarity).

I've already dismissed Inside Forwards as my strikers as they narrow too early, Raumdeuter's played well but I didn't score in my last game until I changed one to a Winger. W-A comes narrow only in the box, which is exactly when you want it.

Still experimenting with the balance of midfield, too. Early stages but some nice football on display against middling Spanish teams and Ajax as I round off preseason.

Have you tried them as IF's with 'stay wide' PI?

[swansongs]

I haven't, but looking at the IF instructions it's the mandatory 'Cut Inside' I'm not too keen on. I'll give it a try in the next few games.

Rewatching the Cruyff clip the difference between his diamond and the one Swansea have used is that it's a strikerless tactic, not a wingerless one, and if you have a world class centre forward you shouldn't really be trying to use a diamond. So Wingers in the forward positions makes conceptual sense at least.

Goals from left wing, attacking midfield and the BWM so far, although Ayew's "Get into box" PPM is probably responsible for his contributions. Some nice late bursts through.

[swansongs]

Inside Forward does let me use the Hold Up Ball instruction which could be useful.

The whole thing falls apart when I sub off Gylfi. Without his vision attacking moves break down so quickly.

As familiarity goes up so do the number of offsides. My players are morons.

[tejas]

Inside Forward does let me use the Hold Up Ball instruction which could be useful.

The whole thing falls apart when I sub off Gylfi. Without his vision attacking moves break down so quickly.

As familiarity goes up so do the number of offsides. My players are morons.

Fairly interesting setup there. Whats the goal output like from your two wide players?

[swansongs]

Two main types of goals; diagonal runs from wide cutting in behind the centrebacks for a one-on-one (killer passes supplied by AM), and 18-yard box poaching efforts during periods of sustained pressure. With no centre forward in the way they're narrowing nicely in the final third. Decent goal return overall for Ayew & Paloschi.

I tried playing fast wingers in the positions (Montero, Barrow) but am getting by far better results with more typical strikers. Off the Ball seems quite important.

[tejas]

Two main types of goals; diagonal runs from wide cutting in behind the centrebacks for a one-on-one (killer passes supplied by AM), and 18-yard box poaching efforts during periods of sustained pressure. With no centre forward in the way they're narrowing nicely in the final third. Decent goal return overall for Ayew & Paloschi.

I tried playing fast wingers in the positions (Montero, Barrow) but am getting by far better results with more typical strikers. Off the Ball seems quite important.

Sounds interesting, may have a go. Hopefully the wingers can replicate Vargas's role with Chile or Villa's role with Barca.

[swansongs]

I'm genuinely terrible at judging good attacking play (born defender) so I'm just following Cruyff's pointers from the clip and hoping for the best. Want to see my wide players providing width through defence and transition phases, then getting in the box in the final third. Full-backs then aren't left alone to manage wide areas, and make overlapping contributions only late during periods of forward pressure.

Tried using overlapping midfielders to provide extra punch through the centre but returned to Cruyff's comments about "losing the diamond". At one point had a RPM-S and CM-A in there, but now back to DLP-S and CM-S and it works a lot better. May even drop the DLP for something more static.

Also tried a Halfback but he ended up too deep and far away from the rest of his midfield. DM or Anchorman.

Returning to the first post I've found 9 to be accurate, with intelligent players (Paloschi) getting more one-on-ones than sprinters (Montero). 6 is a no go until SI rework throw-in logic. 20 provides endless frustration in deciding which side my one footed forwards should be playing on (Paloschi again).

[swansongs]

More Cruyff stuff about his tactics (the Barca diamond) and development policies here: http://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/how-johan-cruyff-reinvented-modern-football-barcelona#:jVTnrqMfIK7_KA

[henkheikens]

Great clip. Been discussed on Swansea message boards after the club's experimentation with the diamond this and last season, and the problems he points out ("losing the diamond") are clear when watching many of those games.

Started a new career yesterday and have just changed to a "Cruyff Diamond" halfway through preseason (RIP my tactical familiarity).

I've already dismissed Inside Forwards as my strikers as they narrow too early, Raumdeuter's played well but I didn't score in my last game until I changed one to a Winger. W-A comes narrow only in the box, which is exactly when you want it.

Still experimenting with the balance of midfield, too. Early stages but some nice football on display against middling Spanish teams and Ajax as I round off preseason.

with with teaminstructions do you play? and do you use pi? i want to test it also and maybe i can improve the tactic

[swansongs]

I've been playing simple Control/Fluid purely because that's what I was using before I adopted it and my tactical familiarity took a big enough hit already. I imagine something patient and structured might be more suitable due to the role of AMs as the forward line (higher mentalities and more time to transition).

Shorter passing and a few player instructions based on individual limitations, nothing major.

I put Leon Britton in at AM for a game due to injuries (Gylfi stubbed his toe) and he was immense. I think "Short Simple Passes" is a better option than "Killer Balls Often" there.

[swansongs]

Update: Beat Southampton 6-1 in a game where they were the better side, and almost all my goals were comical, then lost 1-0 to Watford where my team wouldn't string two passes together until they went behind in the 70th. I really dislike this year's match engine.