This Wednesday marks five years since the death of the Dutch legend Johan Cruyff. Was the 24 March 2016 as a result of lung cancer. Five years after his death, the memory of the legendary player and coach is still alive at FC Barcelona.
🙏 @ JohanCruyff (1991 – 2016)
💙❤️ Five years later, your legacy is more live than never. pic.twitter.com/8ZApclYYHU– FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona_es) March 24, 2021
The then player and coach of FC Barcelona was a distinguished player both on the playing field and on the benches. And it is that since he began to wear the bib number 14 on his jersey, something atypical for a starting attacking player, he always stood out.
Dream Team
Between 1991 Y 1994, the Blaugrana team trained by the Dutch won four Spanish leagues consecutive and, in season 1991 – 92, also achieved the first Champions League of Barcelona . Among others, Cruyff had under his orders footballers such as Pep Guardiola, Michael Laudrup, Hristo Stoichkov or the current Barça coach, Ronald Koeman.
A president with a Cruyffista spirit
Despite the fact that Cruyff is recognized and loved by all Barcelona fans, not all managers have appreciated his contribution to the Catalan institution. And it is that in 1996 The Dutchman was unexpectedly dismissed as coach by decision of the then president, Josep Lluís Núñez.
That controversial moment was a turning point in the history of Barça because it divided the club in two: the cruyffistas and the nuñistas.
Now, thanks to the arrival of Joan Laporta to the presidency of the club , a Cruyffista air is breathed among the hallways of the institution.
And it is that in the ceremony of investiture last week, Laporta, evoked the mythical phrase of Cruyff : “Only God knows what it took to get here.” The one he pronounced in 1999 Barça legend Johan Cruyff, before a tribute match to the “Dream Team” at the Camp Nou.
Laporta has always vindicated his Cruyffista spirit, not only throughout this campaign electoral, but also during his previous stage as the club’s top leader.
Honorary President
Before Laporta left his post at 2010 (in its first stage), appointed Cruyff honorary president of the entity, considering that his total football style, based on the control of the possession of the ball, was what inspired the triumphs of Guardiola’s Barça .
Without However, that same year there were elections. Sandro Rosell won, a candidate for whom, precisely, Núñez showed his support. Since his arrival, Rosell questioned the honorary presidency of Cruyff because, according to him, it was a title that was not included in the Barcelona statutes.
To settle the issue, Cruyff himself decided to go to the club offices to return the medal of honor. “It seems that I’m a nuisance,” said that day the former Barça coach and player, starring in an image that rekindled past clashes between cruyffistas and nuñistas.
Cruyff’s passage through Chivas de Guadalajara
The Dutch Johan Cruyff was an advisor during the 2012 of the Chivas del Guadalajara , one of the teams with the most titles in Mexican soccer.
In that step that lasted only one year, Cruyff recommended the hiring of his compatriot John Van’t Schip as Chivas coach.
At the end, in June of 2013, without time to work and criticized for his remote advice, the owner of the team, Jorge Vergara, dismissed him.