Name: Johan Cryuff
Born: 25th April, 1947
Nationality: Dutch
Playing Position: Attacking Midfielder/Striker
Clubs: Ajax, Barcelona, Los Angeles Aztecs, Washington Diplomats, Levante, Feynoord
Widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, Johan Cryuff was born on the 25th April, 1947 in
Cruyuff played in the position of attacking midfielder and could also play as a striker. He is perhaps the famous exponent of the Total Football style of play which was developed by Cryuff's coach at Ajax , Rinus Michels. In this system a player who moves out of position is replaced by another from his team so that the team can keep their organisational structure. With total football any player can peform the roles of defender, midfielder or striker competently. In this system Cryuff played as a centre foward but he could also drop deep in midfield to confuse his markers or move on the wing suddenly. Johan's strengths were his his technical ability, speed, acceleration, dribbling and vision with his vision being his greatest strength. Cryuff also invented a move known as the Cryuff Turn seen here.
He won eight Eredivisie (which is the highest football league in The Netherlands) titles with Ajax and one with Feyenoord football club in 1966, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1982, 1983 and 1984 respectively. He also won three European Cups which is now known as the UEFA Champions League with
Cryuff became married to Danny Coster on the 2nd of December 1968 and the couple are still together to this day. The Cryuff's have three children together: Chantal, Susila and Jordi.