RedxMAK
Active member
Born - 25th April 1947
Died - 24th March 2016
Position - Midfielder
Tenure as player - 1973-78
Tenure as manager - 1988-96
Johan Cruyff, the man who changed Barcelona and football forever. This man is the main reason for Futbol Club Barcelona's footballing philosophy and identity, due to this man, Barcelona became a global and influential brand in the world of football, which caused it to become the most influential football club of all time. Cruyff joined the club in 1973 after Ajax wanted to sell him to Real Madrid without his permission. In his first season, he won Barcelona their first LaLiga title in 14 years which included a famous 5-0 win away at the Bernabeu. The rest of his time as a player wasn't that successful though, where the best achievements were a European Cup semi final in 1974-75 and a Copa del Rey in 1977-78, which was his final season at the club as a player. 10 years later, after having a random end of career as a player and a decent start to his managerial career at Ajax, Johan Cruyff rejoined Barcelona and once again, he reinvented the club and it's style of play. Returning the club to the posession football that enamoured fans in his stint as a player. The rest as they say is history, Barcelona managed to win 4 consecutive LaLiga titles, 1 Copa del Rey, 3 Supercopas, 1 Cup Winners' Cup, 1 European Super Cup and most importantly, their 1st European Cup. After a glorious period between 1988 and 1994, due to the fallout of Athens 1994, where due to his own arrogance, Barcelona got obliterated 4-0 in the Champions League final against Milan, Cruyff ended the 'Dream Team' era and started an odd period of time, where he experimented with many ideas, although that period of 2 years didn't wield any trophies as Barcelona went trophyless in 1994-95 and 1995-96. Due to that, Cruyff got sacked in the end of the 1995-96 season and his time as manager of the club was officially over. The ghost of Cruyff kept torturing the club and it's fanbase for the next 7 years, as most of the fanbase weren't happy for the sacking of the beloved Dutchman. In 2003, when Joan Laporta got elected as president of FC Barcelona, Cruyff became his unofficial advisor and helped him decide to hire Frank Rijkaard and Pep Guardiola. Due to that, Barcelona experienced another golden age which exceeded the golden age of the 'Dream Team' where they managed to win 8 LaLiga titles and 4 Champions League titles between 2004 and 2016. Johan Cruyff died on the 24th of March 2016 due to complications with lung cancer. He will always be remembered as the most influential and greatest figure in the history of this club.
Died - 24th March 2016
Position - Midfielder
Tenure as player - 1973-78
Tenure as manager - 1988-96
Johan Cruyff, the man who changed Barcelona and football forever. This man is the main reason for Futbol Club Barcelona's footballing philosophy and identity, due to this man, Barcelona became a global and influential brand in the world of football, which caused it to become the most influential football club of all time. Cruyff joined the club in 1973 after Ajax wanted to sell him to Real Madrid without his permission. In his first season, he won Barcelona their first LaLiga title in 14 years which included a famous 5-0 win away at the Bernabeu. The rest of his time as a player wasn't that successful though, where the best achievements were a European Cup semi final in 1974-75 and a Copa del Rey in 1977-78, which was his final season at the club as a player. 10 years later, after having a random end of career as a player and a decent start to his managerial career at Ajax, Johan Cruyff rejoined Barcelona and once again, he reinvented the club and it's style of play. Returning the club to the posession football that enamoured fans in his stint as a player. The rest as they say is history, Barcelona managed to win 4 consecutive LaLiga titles, 1 Copa del Rey, 3 Supercopas, 1 Cup Winners' Cup, 1 European Super Cup and most importantly, their 1st European Cup. After a glorious period between 1988 and 1994, due to the fallout of Athens 1994, where due to his own arrogance, Barcelona got obliterated 4-0 in the Champions League final against Milan, Cruyff ended the 'Dream Team' era and started an odd period of time, where he experimented with many ideas, although that period of 2 years didn't wield any trophies as Barcelona went trophyless in 1994-95 and 1995-96. Due to that, Cruyff got sacked in the end of the 1995-96 season and his time as manager of the club was officially over. The ghost of Cruyff kept torturing the club and it's fanbase for the next 7 years, as most of the fanbase weren't happy for the sacking of the beloved Dutchman. In 2003, when Joan Laporta got elected as president of FC Barcelona, Cruyff became his unofficial advisor and helped him decide to hire Frank Rijkaard and Pep Guardiola. Due to that, Barcelona experienced another golden age which exceeded the golden age of the 'Dream Team' where they managed to win 8 LaLiga titles and 4 Champions League titles between 2004 and 2016. Johan Cruyff died on the 24th of March 2016 due to complications with lung cancer. He will always be remembered as the most influential and greatest figure in the history of this club.