Johan Cruyff Netherlands Hoodie | Players Couture Icon Frame Collection
Johan Cruyff is the most influential footballer who ever lived. Not the best — that is a different argument. But the most influential. His ideas about the game, his relationship with space, his Cruyff Turn, his philosophy at Ajax and Barcelona, the coaches he inspired and the systems they created: the game today would be unrecognisable without what Cruyff did. This Cruyff hoodie from Players Couture is for fans of the Dutch legend who understand that football as we know it in the modern era begins with Johan Cruyff. Fan apparel celebrating the genius who changed the game entirely.
Cruyff was born in Amsterdam in 1947 and joined Ajax's youth academy as a child. He made his first-team debut in 1964 and became the central figure in Total Football — the revolutionary approach developed by Ajax under Rinus Michels that required every outfield player to be capable of playing in any position. Ajax won three consecutive European Cups between 1971 and 1973 with Cruyff as the driving force. He was the most complete footballer of his era, capable of playing anywhere across the front line, reading the game at a pace that made him seem to be operating at a different speed to everyone else on the pitch.
Barcelona signed him in 1973 and he immediately transformed the club. He won La Liga in his first season, ending a fourteen-year wait for the title. He became so popular in Catalonia that he named his son Jordi after the Catalan patron saint. He later returned to Barcelona as a manager and built the Dream Team of the early 1990s, winning four consecutive La Liga titles and the European Cup in 1992 at Wembley. Every coach who has used a 4-3-3 formation, who has pressed high up the pitch, who has used a false nine, is working with ideas that trace back through Pep Guardiola to Cruyff.
At the 1974 World Cup, Cruyff captained the Netherlands to the final, where they lost to West Germany 2-1. He was named the tournament's best player. He invented the Cruyff Turn in the group stage against Sweden — a feint that has been used at every level of football ever since. He won the Ballon d'Or three times. He passed away from cancer in March 2016 at the age of 68, leaving behind a legacy that cannot be quantified. Find more from the football fanwear collection at Players Couture.
Available in Navy, Black, Grey and Red. Sizes S to 3XL. A great gift for any Ajax, Barcelona or Netherlands fan. Players Couture fan apparel celebrating the most influential footballer in the history of the game.
