"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."
— Johan Cruyff (1947-2016)
"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."
— Johan Cruyff (1947-2016)
"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."
— Johan Cruyff (1947-2016)
"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."
— Johan Cruyff (1947-2016)
"Playing football is very simple, but playing simple football is the hardest thing there is."
— Johan Cruyff (1947-2016)
"Every trainer talks about movement, about running a lot. I say don't run so much. Football is a game you play with your brain. You have to be in the right place at the right moment, not too early, not too late."
— Johan Cruyff (1947-2016)
"If you play on possession, you don't have to defend, because there's only one ball"
— Johan Cruyff (1947-2016)
"You need both quality and results. results without quality is boring; quality without results is meaningless."
— Johan Cruyff (1947-2016)
"Football is a game of mistakes. Whoever makes the fewest mistakes wins."
— Johan Cruyff (1947-2016)
"If my forward arrives in a one vs one situation, I always say: 'let him work it out.' Then my players say: But we can help him!'. My reply is: First, there's a good chance you'll only run in his way, and as a second attacker you're drawing a second defender with you, and two vs two is harder than one vs one.'"
— Johan Cruyff (1947-2016)
"Why couldn't you beat a richer club? I've never seen a bag of money score a goal."
— Johan Cruyff (1947-2016)
"You have got to shoot, otherwise you can't score."
— Johan Cruyff (1947-2016)
"Choose the best player for every position, and you'll end up not with a strong XI, but with 11 strong 1's."
— Johan Cruyff (1947-2016)
"In small space a player has to be capable of acting quickly. A good player who needs too much time can suddenly become a poor player."
— Johan Cruyff (1947-2016)
"Playing against 10 is harder than playing against 11 players. You know why? The team with 11 will think 'ok, we can take it easy now', while the team with 10 will think 'We really have to work hard now.'"
— Johan Cruyff (1947-2016)
"If you can't win, make sure you don't lose."
— Johan Cruyff (1947-2016)
"Speed is often confused with insight. When I start running earlier than the others, I appear faster."
— Johan Cruyff (1947-2016)
"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."
— Johan Cruyff (1947-2016)
"If you want to play quicker you can start running faster, but it's the ball that decides the speed of the game."
— Johan Cruyff (1947-2016)
"Without the ball, you can't win."
— Johan Cruyff (1947-2016)
"Italy cannot beat you but you can lose to Italy."
— Johan Cruyff (1947-2016)
"For the world of football, Messi is a treasure because he is role model for children around the world."
— Johan Cruyff (1947-2016)
"Quality without results is pointless. Results without quality is boring."
— Johan Cruyff (1947-2016)
"You have to shoot. … otherwise you can't score."
— Johan Cruyff (1947-2016)
"There is only one ball … so you need to have it."
— Johan Cruyff (1947-2016)
"Playing football is very simple, but playing simple football is the hardest thing there is."
— Johan Cruyff (1947-2016)
"Without the ball, you can't win."
— Johan Cruyff (1947-2016)
"If you want to play quicker you can start running faster, but it's the ball that decides the speed of the game."
— Johan Cruyff (1947-2016)