Cruyff’s influence in the FC Barcelona is bigger than the titles he won. Indeed, Johan Cruyff is considered as the one who changed the club’s dimension. However, we don’t have to forget Rinus Michels, aka the originator of Barcelona’s style.
Whether as a player or as a coach, Johan Cruyff is a legend of our sport. As a player the native of Amsterdam has won 3 Champions Leagues in a row with Ajax. The team coached by Rinus Michels conquered Europe with a new style of play called the « Total Football ». This style which appeared in South America in the 30’s, is a system where no outfield player is fixed in a predetermined role, where anyone can successively play as an attacker, a midfielder and a defender.
With Rinus Michels at the head of Ajax, Netherlands and finally Barcelona ; Johan Cruyff learned a lot from his mentor and influenced the future generations leaving Pep Guardiola as his heir. But who was Rinus Michels ?
« Football is something like war. Whoever behaves too properly is lost » - Rinus Michels
Born on February 9th 1928 in Amsterdam, Rinus Michel played as a striker with Ajax -his only team- for twelve years. Two years after the end of his career, the native of Amsterdam became a manager. He is credited with the invention of his own playing style. Adept of the 4-3-3, Rinus plays a side-based possession football. This playing style has perhaps two key concepts : the space’s utilisation and the fluidity of positions. As i said before, any player can move anywhere on the pitch, and during the match the 4-3-3 can swap to an offensive 3-4-3. By the way, Rinus Michels was named Coach of the Century by FIFA in 1999.
« It’s an art in itself to compose a starting team, finding the balance between creative players and those with destructive powers, and between defence, construction and attack -never forgetting the quality of the opposition and the specific pressures of each match » - Rinus Michels
Agrandissement : Illustration 1
Then, I can affirm that Rinus Michels is the most influential manager in football history. Despite all his titles and performances, Michels literally changed football’s mechanics, and especially in barcelonese and dutch football. His philosophy inspired Johan Cruyff who in turn inspired his own players as Pep Guardiola and Ronald Koeman.
« I knew nothing about football before knowing Cruyff. I wouldn’t be here without him. He was unique » - Pep Guardiola on Johan Cruyff (2016)
As closing remarks, I would like to thank Michels and Cruyff through calling them King and Prince of the "Beautiful Game". In my point of view, the final result isn’t the most important thing in our sport ; the way of being victorious is much more important than this victory itself. Let's finish with a quotation from Johan Cruyff about his mentor :
« Both as a player and a coach, there is nobody who taught me as much as Rinus Michels »
Agrandissement : Illustration 2
