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3.25 AVERAGE
3.25 AVERAGE
It was okay, you can learn some insight of his work and the decisions he made but it also feels that he had a big ego. He was an excellent coach and player so he has some right but it becomes annoying while reading.
Maybe the 40 pages about football are really interesting. The rest is Johan Cruyff explaining the world he's always right even when he's wrong, that Johan Cruyff doesn't have to follow rules or laws, and that the people managing Ajax have conspired against Johan Cruyff.
Good read, this. There's a vein of frustration running through the book, you get the feeling that nobody else is quite on Cruyff's line of thinking and he's irritated that people aren't keeping up with his plans.
The most important footballer (not the best) in his own words. Genius is arrogance, isn't it?
Not a bad book by any means, but one in which Cruyff spends surprisingly little time and detail writing about his playing career (1964-1984) and managing career Barcelona and Ajax (1985-1996). Instead, he spends what seems like more the half the book detail the various conflicts of time as an advisor to Joan Laporta, technical director at Ajax, and with the Cruyff Foundation and the Cruyff Institute. While all of this material is interesting, it's not quite what the casual reader is likely expecting to get. While we wait for a truly definitive account of Cruyff's career as a playing and/or manager, I would suggest considering Jonathan Wilson's The Barcelona Inheritance [b:The Barcelona Inheritance: The Evolution of Winning Soccer Tactics from Cruyff to Guardiola|37977728|The Barcelona Inheritance The Evolution of Winning Soccer Tactics from Cruyff to Guardiola|Jonathan Wilson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1524529739l/37977728._SY75_.jpg|63908245]; Michael Cox's Zonal Marking [b:Zonal Marking: The Making of Modern European Football|43184201|Zonal Marking The Making of Modern European Football|Michael Cox|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1544387247l/43184201._SX50_.jpg|67001046]; David Winner's Brilliant Orange [b:Brilliant Orange: The Neurotic Genius of Football|281299|Brilliant Orange The Neurotic Genius of Football|David Winner|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1173387763l/281299._SX50_.jpg|272885]; and by Frits Barend and Henk Van Dorp's Ajax, Barcelona, Cruyff [b:Ajax, Barcelona, Cruyff|520908|Ajax, Barcelona, Cruyff|Frits Barend|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1408930999l/520908._SX50_.jpg|508809] as general introductions to Cruyff's tremendous influence on the game of football/soccer as a player and manager.
No. 14. Cruyff of Oranje. Long haired footballer from 70s who did something known as Total Football.
This is all I knew about Johan Cruyff before picking up this book.
One of the main things that comes to mind is that 'A bad system will always beat a good person'. Cruyff's autobiography clearly tells us how under appreciated his resources as a footballer were. He was at the receiving end of lot of politics, envy and backhanded games at Ajax, Barcelona both as a player and a manager/administrator. Another thing that stands out from the book is his sheer love for the beauty in football. He wanted to win, but he wanted to do it in a way like no one ever did. Referred to as the Conductor of the Orchestra of Total Football in Ajax and Dutch national teams, his abilities as a leader and visionary were also displayed in the way he rejuvenated Barcelona. And the results are there for all to see. Frank Rijkaard and Pep Guardiola took the baton and ran how Cruyff imagined, and the legacy is trophies, footballing culture and enduring values for the club.
One can't help but feel that Ajax should be on a different level given they had figure like him so desperately trying to fix it. But there must be deeply entrenched issues that will require greater force.
Loved the technical insights about the game, management in football, inside tales from times that I wasn't even born.
Rest in Peace. 14 forever.
This is all I knew about Johan Cruyff before picking up this book.
One of the main things that comes to mind is that 'A bad system will always beat a good person'. Cruyff's autobiography clearly tells us how under appreciated his resources as a footballer were. He was at the receiving end of lot of politics, envy and backhanded games at Ajax, Barcelona both as a player and a manager/administrator. Another thing that stands out from the book is his sheer love for the beauty in football. He wanted to win, but he wanted to do it in a way like no one ever did. Referred to as the Conductor of the Orchestra of Total Football in Ajax and Dutch national teams, his abilities as a leader and visionary were also displayed in the way he rejuvenated Barcelona. And the results are there for all to see. Frank Rijkaard and Pep Guardiola took the baton and ran how Cruyff imagined, and the legacy is trophies, footballing culture and enduring values for the club.
One can't help but feel that Ajax should be on a different level given they had figure like him so desperately trying to fix it. But there must be deeply entrenched issues that will require greater force.
Loved the technical insights about the game, management in football, inside tales from times that I wasn't even born.
Rest in Peace. 14 forever.
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
Como autobiografía, se me ha quedado corta. Y mira que me da rabia, ya que fue el precursor de lo que es el Barça hoy en día, y la persona a la que debo mi nombre. Pero es que como biografía se me ha quedado muy escasa... Se centra demasiado en aspectos técnicos, en la gestión y en su organización, en vez de en su parte futbolística y la cantidad de anédotas que nos podría haber contado... Pero bueno, no está mal y al ser la obra póstuma de Cruyff (al menos en España), había que leerla sí o sí.
Had to give up at page 35. I’m a busy man and life is too short.