Johan Cruyff Slams Holland’s ‘Anti-Football’

Chris Wright

13th, July 2010

7 Comments

By Chris Wright

Dutch footballing icon Johan Cruyff has lambasted the current Holland side’s regression to ‘anti-football’ tactics during their World Cup final defeat to Spain.

Cruyff, who was a central figure in Holland’s pioneering totaal voetbal ethos during the 1970’s, has admitted that he was saddened to see the thuggish methods employed by Bert Van Marwijk‘s side on Sunday night.

Speaking to El Periodico, the 63-year-old said;

“Thursday they asked me from Holland ‘Can we play like Inter? Can we stop Spain in the same way Jose Mourinho eliminated Barcelona [in the Champions League final]?

I said no, no way at all. I said no, not because I hate this style – I said no because I thought that my country wouldn’t dare to and would never renounce their style. I said no because, without having great players like those of the past, the team has its own style.

I was wrong. Of course I’m not hanging all 11 of them by the same rope, but almost. They didn’t want the ball.

And regrettably, sadly, they played very dirty. So much so that they should have been down to nine immediately, then they made two (such) ugly and hard tackles that even I felt the damage.”

Jopie then summed up his disapproval in no uncertain terms;

“It hurts me that I was wrong in my disagreement, and that instead Holland chose an ugly path to aim for the title.

This ugly, vulgar, hard, hermetic, hardly eye-catching, hardly football style, yes it served the Dutch to unsettle Spain. If with this they got satisfaction, fine, but they ended up losing.

They were playing anti-football.”

Whatever could old Cruyffie be talking about?

Ah…yeah, pretty disgusting wasn’t it?

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7 Comments

  1. Deckard says:

    De Jong shoulda been red no question. What possessed that gangsta rapper wannabe to go Bruce Lee on players I don’t know. He can fuck off out of the national team if he’s gonna keep that up as far as I’m concerned.

    But about Cruyff, I know his comments still makes paper headlines, but most people in the football world in Holland really don’t give a rat’s ass anymore what Cruyff has to say. It sorta goes in one ear and out the other. Even when he praises our teams or players we all shrug our shoulders and say “ok, thanks”. Cruyff’s been shoving down our throat a bit too much over the years that he’s “oracle” of Dutch football, the greatest there shall ever be bla bla, it’s gotten to the point of serious annoyance.

  2. Hootie says:

    The legends have a hard time not pitching in their two sense these days, don’t they? I’d be interested to know how he would have reacted had they won, but I guess we won’t get that chance. At least he’s right. The team should be embarrassed. De Jong and Van Bommel particularly exposed themselves as nothing more than cynical thugs with the entire world watching.

  3. simone says:

    Watching old world cup videos, i remember him constantly complaining to the referee.He is the most arrogant of all.

  4. Gert Waterink says:

    I think it’s……especially for the fans unbearable to read reactions like ‘gangsta rappa de Jong’ and ‘fuck off from the team’.

    About Cruyff: He at times betrays his own native country. You come to a World Cup to win in the first play. Not to play beautiful football and get 3rd or 5th.

    People outside Holland keep forgetting that, besides our great ‘total football’ moments at WC 1974, the two lost finals from 1974 and 1978 are big trauma’s.

    You can only give the Dutch credit for trying to win in a different way. Alas, we suddenly are a country full of ‘gangsta’s’.

    Especially English media should be ashamed of themselves. During the game England-Germany they start bashing FIFA and Sepp Blatter for wrong referee decisions. This time around they hail Howard Webb and the ‘gangsta’s’ are the Dutch.

    Be ashamed!

  5. Deckard says:

    Pfff, wake up to reality, it would do you a dose of good Gert. As recently as March or April, Holland played a FRIENDLY against the USA and De Jong broke a guy’s leg. De Jong being very apologetic after wards plus a stern warning from Van Marwijk, De Jong promised he’d tone it down in the WC.

    What does the fucking imbecile do? makes the most disgrace foul of the year, of all matches in the World Cup Final. More than a billion people witnessed a Dutch player kung-fu kick a player which could’ve ended in a very serious injury. If that doesn’t move you in any way, Gert, there’s something seriously wrong with you.

    We played disgraceful and criminal against Spain because we couldn’t match their slick passing and clever movements. Yes, the likes of Iniesta did throw oil on the fire, but it were us, especially Van Bommel and De Jong, who set the tone for a miserable game that had pretty much noting to do with football.

    Some of our players were gangsters, thugs, butchers, plain criminals. In all honesty, both Van Bommel and De Jong should’ve been sent off within the first half.

    Throwback to 1998, now there was a beautiful footballing Dutch side which really deserved to be World champions.

  6. Bawly says:

    Good on ya Cryuff, the only dutchman that was honest enough to come out and speak the truth. Some of the players were savage. DE Jong: Kunt. Van BOMMel: Bigger Kunt.

    THANK YOU SPAIN

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