The footballing community mourned last week after it was announced that legendary Netherlands international footballer Johan Cruyff had passed away from lung cancer at the age of 68. His former clubs AFC Ajax and FC Barcelona released heartfelt tributes acknowledging one of the greatest players to ever grace the two clubs
In the awe-inspiring Messi and Ronaldo era, we must still remember the great footballers who made the beautiful game what it is today. Both Messi and Renaldo have dominated the Ballon d’Or awards in recent years with multiple wins for each. However, it was Cruyff who first took home the award more than once, winning the award in 1971, 1973 and 1974.
Cruyff was a believer in the philosophy of Total Football, which helped to elevate the Dutch national team into a global footballing powerhouse. This style of play called for a fluidity of play where no player is fixed in one area but rather players move continuously in order to create space, move forward and maintain possession. At the behest of Ajax Coach Rinus Michels, Cruyff executed the Total Football style and would later apply it throughout his incredibly successful career as a player and coach.
The Dutch legend is just one of many pioneering footballers that dazzled audiences with his skills and helped changed the way football is played and developed.
German defender Franz Beckenbauer, known as Der Kaiser, is widely credited with the invention of the sweeper position. He began his playing career as a midfielder, but found his natural position as a central defender at FC Bayern Munich and with the West Germany national football team. Beckenbauer is just one of two players to have lifted the FIFA World Cup as both a player and coach, first as the West Germany captain in 1974 and later as Germany’s head coach in 1990.
Few players can rival what two-time FIFA World Player of the Year Mia Hamm did to position the U.S. on the global stage. At the age of 19, Hamm led the U.S. Women’s National Team to victory at the 1991 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Just five years later, Hamm and the USWNT would go on to claim the gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. In 1999, she led the USWNT to the team’s second gold medal and FIFA World Cup title. That same year, Hamm also recorded her 108th goal with the USWNT, setting a new record for most international goals in women’s football, a record which, would be broken by USWNT star Abby Wambach in 2013.
Hamm’s success on the pitch reflected her commercial success off the pitch that brought the world’s game to millions of U.S. households. Long before MLS and the 1994 Men’s World Cup, the USWNT popularized soccer in a country dominated by the big four leagues. The USWNT is the most successful women’s soccer team in the world, due to the foundation set by Hamm, culminating with over 36 million Americans engaged with the World Cup online in 2014.
Arguably the two biggest figures in world football are legends Pelé and Diego Maradona, who were named joint FIFA Player of the 20th Century in 2000.
Pelé began his career in 1955 with Brazilian club Santos FC at the age of 15 and would remain with the club until 1974, when he joined the New York Cosmos. While at Santos FC, the legendary striker led the club to more than a dozen championships across various competitions, including the 1962 and 1963 Copa Libertadores, CONMEBOL’s international club championship. Pele scored a record 619 goals in 638 appearances with Santos FC, but his biggest impact came at the national level. Pelé played his first match with the Brazilian national team at the age of 16 and went on to become the only player to ever lift three FIFA World Cups with his country, in 1958, 1962 and 1970.
After a brief “retirement” in 1974, the Brazilian football legend became the first superstar to play in the U.S. under the New York Cosmos (NASL). Although he only played two years for the Cosmos, it was at a time when youth soccer in the U.S. was undergoing a pivotal change through programs such as AYSO and Title IX for girls. This Generation X, that grew up watching Pelé, would later pave the way as parents by enrolling their children in soccer making it the second most popular sport amongst high school athletes.
For his part, Maradona won the 1986 FIFA World Cup with the Argentinean national team, scoring two famous goals in his country’s 2-1 quarterfinal win over England. The first goal, now infamously referred to as the Hand of God, was scored off a handball by Maradona that the referee allowed, thinking he had used his head to push the ball into the net. The second goal saw Maradona weave past the entire English backline and goalkeeper to just calmly tap the ball into the goal.
At the club level, Maradona won multiple championships in Argentina, Spain and Italy. He helped lift SSC Napoli, traditionally a weaker team, to the top of Italian football and led the club to league titles in 1987 and 1990. He also won league titles while at Club Atletico Boca Juniors in Argentina and FC Barcelona in the Spanish top flight.
The Beautiful Game continues to evolve as players grow and reflect the skills and knowledge of the legends before them. And with each passing of players like Cruyff, we look back and remember those who laid the groundwork for the world’s game.
The footballing community mourned last week after it was announced that legendary Netherlands international footballer Johan Cruyff had passed away from lung cancer at the age of 68. His former clubs AFC Ajax and FC Barcelona released heartfelt tributes acknowledging one of the greatest players to ever grace the two clubs
In the awe-inspiring Messi and Ronaldo era, we must still remember the great footballers who made the beautiful game what it is today. Both Messi and Renaldo have dominated the Ballon d’Or awards in recent years with multiple wins for each. However, it was Cruyff who first took home the award more than once, winning the award in 1971, 1973 and 1974.
Cruyff was a believer in the philosophy of Total Football, which helped to elevate the Dutch national team into a global footballing powerhouse. This style of play called for a fluidity of play where no player is fixed in one area but rather players move continuously in order to create space, move forward and maintain possession. At the behest of Ajax Coach Rinus Michels, Cruyff executed the Total Football style and would later apply it throughout his incredibly successful career as a player and coach.
The Dutch legend is just one of many pioneering footballers that dazzled audiences with his skills and helped changed the way football is played and developed.
German defender Franz Beckenbauer, known as Der Kaiser, is widely credited with the invention of the sweeper position. He began his playing career as a midfielder, but found his natural position as a central defender at FC Bayern Munich and with the West Germany national football team. Beckenbauer is just one of two players to have lifted the FIFA World Cup as both a player and coach, first as the West Germany captain in 1974 and later as Germany’s head coach in 1990.
Few players can rival what two-time FIFA World Player of the Year Mia Hamm did to position the U.S. on the global stage. At the age of 19, Hamm led the U.S. Women’s National Team to victory at the 1991 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Just five years later, Hamm and the USWNT would go on to claim the gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. In 1999, she led the USWNT to the team’s second gold medal and FIFA World Cup title. That same year, Hamm also recorded her 108th goal with the USWNT, setting a new record for most international goals in women’s football, a record which, would be broken by USWNT star Abby Wambach in 2013.
Hamm’s success on the pitch reflected her commercial success off the pitch that brought the world’s game to millions of U.S. households. Long before MLS and the 1994 Men’s World Cup, the USWNT popularized soccer in a country dominated by the big four leagues. The USWNT is the most successful women’s soccer team in the world, due to the foundation set by Hamm, culminating with over 36 million Americans engaged with the World Cup online in 2014.
Arguably the two biggest figures in world football are legends Pelé and Diego Maradona, who were named joint FIFA Player of the 20th Century in 2000.
Pelé began his career in 1955 with Brazilian club Santos FC at the age of 15 and would remain with the club until 1974, when he joined the New York Cosmos. While at Santos FC, the legendary striker led the club to more than a dozen championships across various competitions, including the 1962 and 1963 Copa Libertadores, CONMEBOL’s international club championship. Pele scored a record 619 goals in 638 appearances with Santos FC, but his biggest impact came at the national level. Pelé played his first match with the Brazilian national team at the age of 16 and went on to become the only player to ever lift three FIFA World Cups with his country, in 1958, 1962 and 1970.
After a brief “retirement” in 1974, the Brazilian football legend became the first superstar to play in the U.S. under the New York Cosmos (NASL). Although he only played two years for the Cosmos, it was at a time when youth soccer in the U.S. was undergoing a pivotal change through programs such as AYSO and Title IX for girls. This Generation X, that grew up watching Pelé, would later pave the way as parents by enrolling their children in soccer making it the second most popular sport amongst high school athletes.
For his part, Maradona won the 1986 FIFA World Cup with the Argentinean national team, scoring two famous goals in his country’s 2-1 quarterfinal win over England. The first goal, now infamously referred to as the Hand of God, was scored off a handball by Maradona that the referee allowed, thinking he had used his head to push the ball into the net. The second goal saw Maradona weave past the entire English backline and goalkeeper to just calmly tap the ball into the goal.
At the club level, Maradona won multiple championships in Argentina, Spain and Italy. He helped lift SSC Napoli, traditionally a weaker team, to the top of Italian football and led the club to league titles in 1987 and 1990. He also won league titles while at Club Atletico Boca Juniors in Argentina and FC Barcelona in the Spanish top flight.
The Beautiful Game continues to evolve as players grow and reflect the skills and knowledge of the legends before them. And with each passing of players like Cruyff, we look back and remember those who laid the groundwork for the world’s game.
