RSS
ATOM
advertisement
From Ajax to Barcelona - Holland vs Spain World Cup 2010 final will be the clash of football's two greatest ever academies (pt I)
In Part I, we examine the roots of total football
| Bet: | Returns: | Osasuna £90.00 | Draw £47.50 | Barcelona £13.33 |
|
| Bet: | Returns: | Osasuna £85.00 | Draw £47.50 | Barcelona £13.60 |
|
| Bet: | Returns: | Osasuna £90.00 | Draw £45.00 | Barcelona £13.64 |
|
| Bet: | Returns: | Osasuna £85.00 | Draw £47.50 | Barcelona £13.60 |
|
| Bet: | Returns: | Osasuna £85.00 | Draw £45.00 | Barcelona £13.10 |
|
9 Jul 2010 20:00:00
By Graham Lister
Ajax, Barcelona, Netherlands, Spain, Pedro, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Xavi, Wesley Sneijder, Pep Guardiola, Maarten Stekelenburg, Sergio Busquets Burgos, John Heitinga, Carles Puyol, Rafael van der Vaart, Gerard Piqué, Gregory van der Wiel, Andrés Iniesta Luján, Nigel De Jong, Víctor Valdés, Johan Cruyff, Ryan Babel, Cesc Fàbregas, Eljero Elia, Netherlands vs Spain
Sunday's eagerly-awaited World Cup final between Holland and Spain will, remarkably, be the first ever competitive meeting between these two nations; yet they are inextricably linked by their shared footballing philosophy - a tactical approach attributable to two Dutchmen, Rinus Michels and Johan Cruyff, and their profound influence on two clubs, Ajax and Barcelona.
THE ANALYSIS (PART II)
The two squads from whom a new name will be inscribed on the World Cup this weekend include no fewer than 17 players who graduated from the academies of these two great clubs, which is to say that all 17 were schooled in their formative years in the fluid and highly flexible style known as 'Total Football'.
That was the label given to the system in which any outfield player can seamlessly assume the role of any other in the team - an approach embodied in successive Ajax, Holland, Barcelona and Spain teams, and one which could provide a feast for football purists on Sunday.
Some argue that the genesis of Total Football was the great Hungary team of the early 1950s, who are credited with re-inventing the game after the Second World War. They have a strong case; and it is no coincidence that the international record set by those Magical Magyars - of 32 consecutive matches without defeat - was only beaten, in June 2009, by the current Spain team.
But the version of Total Football developed by Ajax and later Barcelona had its origins in Amsterdam. Englishman Jack Reynolds, manager of Ajax Amsterdam from 1915–1925, 1928–1940, and 1945-1947, first experimented with it. One of his players in his last spell at the club was Michels, and he is the man who famously pioneered and refined it when he himself turned to coaching.
Under Michels, Ajax played some of their best ever football, winning the Dutch league four times and cup three times between 1965 and 1971, and also lifting the first of three consecutive European Cups. His great on-field orchestrator was the incomparable Johan Cruyff. The pair also worked together at Barcelona - Michels joining the Catalans in 1971 and Cruyff in 1973 - and with the Dutch national team, who dazzled the world with Total Football at the 1974 World Cup and are still regarded as the best team never to have won the trophy.
In Cruyff's vision of Total Football, which was further refined when he became coach of Ajax (1985-88) and Barcelona (1988-96), and which is evident today in the way both 2010 World Cup finalists play, space is everything. An Ajax team-mate of Cruyff's, Barry Hulshoff, once explained: "We discussed space the whole time. Johan Cruyff always talked about where people should run and where they should stand, and when they should not move."
MORE...
Winning 11 trophies, Cruyff became Barcelona's most successful and longest serving manager to date. Perhaps most significantly, in building the Dream Team he recruited Pep Guardiola, whose successful playing career has been followed by an even more successful coaching career, in which the legacy of the Michels-Cruyff brand of Total Football is dazzlingly apparent. The current Spain squad is packed with players under Guardiola's tutelage at club level who came through the Barca academy: Victor Valdes, Gerard Pique, Carles Puyol, Sergio Busquets, Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta and Pedro Rodriguez, with Cesc Fabregas having begun his footballing education at Camp Nou, where he modelled his game on Guardiola’s.
Meanwhile the Ajax youth programme remains one of the most vibrant and productive in world football. In 1995, when Ajax won the Champions League, the Dutch national team was composed almost entirely of their players, including Edwin van der Sar, Michael Reiziger, Frank de Boer, Danny Blind, Ronald de Boer, Edgar Davids, Clarence Seedorf, Patrick Kluivert and Marc Overmars. Several of those stars also went on to represent Barcelona with distinction.
Heirs to the legacy created by these players and the likes of Cruyff, Marco van Basten, Frank Rijkaard and Dennis Bergkamp can be found throughout the current Oranje squad. Wesley Sneijder, Rafael van der Vaart, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Eljero Elia, John Heitinga, Nigel de Jong, Maarten Stekelenburg, Gregory van der Wiel and Ryan Babel all came through the ranks at Ajax.
The 2010 World Cup final will, therefore, be something of an affirmation that the Total Football philosophy born some 40 years ago in Amsterdam has been nurtured over a couple of generations and flourished in the academies of two famous clubs to the benefit of two distinctive national teams. And when of those nations lifts the trophy for the first time on Sunday, attacking football will be the winner.
THE ANALYSIS (PART II)
|
"We discussed space the whole time. Johan Cruyff always talked about where people should run and where they should stand, and when they should not move."
Barry Hulshoff
Former Ajax team-mate |
That was the label given to the system in which any outfield player can seamlessly assume the role of any other in the team - an approach embodied in successive Ajax, Holland, Barcelona and Spain teams, and one which could provide a feast for football purists on Sunday.
Some argue that the genesis of Total Football was the great Hungary team of the early 1950s, who are credited with re-inventing the game after the Second World War. They have a strong case; and it is no coincidence that the international record set by those Magical Magyars - of 32 consecutive matches without defeat - was only beaten, in June 2009, by the current Spain team.
But the version of Total Football developed by Ajax and later Barcelona had its origins in Amsterdam. Englishman Jack Reynolds, manager of Ajax Amsterdam from 1915–1925, 1928–1940, and 1945-1947, first experimented with it. One of his players in his last spell at the club was Michels, and he is the man who famously pioneered and refined it when he himself turned to coaching.
|
"The 2010 World Cup final will, therefore, be something of an affirmation that the Total Football philosophy born some 40 years ago in Amsterdam."
|
Under Michels, Ajax played some of their best ever football, winning the Dutch league four times and cup three times between 1965 and 1971, and also lifting the first of three consecutive European Cups. His great on-field orchestrator was the incomparable Johan Cruyff. The pair also worked together at Barcelona - Michels joining the Catalans in 1971 and Cruyff in 1973 - and with the Dutch national team, who dazzled the world with Total Football at the 1974 World Cup and are still regarded as the best team never to have won the trophy.
In Cruyff's vision of Total Football, which was further refined when he became coach of Ajax (1985-88) and Barcelona (1988-96), and which is evident today in the way both 2010 World Cup finalists play, space is everything. An Ajax team-mate of Cruyff's, Barry Hulshoff, once explained: "We discussed space the whole time. Johan Cruyff always talked about where people should run and where they should stand, and when they should not move."
MORE...
- Poll: Majority of readers had backed Germany - so now who do you think will win World Cup 2010?
- Can Robben, Sneijder & Co go one better than these great Netherlands sides?
- Comment: Midfield maestros dominate Germany to help fire Spain to the final
FROM BARCA TO SPAIN
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Winning 11 trophies, Cruyff became Barcelona's most successful and longest serving manager to date. Perhaps most significantly, in building the Dream Team he recruited Pep Guardiola, whose successful playing career has been followed by an even more successful coaching career, in which the legacy of the Michels-Cruyff brand of Total Football is dazzlingly apparent. The current Spain squad is packed with players under Guardiola's tutelage at club level who came through the Barca academy: Victor Valdes, Gerard Pique, Carles Puyol, Sergio Busquets, Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta and Pedro Rodriguez, with Cesc Fabregas having begun his footballing education at Camp Nou, where he modelled his game on Guardiola’s.
THE AJAX CONTRIBUTION
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Meanwhile the Ajax youth programme remains one of the most vibrant and productive in world football. In 1995, when Ajax won the Champions League, the Dutch national team was composed almost entirely of their players, including Edwin van der Sar, Michael Reiziger, Frank de Boer, Danny Blind, Ronald de Boer, Edgar Davids, Clarence Seedorf, Patrick Kluivert and Marc Overmars. Several of those stars also went on to represent Barcelona with distinction.
Heirs to the legacy created by these players and the likes of Cruyff, Marco van Basten, Frank Rijkaard and Dennis Bergkamp can be found throughout the current Oranje squad. Wesley Sneijder, Rafael van der Vaart, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Eljero Elia, John Heitinga, Nigel de Jong, Maarten Stekelenburg, Gregory van der Wiel and Ryan Babel all came through the ranks at Ajax.
The 2010 World Cup final will, therefore, be something of an affirmation that the Total Football philosophy born some 40 years ago in Amsterdam has been nurtured over a couple of generations and flourished in the academies of two famous clubs to the benefit of two distinctive national teams. And when of those nations lifts the trophy for the first time on Sunday, attacking football will be the winner.
Our 
provides the best breaking news online and our 
football fan community is unmatched worldwide. Never miss a thing again!
provides the best breaking news online and our football fan community is unmatched worldwide. Never miss a thing again!| Sign up with 188BET for a FREE bet up to £25 – Great Prices, Every Game |
|
| Open an account with Sportingbet today and get up to £100 in free bets! |
|
| Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25 |
|
| Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200 |
|
| Sign up with Paddy Power for a free bet up to £50 |
|
Thank you for your comment!
Please enter your name
Please enter your location
Please share your comment!
17 Comments
Advertisement
Inside Goal.Com
-
The Capello Index: Rating the key moments and decisions in former England manager's reign
From stripping John Terry of the captaincy, to agreeing a new contract just a week before the 2010 World Cup, a look at how the Italian fared as Three Lions manager
-
The unusual suspects: From Hiddink to Mourinho, the alternative choices for next England manager
Following Capello's resignation on Wednesday, Goal.com suggests a list of other coaches who could be surprise appointments should the obvious - Harry Redknapp - rule himself out
-
Poll of the day: Was Fabio Capello a success as England manager?
The Italian resigned as boss last night and, although he oversaw a disastrous World Cup in South Africa, his win percentage was the highest of any manager in the past 50 years
-
In Pictures: The highs & lows of Fabio Capello's England reign
Following his decision to stand down from his role as Three Lions boss on Wednesday, Goal.com takes a look at the Italian's defining moments at the helm
-
Good for Richards, bad for Bent - what Capello's departure could mean for England hopefuls
As the national team enters a new era, we take a look at the players who are now destined for big things and those potentially heading for the scrapheap under a new boss
Advertisement
Advertisement
