FOOTY FAIR

Throwback Thursdays: Ajax Introduce the World to Total Football

2016-06-02T08:00:00.000-04:00

Exactly forty-five years ago today, Amsterdam powerhouse Ajax won the first of their eventual three straight European Cups by defeating Panathinaikos 2-0 at Wembley Stadium in London.

For Ajax it was their second trip to the final, following a 4-1 defeat to AC Milan in 1969.

Throughout much of their history Ajax had a tradition of playing exciting attacking football, but it would be after the appointment of former player Rinus Michels as manager in 1965 that the club would forge the identity that the Dutch giants are known for today.

Building upon Ajax's existing ethos for playing a passing game and adapting the ideas of Gusztáv Sebes, who had managed a flexible and exhilarating Hungarian national side in the 1950's, Michels implemented a system that would come to be coined "Total Football".

Although his side played in a basic 4-3-3 formation, the Ajax players were well drilled in picking up positions left vacated by a teammate making a run. The team shape and the spacing between players was never lost, as players rotated across the pitch.

In order to play this system, the player needed to be exceptionally fit and possess great spatial awareness, so they could easily pickup where they should move and where they should not in relation to their teammates and opponents.

Their opponents in the final were Athens side Panathinaikos, who are still the only Greek club to make it to the final of the European Cup.

Thanks to high scoring forward Antonis Antoniadis and under the watchful eye of manager Ferenc Puskás, the legendary former Hungarian striker, the Greek side had reached the final with impressive aggregate wins over Everton and Red Star Belgrade.

After taking a 5th-minute lead through Dick van Dijk it was Ajax's defense, rather than their much lauded attack, that came to the fore as they completely negated their opponents forwards.

Antoniadis struggled to get into the game, and the gig was up in the 87th minute when Arie Haan added a second for Ajax.

Despite Michels departure for Barcelona following this victory, over the next two seasons the Amsterdam club would go on to win two more European Cups, making it three in succession.

Football's Greatest Sides - Part 4 of 5: Barcelona (2009 to 2011)

2016-03-30T08:00:00.000-04:00

Having watched his Manchester United side dismantled in the UEFA Champions League Final at Wembley Stadium by Barcelona in 2011, Sir Alex Ferguson later reflected that the Catalans were the best team he had ever faced. "No one," he said, "has ever given us a hiding like that."

Although the final score was only 3-1 for Pep Guardiola's side that day, it was never that close as United had spent most of the night chasing shadows. They had few answers for the incisive passing movement of Andres Iniesta and Xavi in the middle of the park, the clever runs of David Villa and never mind the mercurial little genius known as Lionel Messi upfront.

Having also beaten United 2-0 in the final in Rome two years earlier, Barcelona had made it two Champions Leagues out of three and cemented themselves as a side for the ages.

It's sometimes forgotten that a Ronaldinho-led Barcelona had won the Champions League in 2006 under Dutch manager Frank Rijkaard, a match that saw Messi out through injury, while Xavi and Iniesta looked on from the bench, but by 2008 in-fighting had destroyed that team and changes were desperately needed.

Ronaldinho made his exit, as did Rijkaard, and in came Pep Guardiola who had been a key part of Johan Cruyff's mythical "Dream Team" who had won the European Cup at Wembley in 1992.

Following in Cruyff's footsteps in that he was looking to emulate the Dutchman's ethos of Barcelona playing with a fluid passing style, Guardiola made Messi the focus of his attack, while Xavi and Iniesta were there to supply the ammunition.

Besides Barcelona's "carousel of passing", as described by Ferguson, the side worked incredibly hard to press back opponents all over the pitch, so in the rare instances they lost possession they worked doggedly to retrieve it.

Ringing in Guardiola's changes, the club won a treble of La Liga, Copa del Rey and the aforementioned Champions League title in 2008-2009 and they were just getting started.

They followed that up by winning the league again in 2009-2010, along with the Spanish and European Super Cups, and the FIFA World Club Cup. They would fall to Jose Mourinho's Inter in the Champions League semi-final after a two day bus trip to Milan necessitated by the grounding of all flights following an Icelandic volcanic eruption.

They would return in 2010-2011 with another league and Champions League double to return to the summit of domestic and European football.

Guardiola would depart the next season, but what he put in place at the club is still largely in place. Despite the exit of Xavi, the heart of Pep's side, Barcelona now have one of the scariest front three's ever seen in club football with Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar laying waste to defences throughout Europe.

Although it's easy to get annoyed by the irritating nouveau football fanboys and fashionistas that have attached themselves to Barcelona since Guardiola's time in charge, ignoring their brief steamy love affair with Borussia Dortmund in 2012 of course, this Barcelona side can rightly consider itself to be one of the greatest squads ever and even the most hardcore haters or Madridistas have to admit that.

The Spanish national side have much to thank Barca for as well, as it was their core of players and their approach that helped Spain to victories in Euro 2008 and 2012, along with victory at the 2010 World Cup.

Football's Greatest Sides - Part 2 of 5: Ajax (1971 to 1973)

2016-03-27T09:25:00.000-04:00

As tributes were paid this week to Johan Cruyff, following his passing at age 68, reference was made to him being a 'total footballer' and the heart of a fantastic Ajax side, but perhaps few fans of the modern game know what he and that team have meant to the way football is now played.

Ajax of the early 1970's might not be the greatest team ever, but it's hard to argue that they aren't the most influential.

Prior to 1954, the Netherlands had been a minnow of European football with a national side that rarely won and a disorganized amateur league structure. But in 1954, professionalism came to Dutch football and with that came the impetus to improve the way the game was played by both clubs and country.

At the forefront of the Dutch football revolution was Ajax, who had a tradition for attractive passing football going all the way back to the First World War when they were under the helm of forward thinking English manager Jack Reynolds.

Reynolds set the club up so that all levels, from the first team all the way down to the youth sides. It's a tradition that Ajax has continued over a hundred years later. The revolutionary coach from Manchester would be associated with the Amsterdam club for 27 years and lead them to 8 League Championships.

Rinus Michels, a former pupil of Reynolds, had carved out a twelve year playing career for Ajax between 1946 and 1958 scoring 122 goals, but it was his appointment as manager in 1965 that would change the course of the club's history.

Bringing along youngsters such as Johan Neeskens and Johan Cruyff, Michels transformed a relegation threatened club into league champions within a year.

Building upon Ajax's existing ethos for playing a passing game and adapting the ideas of Gusztáv Sebes, who had managed a flexible and exhilarating Hungarian national side in the 1950's, Michels implemented a system that would come to be coined "Total Football".

Although his side played in a basic 4-3-3 formation, the Ajax players were well drilled in picking up positions left vacated by a teammate making a run. The team shape and the spacing between players was never lost, as players rotated across the pitch.

This required players that were tactical adept and very flexible. Of course the physical demands on the players was also high as they moved around the pitch plugging gaps and making intelligent runs.

The role of Ajax's star forward Cruyff was also key to this system, as he would roam across the front line or back into midfield causing damage all over the pitch. Spaces he left open in his side's structure though were quickly filled by a teammate.

Spatial awareness, in terms of where players should move and where they should not in relation to their teammates and their opponents was critical to this system.

The impact of Michel's new system saw an Ajax reach the European Cup Final in 1969 where they would get turned over 4-1 by AC Milan, but the experience of playing in such a match would stand them in good stead.

In 1971, Ajax defeated Panathinaikos 2-0 at Wembley to capture their first European title and cap a run that even survived the departure of Michels to Barcelona following this victory.

Under the less demanding, but more even more attack minded, Stefan Kovacs, Ajax accumulated a staggering 46-0-0 record at home in domestic football during 1971-1972 and 1972-1973, while also scooping up two more European Cups in those seasons with a 2-0 victory over Inter in 1972 and a 1-0 win over Juventus the following year.

This era of Ajax dominance would come to an end in 1973 with the departure of Cruyff to Barcelona.

Cruyff and Michels, reunited at club and country level, were able to bring their Total Football style over to the Dutch national side, as they strode to the World Cup Final in 1974.

Although there have been modifications down through the years, this style of play was at the heart of Pep Guardiola's Barcelona, who some consider the best club side ever. What former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson called their "carousel of passing" was only possible by controlling space and always giving each other passing options.

Whenever this side lost the ball, which was rare to begin with, they were setup to quickly win it back. Modern day Barcelona, still owe much to Michels and Cruyff and the ideas they put into practice over four decades ago.

Throwback Thursdays: Johan Cruyff - The Total Footballer

2016-03-24T09:45:00.000-04:00

In the lead up to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, I wrote a short piece on the legendary Johan Cruyff and his impact on the 1974 World Cup. With the sad news this morning that the Dutch maestro has died of cancer at age 68, I thought it appropriate to re-post that article for Throwback Thursday.

Our thoughts are with Mr. Cruyff's family and friends at this time.
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In the long history of football, how many players have had a move named after them and, on top of that, have had their name become synonymous with an entire system of play?

Thanks to the great Johan Cruyff, and the brilliant Dutch side he led to the 1974 World Cup Final, the Cruyff Turn and Total Football are integral parts of the football lexicon.

Prior to the late 1960's, the Netherlands were considered to be minnows of European football, often suffering humiliating defeats in internationals.

With the advent of a professional league in 1954, and the subsequent emergence of Feyenoord and Ajax as top European sides, the Dutch National side began to build some momentum in the early 1970's and would become a surprising major player on the world stage.

Total Football, as it was later coined, involved the flexible movement of players all across the pitch, moving and covering for each other to fill spaces and confuse opposition markers. This system, which was heavily influenced by the great Hungarian side of the 1950's, required players to be comfortable with taking on different roles and to have the intelligence to adapt as the teams shape could change at any time during a match.

In order for this system to truly work, it needed an orchestrator and there was no one better suited to this role than the brilliant Johan Cruyff. Joining Ajax's famous youth academy at the age of ten, Cruyff was already a three time Ballon D'Or and European Cup winner by the time he led the Netherlands into the 1974 World Cup.

A strong, vocal presence on the pitch, Cruyff served as coach Rinus Michels on pitch general, along with effortlessly floating between wings, into a withdrawn midfield role and then upfront to finish off attacks. He was the perfect model of the "Total Footballer", as he was comfortable in taking on different roles during different situations in a match.

Cruyff has often been compared to a dancer in the way he gracefully moved on the pitch, and this was clearly evidenced in Holland's first round match against Sweden when he unveiled the move that still carries his name. Facing defender Jan Ollsson, Cruyff shaped as if he was going to cross the ball, but instead he dragged it behind his planted leg, pivoted 180 degrees and left the defender for dead.

Playing some thrilling football, Holland easily progressed through the first round of the World Cup with wins over Uruguay and Bulgaria, either side of a draw with Sweden.

In the second group stage, Cruyff found the net twice in a thrilling 4-0 demolition of Argentina. After a 2-0 win over East Germany, Holland defeated the defending champion Brazilians 2-0 with Cruyff on target again.

In the World Cup Final against the hosts, West Germany, Cruyff took the ball from the kickoff and displaying the type of football that won this great Dutch side so many fans, the Oranje passed the ball around 13 times, before Cruyff burst into the box and was upended for a penalty. Without a single German player touching the ball, Johan Neeskens scored from the spot to give the Dutch the lead. Unfortunately for Cruyff and company, West Germany got back into the match through Paul Breitner and Gerd Muller, while Berti Vogts and Franz Beckenbauer shackled Cruyff for the remainder of the match.

Despite their loss in the final, and the fact that Johan Cruyff never played in another World Cup, the impact he and his side had in 1974 will never be forgotten.

5 Iconic National Teams That Ultimately Failed

2016-01-03T08:00:00.000-05:00

It's been said that history only remembers the winners, but in football that's not always the case as some teams have captured our imaginations, and then lived long in our memories with their brilliant play despite ultimately falling short of winning the World Cup.

The following are five iconic sides that ultimately failed, but have never been forgotten:

Hungary 1954

Ferenc Puskas and Hungary's Mighty Magyars had gone undefeated for four years coming into the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland and were heavy favourites to lift the Jules Rimet Trophy. Hungary, playing an early form of total football, had smashed England 6-3 at Wembley a year earlier and surprised no one by romping to the World Cup Final in Bern. Their opponents were a West Germany side who, like the country they hailed from, were still recovering from the devastation of World War 2.

When Puskas and Zoltan Czibor put Hungary up 2-0 within eight minutes everything seemed to be going according to the script, but within two minutes West Germany got back into it. Max Morlock slide home the German's first on 10 minutes, before Helmut Rahn equalized in the 18th minute. After that the Hungarian's pressed and pressed, but despite laying siege to the German goal they could not force themselves back in front. With six minutes to go, Rahn struck again to complete a remarkable comeback and consign one of the finest team's the football world had seen to a 3-2 defeat.

Netherlands 1974

Unless you support Germany, if you mention the 1974 World Cup to most football fans of a certain age they'll almost certainly wax lyrically about the wonderful Dutch side of Johan Cruyff that swept to the final playing their glorious total football that summer.

Managed by Rinus Michels, the Netherlands played a fluid brand of football with players interchanging positions and Cruyff conducting things using a style that had seen Ajax win three straight European Cups in the early 1970's. Facing the host West German side in the final the Netherlands were the slight favourites, but as they had in 1954 the German's spoiled the party overcoming a Johan Neeskens penalty in the second minute with goals by Paul Breitner in the 25th minute and a second by poacher supreme Gerd Muller in the 43rd minute. Despite chances for both sides in the second half, West Germany claimed their second World Cup hanging on for a 2-1 victory in Munich.

Brazil 1982

Arguably the last Brazilian side to play in the thrilling samba style of old, the Selecao's 1982 vintage featured a chain smoking doctor named Socrates, the brilliant Zico and a terrific group of individuals who played like they'd just strolled in from the beach. Some of the goals this team scored are among the best World Cup stunners you'll ever see on YouTube.

Sweeping aside New Zealand, Scotland and the Soviet Union in the opening group stage, Brazil then downed their old rivals Argentina 3-1 in their first second round group match and seemed prime to match the achievements of the great Brazilian sides of the past. Unfortunately, the cavalier play of manager Tele Santana's side proved to be their undoing against the eventual world champions Italy when some disastrous defending gifted Paolo Rossi a hattrick in a 3-2 win for the Azzurri in the final second round group match. Thanks to exited in one of the finest World Cup matches ever played and their inspired attacking brilliance throughout, this Brazilian side is considered by many to be the best team that didn't win a World Cup.

Denmark 1986

For a country of only five million people, Denmark has produced a good number of wonderful footballers, several of which made up their 1986 World Cup squad. Nicknamed the Danish Dynamite, the 1986 squad combined brute force and smooth technique unlike any side the country has produced since, even the European Championship winners of 1992. Under German manager Sepp Piontek, the Danes might have been the most prepared team for the 1986 World Cup in Mexico having gone through intense altitude training and bruising training sessions prior to the tournament.

With the talented Preben Elkjær Larsen leading the line, a 21-year old phenomenon in Michael Laudrup providing the creativity and the dynamic Frank Arnesen and Soren Lerby applying the drive from midfield, Denmark became one of the neutrals favourites in Mexico. Sailing through, what looked like on paper, a tough first round group, the Danes dispatched Scotland 1-0, hammered Uruguay 6-1 and then beat the eventual finalists West Germany 2-0. But in the second round the unbelievable happened. After going up 1-0 against Spain, and pressing their advantage, a calamitous mistake by Jesper Olsen allowed the Spanish to equalize through Emilio Butragueño. In the second half as Denmark pushed forward, some might say recklessly, they were caught on the counter attack four more times as Butragueño added three more goals to his name and Andoni Goikoetxea fired in a penalty to complete a shock 5-1 win for Spain.

Denmark, a tournament favourite who had played some of the finest football of the World Cup in the first round, flew a little too close to the sun with wax wings.

Brazil 1998

Everyone of a certain age remembers the wonderful Nike advertisement of the Brazilian team of 1998 moving a ball through an airport, and it was rather representative of the football they played at that time. Although Brazil won the World Cup in 1994, and would win it again in 2002, it was the 1998 team with Ronaldo at his peak that captured the imagination.

Led by manager Mario Zagallo, who guided the legendary 1970 Brazilian side to glory, Brazil breezed through the first round with their attacking trio of Rivaldo, Bebeto and that man Ronaldo firing on all cylinders. They crushed Chile 4-1 in the Round of 16, before narrowly edging out a surprising Denmark side 3-2 in the Quarter Finals. The Semi Finals saw Brazil take the lead against a very good Dutch team through Ronaldo in the 46th minute, before Patrick Kluivert levelled the score three minutes from time. Brazil held their nerve in the shootout though and advanced to the final.

In the World Cup final against the host France, Brazil went in as the slight favourites despite the French having the home crowd advantage. Prior to the match though, Ronaldo suffered a seizure and was initially left out of the starting eleven. Despite being cleared to play, the best player on the planet at that time proved a non-factor as the South Americans wilted and were beaten 3-0.

Puma vs Adidas: A Brief History

2015-08-10T08:00:00.000-04:00

Adidas and Nike are now the undisputed kings of football merchandise, kits and boots. However, another German company, Puma, used to be one of the big dogs in the football apparel market and a constant thorn in the side of their local rivals Adidas.

While the brand with three stripes traditionally marketed themselves around the image of strength through teamwork, namely with their sponsorship of the German national team, Puma went after the big individual stars like Pele, Diego Maradona and Johan Cruyff.

During the 1970 World Cup, it's even been alleged that Pele stopped to re-tie his boots just before kickoff, knowing that the cameras would be on him, so that his Puma's would come into focus.

What isn't an allegation, but an actual fact, is that Johan Cruyff had one of the stripes taken off of his Adidas sponsored Netherlands kit before the 1974 World Cup because of his allegiance to Puma.

Adidas would get the last laugh though, by some distance, in this period when their president Horst Dassler formed an alliance with then FIFA President João Havelange that not only solidified the company's position as the top supplier of football apparel but it also helped modernize FIFA's marketing and lucrative sponsorship arrangements.

The rivalry between Adidas and Puma had it's roots in the 1920's when two brothers in Herzogenaurach, Germany named Rudolf ("Rudi") and Adolf ("Adi") Dassler started a shoe company called simply Dassler.

Recognizing the potential for providing footwear for athletes, Dassler started outfitting the German Olympic team in 1928 and by the notorious 1936 Games in Berlin, which were overshadowed by the Nazi regime, they had expanded to sponsoring international athletes like the four gold medal winning American track star Jesse Owens.

Although both brothers were members of the Nazi Party, Rudolf was the more ardent supporter of Adolf Hitler and while Adi worked on providing boots for the Wehrmacht he would later leave the Party and this would add to the growing rift between the two.

The breaking point seemed to come during an Allied bomb attack in 1943 when Adi and his wife took cover in a bomb shelter that Rudolf and his family were in. "The dirty bastards are back again," Adi said, apparently referring to the Allied war planes, but Rudi was convinced that his brother meant him and his family.

Shortly after Rudi was drafted into active service, while his brother stayed at home to continue to support the war effort. After Rudi was captured by the Americans, he was suspected of being a member of the SS, which was information allegedly supplied to them by his brother Adi.

With the situation resolved, Rudi left the family company behind and would never speak to his brother again for the rest of his life. Their feud spread through their home town of Herzogenaurach, as the population was split down the middle in terms of who they supported.

Rudi went on to form a new shoe brand he called Puma. Meanwhile, Adi renamed his company Adidas as a derivative of Adi Dassler and the rest, as they say, is history.

Fathers, Sons and Football

2015-06-21T08:00:00.000-04:00

For many football supporters around the world the person that took them to their first match was most likely their father. Many of us end up supporting the team our dad's support, for better or worse, and if given the opportunity still enjoy sitting down to watch a match with our old man.

If your dad was a professional footballer himself though, the experience of watching football is rather different. Football becomes an even bigger part of your life, as you would be surrounded by it, and the desire to following in your father's footsteps would be immense.

Although there are countless footballers who have had sons that have unsuccessfully tried to follow them into the game, some second generation footballers have made it into the professional ranks and gone on to great careers in their own rights.

On this Father's Day Sunday, we here at FootyFair wish all the dads out there a great day and present five footballing fathers and sons:

Harry and Jamie Redknapp

One was a self styled Spice Boy for Liverpool in the 1990's and they other was a grizzled midfielder with hangdog looks for West Ham in the 1970's who achieved greater fame as a manager. I'm talking of course about Harry Redknapp and his son Jamie Redknapp. Both Redknapp's are now mainly in the spotlight for their media work, as Harry left his most recent management job at QPR last season and after his injury riddled playing career ended in 2005, Jamie hasn't opted to follow his dad into coaching.

Juan Ramón and Juan Sebastián Verón

The elder Verón, Juan Ramón, enjoyed a glittering career with Argentine club Estudiantes where he was a key part of the side that was the finest in South America in the late 1960's. Nicknamed, La Bruja (The Witch), the technically gifted midfielder enjoyed a brief spell with Greek side Panathinaikos F.C. either side of his stints with Estudiantes. His son, Juan Sebastián, was a similarly gifted midfielder who also started his career with Estudiantes, but is perhaps better remembered for his time in Europe where he shone for clubs such as Sampdoria, Parma, Lazio and Manchester United. The younger Verón, appropriately nicknamed La Brujita (The Little Witch), won various honours across Europe and in the later part of his career returned home to Estudiantes and in 2009 led the club which meant so much to his family to their first Copa Libertadores title since 1970.

Peter and Kasper Schmeichel

The Great Dane, Peter Schmeichel is considered by many to be the greatest goalkeeper in the history of Manchester United and one of the finest keepers to ever keep goal in English football. Helping the club to five league titles, a UEFA Champions League crown and various other honours, the older Schmeichel cast a pretty big shadow that his son, although a good keeper in his own right, would always struggle to get out of. That said, after several years of bouncing between clubs Kasper has found a home at Leicester City and his solid play for them has seen him capped 12 times by Denmark in the last two years.

Johan and Jordi Cruyff

The most famous Dutch player of all time and one of the finest players to play the game, Johan Cruyff is synonymous with the "Total Football" style of play that the Netherlands and his club side Ajax thrilled the watching world with in the 1970's. His son Jordi, started his career under his father at Barcelona, before going on to carve out a career at Manchester United, Alaves and Espanyol before moving into management, as his father had done two decades earlier. Back in January of this year Jordi spoke to FootyFair about his career in an interview you can view here.

Javier Hernández Gutiérrez and Javier Hernández Balcázar

Javier Hernández Balcázar, better known by his nickname of "Chicharito", looks to currently be on his way out of Manchester United having grown tired of the role of "supersub", but he has still made some great contributions to the English side over the years with several key goals. He has also excelled at international level, scoring 39 goals in 72 matches for Mexico, while also appearing at the 2010 and 2014 World Cups. While the younger Hernández is very much a poacher his father, Javier Hernández Gutiérrez who went by the nickname "Chicharo" because of his green eyes, was a midfielder who played out most of his career with Mexican side Tecos. Capped 28 times by his country, Chicharo was part of the Mexican side that made it to the Quarter-Finals of the 1986 World Cup.

The family football connection doesn't simply end with Chicharito's father though. The Manchester United marksman's maternal Grandfather, Tomás Balcázar, won an astounding eight championships over the course of ten seasons with Guadalajara and played for Mexico at the 1954 World Cup.

3 Great Tactical Innovations

2015-04-18T16:00:00.000-04:00

While watching Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher's excellent post match tactical breakdown of the Manchester Derby last weekend I couldn't help but be struck by how Louis van Gaal has finally got Manchester United playing this system he had used to such effect in a few of his previous roles.

His system, which is essentially a play on the classic 4-3-3 setup, traditionally favoured by his old club Ajax, calls for compressing the space all over the pitch and for the defenders to never be 25 yards or so away from the midfield and likewise the midfield from the forwards.

This system reduces the open pockets of space around the pitch, allowing his team to reduce passing options and always be good shape to win the ball back. Alternately when Van Gaal's side receives possession they're fairly close to teammates, and when you combine this with quick and intelligent movement off the ball, as his players try to pull the defending side out of position, several passing options become available.

It's not a particularly new tactic, but it's one that takes a lot of discipline, concentration, work rate and of course players with the necessary quality to implement it.

One of the interesting things about football though is the evolution of tactics like the one's being used by Van Gaal, and the following are three innovations that drastically altered the game:

The Combination Game

In football's early years in the United Kingdom the only way supposed gentlemen played the game was by attempting to dribble right through their opponents and score. Tactics were virtually unheard of and passing was almost viewed as cowardice.

That all began to change when early club's like Sheffield FC in England and their Scottish counterparts Queens Park FC began to experiment with players encouraging each other to pass the ball off if they didn't have the option of dribbling through to goal.

An early proponent of what the newspapers of the day referred to as "The Combination Game" was the famous footballer and cricket star Charles W. Alcock who said, "Nothing succeeds better than what I may call a 'combination game'" and is credited with helping to develop what he also referred to as "a scientific way of playing" with passing and support play at his club side Wanderers.

In one of the earliest instances of passing leading to a goal being mentioned in a newspaper, Alcock put his England teammate Robert Walker through to score against Scotland in an unofficial friendly in 1870. The Scottish, for their part, embraced this new way of playing themselves and in the first recognized international between the two nations in 1872, they nearly passed their English counterparts off the pitch in a competitive encounter that ended 0-0.

The WM

In the early decades of professional football, most sides played a simple variation of a very attack focused 2-3-5 formation with five forwards bombing towards goal, three roving midfielders known as half-backs and two dedicated full-backs. Arsenal's innovative tactician Herbert Chapman changed all of that in the late 1920's when he introduced a more defensively sound 3-2-2-3 formation, that would come to be known as the "WM".

This setup required three full-backs covered by two half-back, with two inside forwards and three attackers.

Chapman's sides, besides being more defensively sound than most of their opponents, were deadly on the counter attack with the majority of their moves going through their supremely gifted inside forward Alex James.

Total Football

When you say the two words "Total Football", immediately people assume you are referring to the great Ajax sides of the early 1970's, but the idea of deep lying forwards and players rotating positions took root much earlier.

Building on ideas coaches Jimmy Hogan and Hugo Meisl worked on with great success with sides in Hungary and Austria in the 1920s and 1930s, the Hungarian manager
Gusztáv Sebes would create one of the most exhilarating sides the world had seen in the 1950's.

As manager of Hungary, Sebes set his team's up in a 4-2-4 when defending and then had them move into a 2-3-1-4 formation when on the attack, where the single player behind the four attackers was a deep lying or withdrawn centre forward. Using Nándor Hidegkuti in this withdrawn role, Hungary romped to an Olympic title in 1952 and then obliterated England 6-3 at Wembley the following year.

It was said afterwards that "Billy Wright and the England defence were like a fire brigade rushing to put out the wrong fire."

That brilliant Hungarian side would go on to narrowly lose to West Germany in the 1954 World Cup Final.

Using a similar approach to Hungary, Brazil romped to victory in the 1958 World Cup, but by the time the 1962 World Cup had come around they had morphed into a 4-3-3 setup. This gave them an extra man in midfield for defensive solidity. The middle three players would move as a unit across the pitch establishing cover and then when transitioning into attack the three forwards would split across the attacking third with the two outside forwards providing width.

With Rinus Michels' Ajax side of the early 1970's they were setup in a 4-3-3, but the difference was the players were well drilled in picking up positions left vacated by a teammate making a run. The team shape and the spacing between players was never lost, as players rotated across the pitch. This required players that were tactical adept and very flexible. Of course the physical demands on the players was also high as they moved around the pitch plugging gaps and making intelligent runs.

The role of Ajax's star forward Johan Cruyff was also key to this system, as he would roam across the front line or back into midfield causing damage all over the pitch. Spaces he left open in his side's structure were quickly filled by a teammate.

Spatial awareness, in terms of where players should move and where they should not in relation to their teammates and their opponents was critical to this system.

Ajax certainly reaped the rewards by winning three straight European Cups in the early 1970's, along achieving a staggering 46-0-0 record at home in domestic football during 1971/1972 and 1972/1973.

Cruyff and Michels were also able to bring this style over to the Dutch national side, as they strode to the World Cup Final in 1974.

Although there have been modifications down through the years, this style of play was at the heart of Pep Guardiola's Barcelona, who some consider the best club side ever. What former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson called their "carousel of passing" was only possible by controlling space and always giving each other passing options.

Whenever this side lost the ball, which was rare to begin with, they were setup to quickly win it back.

From Alcock to Chapman, with influence by Hogan and Meisl, input from Sebes and Michels, leading to near perfection from Guardiola, football tactics have come a long way.

(And before you ask, I purposely skipped Catenaccio, as I've watched too many grindingly dull matches as a result of this system.)

Los 5 Grandes by Emilio Sansolini (Gallery)

2015-03-03T16:00:00.000-05:00

This is the latest poster project from one of our favorite and most featured football artists from around the world. Emilio is a Gibraltar based designer who is passionate about football and it sure shows in his work.

10 Questions With a Pro - Jordi Cruyff

2015-01-09T12:00:00.000-05:00

This week we got to chat with Sports Director of Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv Jordi Cruyff. Aside from being the son of Dutch footballing legend Johan Cruyff, Jordi himsef played for clubs such as Barcelona, Manchester United and the Dutch national football team before switching the path of his football career into management.

FootyFair: During your football playing career you have played alongside numerous world-famous footballers. Which one teammate impressed you the most on and off the field?
Jordi Cruyff: Eric Cantona! Hard man image on the pitch, super social person off the pitch.

FF: You are now in Israel with Maccabi Tel-Aviv as a Sport Director. What was your first impression of Ligat Winner (Israeli Premier League)? Has your impression of the league changed since?
JC: I believed then and still believe now that tactically the league can improve, because most players have good technical skills.

FF: Did you have any rituals or superstitions in your playing days?
JC: I suppose that if you have good results/performances in a short period of time you try do similar things before the games in hopes the success continues.

FF: If you could dress for a club you have never played for, which would it be?

JC: I would have liked the experience of playing in Turkey because of the passion they have for the game.

FF: You are a Dutch international, but spent most of your playing career in Spain. Were you a bit torn when Spain and Netherlands played in the 2010 World Cup final? Or did you have a clear favorite?
JC: I sympathies with Holland in sports even though my mentality is more Spanish. But anyway I was proud that both made the final!

FF: What were your personal favorite moments in your playing career?
JC: 1. UEFA cup final with Alaves in 2001. 2. Scoring a goal in EURO 96 with Holland and 3. My first goal with FC Barcelona.

FF: If you were never to become a footballer, what job would you most likely have right now?
JC: Something in business, probably import/export.

FF: You have had success after your playing days, especially with Maccabi Tel-Aviv achieving two league titles for the club after a decade without one. What would be your next “dream” step?
JC: Continue to win and improve all the time, only then you can achieve the next dream step.

FF: You have played internationally with both Holland and non FIFA or UEFA affiliate Catalonia. What was different about putting on the Catalan shirt? Was there a different sense of respect and pride?
JC: Yes, I feel Catalan, my name is a VERY Catalan name. It's my way to show appreciation for the way I have always been treated there.

FF: Do you follow any sport other than football? If yes, who is your favorite team or athlete in that sport?
JC: I like basketball, especially NBA games where Spanish and mainly Catalans participate in.

We thank Jordi Cruyff for taking the time to answer our questions here at FootyFair.com and wish him all the best in football and beyond.

5 Famous Footballing Fathers and Sons

2015-01-07T16:00:00.000-05:00

It's not easy to make it into professional football and although to the outsider it may appear to be an advantage to have had a father who played professionally it doesn't always work out that way, particularly if your father was a club or international legend.

The following are five examples of players who followed their famous fathers into professional football:

Valentino and Sandro Mazzola

Valentino Mazzola was the golden boy of Italian football in the 1940's. As captain of the famous 'Il Grande Torino' side that won a record five consecutive Serie A titles, the elder Mazzola was a brilliant all round midfielder who was intelligent, quick, strong, and a natural leader. Tragically his life, and that of his teammates, was cut short in the Superga Air Disaster as the Torino plane returning from a friendly against Benfica in Portugal crashed into the Basilica of Superga overlooking Turin in May of 1949. The entire squad was killed in the crash, including the 30 year old Valentino Mazzola.

After losing his father at age six, Sandro Mazzola grew up to be a key player for Internazionale and Italy in the 1960's and early 1970's. With Inter, the highly skilled Sandro won four Serie A titles and two Champions League crowns, while helping Italy to a place in the 1970 World Cup Final.

Johan and Jordi Cruyff

Johan Cruyff, the most famous Dutchman to ever step onto a football pitch and considered to be one of the finest players ever, is widely remembered for his terrific performances for the brilliant 'Total Football' Ajax sides that won three consecutive European Cups in the early 1970's and for helping his country to the final of the 1974 World Cup. He later moved on at club level to Barcelona, where he helped the Catalan side to a La Liga title in his first season in Spain.

His son Jordi started his career at Barcelona and after impressing at club level he was selected for the national team and is only the sixth player to have represented the Netherlands having never played in the Eredivisie. Jordi later joined Manchester United where he played a part in the club's Premier League title winning side in 1996/1997. Like his father, the younger Cruyff has entered the world of football administration after hanging up his boots and is currently enjoying a successful stint as the Sports Director of Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C.

Frank Lampard Sr. and Frank Lampard Jr.

The elder Frank Lampard is one of the most respected players in West Ham's history, making over 650 appearances at Left Back for the East London side and helping them to two FA Cup win's during his time at Upton Park. He later became an assistant manager for the club under his brother-in-law Harry Rednapp.

Frank Jr., also started his career in the claret and blue, but as his family was so connected to the club he had to endure accusations of only playing through nepotism in his early years as a Hammer. Ignoring his critics, Frank Jr. eventually proved the doubters wrong by showing off his ability in midfield and becoming a key player for the club. He later joined Chelsea and after numerous league, cup and European titles for the Blues he has been described by some as the best player to ever grace Stamford Bridge.

Cesare and Paolo Maldini

As captain of AC Milan in the 1960's, Cesare Maldini led the club to four Serie A titles and their first European Cup win in 1963 at Wembley over Benfica. Along the way the classy defender also won 25 caps for Italy.

His son Paolo though might be the finest player to have ever pulled on the Milan shirt. One of the finest defenders of the modern era, Paolo played his first match for Milan at 17 and when he retired at age 41 he had won seven Serie A titles, an incredible five European Cups/Champions League titles, and two Intercontinental Cups. He also played for his country 126 times, helping them to the finals of the 1994 World Cup and Euro 2000.

Juan Ramón Verón and Juan Sebastián Verón

Juan Ramon Veron, a high scoring winger, was a key part of Estudiantes de La Plata's all conquering side of the 1960's who dominated not only the Argentinian league, but also South American football on their way to winning three straight Copa Libertadores. He also scored a crucial goal against his sons future club, Manchester United, that helped to down the then European Cup holders in the Intercontinental Cup.

His son Juan Sebastian started his career with Estudiantes before moving on to great success in Europe. He won a Serie A title at Lazio and although his transfer to Manchester United has been dubbed an expensive flop, he did play some great football occasionally at Old Trafford as he helped the club win the 2002/2003 Premier League title. After subsequent moves to Chelsea and Inter, he returned to Estudiantes in 2006 where he helped his old club win their first title in 23 years.

That Cruyff is a Work of Art (Gallery)

2014-10-11T21:00:00.001-04:00

Dutch football legend Johan Cruyff is a very popular subject for art. From paintings to illustrations, here is a collection of the best Cruyff artwork from around the internet.

De Klassieker - Football Rivalries - Ajax vs Feyenoord

2014-08-18T09:00:00.000-04:00

De Klassieker ("The Classic") between Ajax of Amsterdam and Feyenoord of Rotterdam is arguably the biggest and definitely the nasiest rivalry in the Netherlands.

The rivalry between these two great Dutch sides is often seen as the battle between the artists and intellectuals of Amsterdam against the working class fans from Rotterdam. In fact, a common saying amongst the people of Rotterdam is that “While Amsterdam dreams, Rotterdam works”.

Rotterdam is indisputably the industrial heartland of the Netherlands, whereas Amsterdam is more renown as a city for tourists. Feyenoord fans view their rivals from Ajax as arrogant and lazy, while the Amsterdam locals consider the Feyenoord faithful as knuckle dragging simpletons.

Violence between the two sets of fans from the 1970's up until recent years had been fierce, however a notorious incident in 1997 has resulted a major police crackdown whenever the sides meet up. That year the two sets of fans were involved in what has since become known as The Battle of Beverwijk. With Feyenoord's S.C.F. and Ajax's F-Side meeting up for a pre-arranged battle in a meadow off of the motorway near Beverwijk, the two groups tore into each other with baseball bats, knives, claw hammers, tasers, and iron bars in some of the worst football related violence the country had ever seen. During the fighting, Ajax hooligan Carlo Picornie was killed after taking a claw hammer to the head. S.C.F. member Leonardo P. Panton would later serve five years in prison for his murder.

On the football side, a rivalry of sorts had existed between the two sides since the 1920's, it didn't really reach a fever pitch until the 1960's. At the dawn of a great period for Dutch football, both sides emerged as not only the best sides in the Netherlands, but also two of the stronger sides in Europe.

In 1970, Feyenoord defeated heavily favoured Celtic 2-1 in the European Cup Final to signal a shift of the balance in power in European football. Not to be outdone, their great rivals from Ajax then won the next three European Cups in a row with the brilliant Johan Cruyff in their ranks.

The two clubs would go on to provide the bulk of the Netherlands side that finished as runners up at the 1974 World Cup.

Besides Ajax's three straight victories in the European Cup in the 1970's, they added another European title under Louis van Gaal in 1995, while Feyenoord have been unable to add to their solitary triumph. Domestically, Ajax has won an incredible 33 League Titles to Feyenoord's 14.

In the always tense meetings between the two sides, Ajax has won 78 matches over their rivals, with Feyenoord winning 55 and 42 of their matches ending in draws.

Although in recent decades PSV has emerged as another major force in Dutch football, there is still nothing quite like De Klassieker. With tickets to matches between the two clubs very hard to come by, and the fixtures often helping to determine the destiny of the title, it's a rivalry that every football fan should try to see live at least once in their lifetime.

Football Legends in Vinyl (Gallery)

2014-07-23T21:00:00.000-04:00

Two of the things I loved as a kid was football, of course, and flipping through my parents old vinyl LPs.

The covers often seemed to me as interesting as the music contained within the polyvinyl chloride discs they held. Imagine if some of the greatest footballers in history had recorded albums. On second thought don't, as some of them have and they've been awful. New York-based graphic artist James Taylor imagined though what the covers would look like if our favourite players had been actual musicians, as he matched their personalities and backgrounds with the type of music they would have likely produced.

The results below, as I'm sure you'll agree, are simply stunning. To see more of James Taylors work, check out his website at: http://pennarellodesign.com/

Can Neymar, Suarez & Messi Play Together?

2014-07-17T06:00:00.000-04:00

Will FC Barcelona be able to keep their DNA with these three players on the field at the same time?

Most would say yes, but Johan Cruyff doesn’t think so. I have my doubts as well. The signing of Suarez is not surprising, neither was the signing of Neymar last year. Having said that these are almost the kind of signings you have come to expect from Real Madrid and not Barcelona.

Barcelona has always been a team that promotes talent from within and then complements it with the signing of one or two key players. This new Barcelona seems to be pulling away from that road map that they have followed since the days when Johan Cruyff was the coach. I have no doubt that they needed to find a number 9 to complete the attacking front, like when they had Ronaldo or even Romario, but the main difference is that those teams had one single player that demanded the ball, they have three now. Will there be enough of the ball to go around?

There was a reason why Ibrahimovic didn’t work out at Barcelona, and that same reason could be the downfall of Suarez. These are similar players that need the team to work for them, and give them the ball in the last third. When you have Neymar and Messi playing behind you and holding the ball, their main focus is not necessarily to work for you, but rather work for themselves. You can even argue that Barcelona’s most successful years was when the team worked for Messi, not the other way around. That to me has always been one of the reasons for his success at Barcelona and not with his country. At Barcelona the team worked for him, with Argentina he is expected to work for the team.

When you have this dynamic on the field, and off the field you see the departure of Xavi, Fabregas and Puyol, you have to wonder if the chemistry and philosophy of Barcelona will be affected by so many changes. Instead of promoting from their youth system you see them selling or loaning their youth players, like Cristian Tello going to FC Porto or Dos Santos going to Villarreal, and going after big transfer targets like Suarez and James Rodriguez. This is a complete departure from their previous philosophy, and a scary thought to any Barcelona fan.

Luis Enrique - FCB New Coach

The Barcelona DNA will be put to the test this season and so will Luis Enrique. The new manager has the experience from coaching Roma, but that will not be enough for the expectations that he will have to live up to at Barcelona. Being a former Barcelona and Real Madrid player he probably understand better than most what it means to Barcelona fans and the club to win and to play like Barcelona, but the team that he has been handed is not your typical FCB squad, and lacks veteran leadership. His main focus is to ensure Neymar, Messi and Suarez all get enough of the ball so they can all play nice together, and nobody goes home crying.

His second part is to ensure the DNA of the team is not altered by these three egos, in the end they can be successful if they take a page out of Germany’s book. If they all play for the collective putting personal agendas aside, they can play like Barcelona, otherwise it will be very difficult for the team to regain the podium of Spanish football.

Can the Netherlands Finally Win the World Cup?

2014-07-06T17:00:00.000-04:00

With the Netherlands victory over Costa Rica in the World Cup Quarter Finals on penalty kicks, a great psychological weight may have lifted from the Dutch, frequent losers from the spot, and people are now wondering if this is the year that they can finally become champions of the world.

For a country that has produced so many fantastically gifted players over the past forty years, along with revolutionizing how football tactics and youth development is approached, it's astounding that the Dutch have never lifted the World Cup.

1905 Netherlands National Team

Playing their first international against Belgium in Antwerp in 1905, the Netherlands competed in the 1934 and 1938 World Cup Finals without a great deal of success, and would have to wait until 1974 to reach another World Cup. In the intervening years, a sea of change swept over Dutch football though.

Unlike neighbouring countries in Europe, the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) refused to allow professionalism in the Dutch leagues right up until the early 1950's. As they continually lost talented players to other domestic leagues, and subsequently banned these players from playing for the national side, the Dutch team was rightfully seen as a minnow on the world stage. With the introduction of professionalism in 1954, and the formation of the Eredivisie in 1956, the standard of play in the country began to improve. The first winners of the Eredivisie, AFC Ajax, would also have a profound effect on the direction of Dutch football.

Implementing a youth development program that would one day become the envy of Europe, Ajax would not only dominate Dutch football, but dramatically change the fortunes of the national side. With the emergence of Johan Cruyff from their youth ranks in 1964 and the hiring of coach Rinus Michels the following year, the side began to implement a system of play known as Total Football.

The concept of Total Football involved the flexible movement of players all across the pitch, moving and covering for each other to fill spaces and confuse opposition markers. This system, which was heavily influenced by the great Hungarian side of the 1950's, required players to be comfortable with taking on different roles and to have the intelligence to adapt as the teams shape could change at any time during a match.

The Ajax way of playing also emphasized quick, short passing and movement that would be adapted to good effect by not only the Dutch national side, but in later years by Barcelona and Spain. The 1970 Brazilian World Cup winning captain, Carlos Alberto, described Ajax and the Netherlands style of play as a carousel of passing and movement. After seeing his Manchester United side demolished by Barcelona at Wembley in 2011, United manager Sir Alex Ferguson also referred to Barcelona having beaten them with their "carousel of passing". This was a style of play adapted from the Dutch and the direct influence of Michels and Cruyff.

Johan Cruyff scores on Argentina in the 1974 World Cup

With Ajax providing this template for a system of play and a talented generation of players, to go along with stars from Feyenoord and PSV, the Netherlands thrilled the world in reaching the World Cup Final in 1974 in West Germany. Unfortunately after taking an early lead, the Dutch crumbled and lost 2-1 to the hosts. A Cruyff-less Netherlands side reached the final again in Argentina in 1978, but in the white hot political climate of that infamous tournament they were faced with near insurmountable odds and predictably fell to a 3-1 defeat to Argentina.

1988 European Champions

Despite Michels bowing out of management with a thrilling win in the European Champions at the helm of the Dutch side in 1988, the country of Total Football never reached another World Cup Final until 2010 in South Africa. Facing off against Spain, a nation that owes their current footballing philosophy to the "Low Country", the Netherlands betrayed their proud traditions by trying to kick the Spanish off the pitch. In a horribly disappointing final, Spain justifiably prevailed 1-0 in Extra Time and the Dutch were left pondering what could have been again.

The 2014 tournament this has seen anything but a vintage Dutch side. They lack the genius of a Johan Cruyff, the magic of a Ruud Gullit, the vision of a Dennis Bergkamp, or the lethal threat of a Marco van Basten. However, they have done what they've needed to win. Utilizing the speed and cunning of Arjen Robben, the steel of Nigel de Jong in the middle, the goal scoring threat of Robin van Persie and a solid back line, the Dutch opened their campaign by destroying Spain 5-1. Since then it has not been plain sailing, but under the crafty leadership of Louis van Gaal they have exceeded expectations and find themselves in the World Cup Semi Final against old foes Argentina.

Arjen Robben has been key to the Dutch's progress in this tournament

It certainly won't be easy to win the next two matches, but could it be that this is the year that Dutch football finally gains football's greatest prize?

We'll find out in the next week.

Top 5 World Cup Goals - Netherlands (Gallery)

2014-06-09T21:00:00.000-04:00

There have been many great goals scored in World Cups, but today we take a look at the top 5 goals scored by Dutchman in past World Cup tournaments.

Number 5 - Johan Cruyff (1974 World Cup in West Germany) vs Argentina

Number 4 - Arie Haan (1978 World Cup in Argentina) vs Italy

Number 3 - Giovanni van Bronckhorst (2010 World Cup in South Africa) vs Uruguay

Number 2 - Johan Cruyff (1974 World Cup in West Germany) vs Brazil

Number 1 - Dennis Bergkamp (1998 World Cup in France) vs Argentina

Top 10 World Cup Goals (Gallery)

2014-06-04T15:00:00.000-04:00

A week away from the start of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, I dove into the archives and pulled out the Top 10 World Cup goals.

Number 10 - Johan Cruyff (Netherlands - Germany 1974)

Number 9 - Bergkamp (Netherlands - France 1998)

Number 8 - Josimar (Brazil - Mexico 1986)

Number 7 - Ronaldo (Brazil - Germany 2006)

Number 6 - Michael Owen (England - France 1998)

Number 5 - Al Owayran (Saudi Arabia - USA 1994)

Number 4 - Roberto Baggio (Italy - Italy 1990)

Number 3 - Negrete (Mexico - Mexico 1986)

Number 2 - Pele (Brazil - Sweden 1958)

Number 1 - Maradona (Argentina - Mexico 1986)

Best XI: Players That Never Won a World Cup

2014-06-01T09:00:00.000-04:00

Great players have won the World Cup, but the list of top world players that have never won this competition is amazing and would make one amazing squad.

Lets look at the best XI players that never won a World Cup.

Goalkeeper - Lev Yashin (USSR)

The best goalkeeper to ever play the game of football, Lev Yashin never came close of winning a World Cup trophy. He played in 4 World Cups from 1958 to 1970. In 1963 he won European Footballer of the Year, still up until now the only goalkeeper to earn that honor. He also saved 150 penalty shots and kept 270 clean sheets throughout his career.

He was also voted in to the FIFA World Cup All Time Team and the World Team of the 20th Century.

Defender - Ronald Koeman (Netherlands)

He played 2 World Cups with Holland, in 1990 & 1994. He was part of one of the greatest group of Dutch players to ever walk on a grass pitch. At the club level Koeman was a winner, he won the European Cup with PSV in 88 defeating SL Benfica, he then went on to win 4 straight La Liga titles with Barcelona from 1991 to 1994 and also the European Cup in 1992 against Sampdoria with Koeman scoring the winning goal.

He was famous for his freekicks, but he was a very intelligent defender and what he did in his career proves it.

Defender - Fernando Hierro (Spain)

A captain for his club Real Madrid he also were the arm band for Spain. A true leader, Hierro was an incredible strong defender not only with his feet but with his head. He played in 4 World Cups for Spain, from 1990 to 2002. He played 89 times for Spain and scored 29 goals, only Torres, Raul & David Villa have more goals for Spain than him, that is a huge statement for a defender.

Defender - Javier Zanetti (Argentina)

Zanetti played at 2 World Cups for Argentina, in 1998 & 2002. He retired this year, at the age of 40, which it says a lot about how good he has been as a player and team mate. From 1995 to 2014 he played for Inter Milan, something that in modern football is not very common anymore. He was one of the best not only of his generation but of all time.

Midfielder - Zico (Brazil)

Zico played at 3 World Cups for Brazil, from 1978 to 1986. The 1982 squad was considered by many the best Brazilian squad of all times. Zico was known as the "White Pele", he was a great passer of the ball and was also able to finish. He was one of the true first free kick specialists. He finished his career with 48 goals in 71 caps for Brazil making him the fourth highest scorer in country history. A true legend of the game.

Midfielder - Johan Cruyff (Netherlands)

He won the Ballon d'Or 3 times, in 1971, 1973 & 1974. In 1974 he led the Netherlands to a World Cup final against West Germany which he lost 2-1. He was the Golden Ball winner in 1974 as the MVP of the tournament. He was the poster child for Total Football and his legacy has remain not only in his country but also at Barcelona in Spain where he played and later on coached.

Midfielder - Michel Platini (France)

Platini won 3 Ballon d'Or, in 1983, 1984 & 1985. He was a classy midfielder that could pass the ball and open up a defense like nobody in his generation. He played at 3 World Cups with France, in 1978, 1982 & 1986. In the last two he was able to take France to the semi-finals. He was your now typical box to box midfielder, able to break a play, pass, score and was also deadly from the freekick spot. He was the total package.

Midfielder - George Best (Northern Ireland)

Best never played at a World Cup. The second player in this list of 11 to have never played in the tournament. He had 37 caps for Northern Ireland scoring 9 goals. His best performances were never with his national team, but rather with his club Manchester United, where he became a legend for his unbelievable play on the field and insane off the field antics. In 1968 he won the European Footballer of the Year for his performances for United.

Forward - Eusebio (Portugal)

The "Black Panther", as he was know, is the greatest Portuguese player ever. He played in the 1966 World Cup where he took Portugal to their best finish ever in the tournament, 3rd place. He was the top goal scorer of the tournament with 9 goals, 4 of them he scored against South Korea in the semi-final. Di Stefano when asked about Eusebio said that "For me Eusebio will always be the best player of all time.".

Forward - Marco Van Basten (Netherlands)

Van Basten won the FIFA World Player of The Year in 1992 and the European Footballer of the Year in 1988, 1989 & 1992. He played in the 1990 World Cup but he never scored a goal in the competition and his country of Netherlands had an early exit. He had an amazing club career at Ajax & AC Milan, the two only clubs he ever represented. He will always be know for his great goals and his incredible ability to breakdown a defense and score from almost anywhere.

Forward - Di Stefano (Spain)

Di Stefano represented three national teams, Argentina, Spain and Colombia. He played 6 times for his country of birth Argentina, twice for Colombia and 31 times for Spain, and yet he was never present at a World Cup. Many players consider him the most complete player of all times. Those qualities were evident when he represented Real Madrid, where he won 5 consecutive European Championships.He is currently ranked 5th in the history of top scorers in the Spanish first division.

World Cup Heroes - Johan Cruyff

2014-05-27T06:00:00.000-04:00

In the history of football, how many people have had a move named after them and, on top of that, have had their name become synonymous with an entire system of play?

As a result of Johan Cruyff, and the brilliant Dutch side he led to the 1974 World Cup Final, the Cruyff Turn and Total Football have entered into the football lexicon.

Prior to the late 1960's, the Netherlands were considered to be minnows of European football. With the advent of a professional league in 1954, and the emergence of Feyenoord and Ajax as top European sides, the Dutch National side began to emerge in the early 1970's as a major player on the world stage.

In order for this system to truly work, it needed an orchestrator and there was no one more suited to this role than the great Johan Cruyff. Joining Ajax's famous youth academy at the age of ten, Cruyff was already a three time Ballon D'Or and European Cup winner by the time he led Holland into the 1974 World Cup.

Playing some thrilling football, Holland easily progressed through the first round of the World Cup with wins over Uruguay and Bulgaria, either side of a draw with Sweden.

In the World Cup Final against the hosts, West Germany, Cruyff took the ball from the kickoff and displaying the type of football that won this great Dutch side so many fans, the Oranje pass the ball around 13 times, before Cruyff burst into the box and was upended for a penalty. Without a single German player touching the ball, Johan Neeskens scored from the spot to give Holland the lead. Unfortunately for Cruyff and company, West Germany got back into the match through Paul Breitner and Gerd Muller, while Berti Vogts and Franz Beckenbauer shackled Cruyff for the remainder of the match.

Despite their loss in the final, and the fact that Johan Cruyff never played in another World Cup, the impact he and his side had in 1974 will never be forgotten.

SEE THE OTHER HEROES IN THIS SERIES>

The World Cup's Maddest, Meanest and Ugliest Moments

2014-05-24T12:00:00.000-04:00

“The most stupid, appalling, disgusting and disgraceful exhibition of football, possibly in the history of the game." Those were the words of BBC commentator David Coleman upon introducing the highlights of the 1962 World Cup meeting between Chile and Italy. Although football has been described by Pele as “the beautiful game”, there are times when it can be anything but beautiful and it can descend into farce or madness. Below are a few examples of World Cup moments when things turned ugly:

1962 – The Battle of Santiago

England Striker Jimmy Greaves thought he had it bad during the 1962 World Cup when a stray dog on the pitch he grabbed hold of, during his side’s Quarter Final loss to Brazil, unleashed a soupy stream of piss all over his jersey. But at least the Tottenham marksman was nowhere near the notorious Battle of Santiago.

In a stunning example of how to win friends in foreign lands, the Italian media had questioned why Chile were hosting the finals and had this to say about Santiago, "the phones don't work, taxis are as rare as faithful husbands, a cable to Europe costs an arm and a leg and a letter takes five days to turn up. Its population is prone to malnutrition, illiteracy, alcoholism and poverty". One journalist went as far as to describe Chile’s capital as a backwater that was teeming with prostitutes. Understandably the locals were incensed and several Italian journalists had to flee the country under the threat of violence. Santiago sounds like my kind of town.

Under this climate, Italy took on the hosts in the second match for each side in the tournament. The Chileans tore into the Italian’s straight from the kickoff and when they weren't kicking or poking at the Azzurri players, they were spitting in their faces. The Italians reacted in kind and the game quickly descended into a scene from Apocalypse Now. The first sending off occurred after four minutes as the Italian, Giorgio Ferrini was sent off for retaliating. He refused to leave the pitch however and the match was held up for ten minutes. That was only the starting point, as the players decided to forget about the ball and just concentrate on kicking or punching each other. Chile’s Leonel Sanchez was the chief villain as he threw a vicious left hook at Humberto Maschio, breaking his nose, and then throwing another punch at Mario David. David reacted and was unfairly sent off by the English referee Ken Aston, who had no control over the wild proceedings.

Against nine men, the Chileans prevailed 2-0 and would go as far as the Semi Finals before eventually losing in another bad tempered affair to Brazil.

1982 - Disgrace of Gijón

Have you ever wondered why the final group matches, of the four teams in a particular group, at a World Cup are played simultaneously? Well, we can blame the Austrians and the Germans for that one. I’m not terribly happy about it to be honest, as I had to order some weird channel called the Outdoor Life Network during the last World Cup in order to see the match I wanted, as the main network was showing the other fixture.

In the 1982 World Cup, West Germany opened their group stage against Algeria and to say that they underestimated the African side is putting it lightly. The German’s didn't bother watching any videos of Algeria and assumed they would win in a rout. One player even said, “We will dedicate our seventh goal to our wives, and the eighth to our dogs”. Charming attitude, eh?

In one of the World Cup’s greatest upsets, the Algerian’s defeated the reigning European Champions 2-1. However, with West Germany winning their next match over Chile 4-1 and Algeria losing to Austria 2-0, it all came down to the final match for each side to see who would progress into the second round.
With Algeria winning their final match against Chile 3-2, West Germany had to beat Austria the next day to assure themselves of a place in the next round.

With everything at stake, West Germany came out of the blocks on all cylinders and took a 1-0 lead after ten minutes. For the remainder of the half some football was played, but not a heck of a lot happened. At half time though, despite the continued denials of the players involved, a non-aggression pact was agreed between the two countries to let the result stay as it was. The two sides then played out the latter part of the second half at a snail’s pace. They knocked the ball around a bit and treated the rest of the match like a practice session. The last fifteen minutes were particularly pathetic, and had Algerian’s seeing red. The thousands of Algerian supporters in the crowd screamed “Fix” and actually burned money in the stands.
German commentators were also not impressed with one saying, "What's happening here is disgraceful and has nothing to do with football. You can say what you want, but not every end justifies every means."

Not caring a lick about what anyone thought of their dubious deal, Austria and West Germany played out the rest of their charade, the match finished 1-0 and both advanced to the second round.

Despite seeing their side progress, many West German fans were not happy and some confronted the team later at their hotel. The players responded by chucking water balloons at their supporters. Needless to say, most neutrals and perhaps even some Germans were pleased to see this side eventually lose to Italy in the World Cup Final.

1986 - The Hand of God

Following on the heels of the Falklands War, and with a contentious World Cup match twenty years earlier still on some minds, the 1986 World Cup Quarter Final between England and Argentina had what the hacks refer to as a “narrative”. The match, played out in the blazing midday sun in the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, featured the best and worst of Diego Maradona.

After a non-eventful first half, in the 51st minute Maradona made a surging run towards the England box and attempted to play in Jorge Valdano. It was cut off by Steve Hodge, but the Aston Villa man was only able to clumsily slice the ball up in the air behind him. As Peter Shilton trudged through quicksand off of his line and lazily came out to collect the ball, Maradona leaped in front of him. The Argentinian got a fist to the ball and knocked it over the English keeper and into the net. It was an obvious handball and how a player who was nearly a foot shorter than the keeper challenging him, could possibily head a ball over him was lost on the useless officials.

As the England players screamed their objections at the hapless referee, Maradona encouraged his teammates to join him in celebration to complete the perfect con.

Four minutes later, with England still feeling like they had just had their wallet stolen, Maradona pulled their pants down in front of a million viewers, as he slalomed past five players and scored the greatest individual goal in the history of the World Cup.

Although they pulled a goal back through Gary Lineker with nine minutes to go, England bowed out of the competition. As a result of his trickery and, later moment of genius, Maradona won himself a few friends in Scotland to go along with his growing legendary status in Argentina.

1990 - Rijkaard and Voller

It’s no great secret that Holland and Germany have a little bit of history, and if you weren't dozing off or passing “do you like me: yes, no, or maybe” notes to freckly faced Pamela Lulubridgita during 20th Century History class, then you’ll know that Holland was occupied by the Germans during World War 2.

The football rivalry first kicked into gear though during the 1974 World Cup Final. That summer, the wonderful “Total Football” side of Johan Cruyff was so concerned with humiliating the host West Germans that they forgot to score a second goal, after their early opener, and crashed to a 2-1 defeat.

Since then, matches between the two sides have been a bit prickly, as the two sets of players and their fans have attempted to one up each other in terms of unpleasant behavior. For example, after beating West Germany in their own backyard in the 1988 European Championships, Ronald Koeman pretended to wipe his ass with Olaf Thon’s shirt which enraged German supporters.

The 1990 World Cup is remembered as a tournament that featured diving, time wasting, fouling and a lot of general douchebaggery, but the second round clash between Holland and West Germany may be the pick of a rotten bunch.

Both sides started into each other with some crude tackles straight from the kick off, but one incident was about to overshadow all of it.

Normally a classy player for both AC Milan and Holland, Frank Rijkaard came into this match in a particularly foul mood and in the 21st minute took down Rudi Voller with a horrible tackle. After receiving a fully justified yellow card, an angry Rijkaard walked past Voller and gobbed straight into his luxuriously permed locks. Perhaps thinking it was raining at first, Voller didn’t react right away, but then realizing what had happened he pointed out the hanging spittle to the referee and started yelling at Rijkaard. The German was booked for his troubles and the match continued.

From the resulting free kick, Voller clashed with Dutch keeper Hans van Breukelen and then threw himself to the floor clutching his shin. At this point the red mist had enveloped Rijkaard entirely and he attempted to drag Voller up by his ear. The referee had seen enough and sent both men off.

As Rijkaard walked past Voller on the way to the tunnel he hawked back and fired the gloopiest blob of slimy spit into Voller’s hair that would be the envy of cheeky nine year old boys everywhere. It actually hung in Voller’s perm for a while like some misapplied Soul Glow and then slowly dripped down his back. It was absolutely disgusting and the curly haired striker would have been well within his rights to deck the Dutchman. He held his cool though, and so did his compatriots as they emerged as 2-1 victors on their way to an eventual World Cup title.

2010 – Holland and Spain

Heading into the 2010 World Cup Final in South Africa, fans and pundits alike wondered how Holland would be able to counter Spain’s Tiki-taka short passing and movement game. Their answer to the problem was violence, and a lot of it.

Right from the start Holland made their intentions known as they steamed into one heavy tackle after another, as they tried to break up Spain’s rhythm and also play on their notion that English referee Howard Webb would be lenient.

The former Police Sergeant from Yorkshire did his best to keep the match under control as he handed out yellow cards like candy, a World Cup Final record of 14 in total. But if it wasn't bad enough that Mark van Bommel and company were running around fouling anyone with a hint of a Spanish accent, Nigel de Jong then attempted open heart surgery on Xabi Alonso with a vicious kung-fu kick to the chest.
It was the clearest red card you’re ever likely to see, but bizarrely Webb only issued a yellow card for an outrageous assault that left Alonso sore for days.

It was a disastrous mistake from the normally assured referee and the violent play escalated as a result.

Understandably Spain started to mix it up a bit as well and the match teetered on the brink of an absolute farce. Locked at 0-0 after 90 minutes, those of us watching at home braced ourselves for 30 more minutes and were not surprised when John Heitinga was shown a second yellow card, with a resulting red, after 109 minutes.

With only four minutes remaining until penalties, Andres Iniesta took a through ball from Cesc Fabregas and fired in the winner to give Spain their first world title in what was probably the ugliest final ever.

Four of the Greatest European Cup Sides in History

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This Saturday, Real Madrid takes on Atletico Madrid at the Estadio da Luz in an attempt to clinch their historic tenth European Cup/Champions League crown, "La Decima". Real Madrid have a rich history of success in European competition, and their supporters around the world are confident that they will see their club lift the trophy once again this weekend.

Since the great AC Milan side of the late '80s/early '90s, no club has repeated as champions though and that will continue this year. Last seasons winners, Bayern Munich, were knocked out in the Semi Finals by Real Madrid and it has now been 24 years since a club has retained the cup. Repeating in the Champions League appears to range from extremely difficult to impossible these days, with all of the massive clubs involved in the competition. But that wasn't always the case, as we look back at a few of the great sides who were able to retain "the cup with the big ears".

Real Madrid: 1955/1956 - 1959/1960

Led by the imperious Argentine, Alfredo Di Stefano, Los Blancos made the European Cup their own personal possession in the first five years of its existence. Seeing off Stade de Reims in the 1956 and 1959 finals, while defeating Italian sides Fiorentina in 1957 and AC Milan in 1958 respectively. Although the side contained talent all over the pitch, particularly in attack, everything went through Di Stefano. He was at the heart of nearly every attacking move, and often on the end of them as well. Heading into their fifth straight final at Hampden Park in Scotland, Madrid already containing stars like Luis Del Sol and Paco Gento, in addition to Di Stefano, had also added the Hungarian star Ferenc Puskas to their ranks. For the last of their run of five straight wins, in a match that every Glaswegian over the age of 60 claims to have been present at, Madrid hammered Eintracht Frankfurt 7-3. In that famous final, Di Stefano fired in a hat-trick, while Puskas found the net four times himself. The feats of this wonderful side will likely never be matched.

Ajax: 1970/1971 - 1972/1973

In a golden age for Dutch Football, the Amsterdam club, led by the sublime Johan Cruyff, realized coach Rinus Michels vision of a fluid passing and possession-based game. Ajax's system encouraged individuals to express their individual skills, but move to cover the spaces vacated by teammates when they didn't have the ball. Ajax then went on to add a pressing element to their defending after losing in the European Cup Final to Milan in 1969 and formed the basis for their later success. Beating Panathinaikos 2-0 in the 1971 final, Ajax survived the loss of Michels to Barcelona, and went on to beat Internazionale in 1972 and Juventus in 1973. Playing some brilliant, attacking football this side of Cruyff, along with Johnny Rep, Johan Neekens, and Ruud Krol formed the core of the Netherlands team that came so close to winning the 1974 World Cup.

Bayern Munich: 1973/1974-1975/1976

The three year reign of Bayern Munich in the European Cup came to within twenty seconds of not happening at all. Trailing 1-0 to Atletico Madrid in extra-time in Brussels, Hans-Georg Schwarzenbeck let fly from over 25 yards out and found the net, forcing a replay. In the replay, two goals each from Uli Hoeness and Gerd Muller dispatched the Spanish club 4-0. The side, that had provided the core of the World Cup winning West German side of 1974, was marshalled at the back by the brilliant Franz Beckenbauer, with Muller providing the goals and Hoeness the pace. Bayern benefited greatly from being allowed to develop together domestically and internationally over the course of several years. Although not as aesthetically pleasing as the Real Madrid side of the 1950's or the Ajax side that immediately preceded them as European Cup winners, Bayern instead were built on brute strength, quick breaks and defensive organization. Beating Leeds United, under controversial circumstances due to some terrible refereeing, 2-0 in Paris and then seeing off Saint-Etienne 1-0 in Glasgow, Bayern emulated Ajax in winning three straight European Cups.

AC Milan: 1988/1989-1989/1990

The last side to win back to back European Cups, the Milan side, bankrolled by media mogul Silvio Berlusconi, had complemented a terrific core of Italian players including Franco Baresi, Roberto Donadoni and Paolo Maldini with the Dutch trio of Ruud Gullit, Marco Van Basten and Frank Rijkaard to form one of the greatest sides Serie A has ever seen. Under the management of Arrigo Sacchi, MIlan played a very un-Italian style during this period. Emphasizing a high tempo, pressing style, Milan were modelled more off of the Ajax sides of the 1970's, than the traditionally defensive Catenaccio style Italian teams. Sacchi encouraged his teams to set the tempo and this was evidenced by their 4-0 thrashing of Steaua Bucharest in the 1989 European Cup Final. Van Basten and Gullit both scoring two goals against a good Romanian side that contained Gheorghe Hagi and Dan Petrescu who would shine for Romania at the 1994 World Cup. Milan then went on to retain the European Cup in 1989 with a 1-0 win over Benfica. Unfortunately, the relationship between the hard driving Sacchi and several of his star players broke down, leading to his sacking in 1991, but his Milan side are still the last club to successfully retain the greatest prize in European club football.