Johan Cruyff is number 6 in 90min’s Top 50 Great Managers of All Time series. Follow the rest of the series over the course of the next week.
?
But the Dutch master is most revered for his time at Barcelona from 1988 and 1996, another of his former clubs where his legacy as player and coach remains enormous to this day.
It was an era that produced Barça’s iconic ‘Dream Team’, yielded four La Liga titles, the Copa del Rey the Cup Winners’ Cup and the club’s first ever European Cup. They were also heavy favourites to win the Champions League in 1994, only to lose to AC Milan in a famous final.
Here’s a look at his best XI…
Goalkeepers & Defenders
Andoni Zubizarreta (GK) – Cruyff inherited a team that included Zubizarreta on his return to Catalonia in 1988. By that time, the Spaniard was already an established international player and would play virtually every game for Barcelona until Cruyff considered him surplus to requirements in 1994. He played in all three major European finals of Cruyff’s tenure.
Albert Ferrer – A product of the Barcelona youth setup that Cruyff was so passionate about, Ferrer emerged as a first team player in 1990 at the age of just 20. Two years later, he helped Barcelona win the European Cup for the first time two weeks before his 22nd birthday. Ferrer won nine trophies in his six years under Cruyff.
Ronald Koeman – The Dutch sweeper, a master of free-kicks and penalties, famously scored the only goal of the 1992 European Cup final as Cruyff’s ‘Dream Team’ beat Sampdoria. Cruyff had previously coached Koeman at Ajax and took him to Barcelona in 1989, where he enjoyed six incredible seasons and established himself as one of the best players in the world.
Miguel Angel Nadal – The Mallorca-born defender was an unused substitute in the 1992 European Cup final but went on to become a crucial part of the Barcelona side that continued to dominate Spanish football in the early 1990s. He won three La Liga titles with Cruyff in total.
Sergi Barjuan – The left-back won two of his three career La Liga titles with Barcelona after Cruyff’s departure in 1996. But, like Ferrer, Sergi was also a product of the club’s own youth ranks and became a first team regular under Cruyff’s guidance in 1993. By the time of his departure in 2002 he had played close to 400 games for the club and over 50 times for Spain.
Midfielders
Jose Mari Bakero – Joining Barcelona in 1988 and leaving in 1996, Bakero’s Camp Nou career perfectly coincided with Cruyff’s time as manager. The midfielder was a crucial part of the domestic dominance enjoyed by the ‘Dream Team’, winning four consecutive La Liga titles from. He too was a European Cup winner in 1992 and a Champions League finalist in 1994.
Pep Guardiola – “I knew nothing about football before knowing Cruyff,” were the words of Guardiola in 2016, explaining in an interview with The Guardian just how deep an impact the legendary Dutch master has had on his life and career. Legend dictates Cruyff transformed a teenage Guardiola from a winger to a central midfielder in his first week as coach in 1988.
Michael Laudrup – He famously missed Denmark’s triumph at Euro ’92, but Laudrup was undoubtedly one of the best players in the world in the early 1990s. He was revered for his skill and enjoyed the single best season of his whole illustrious career as Barcelona completed a La Liga and European Cup double in the 1991/92 campaign.
Forwards
Txiki Begiristain – Barcelona signed Begiristain, Bakero and Luis Lopez Rekarte all from Real Sociedad in the summer of 1988 to coincide with Cruyff’s arrival as coach. Although an unused substitute in the 1992 European Cup final, Begiristain was a part of all the successes of the ‘Dream Team’ era.
Romario – The 1994 World Cup winner spent little more than a year at Barcelona yet enjoyed arguably the best season of his career at Camp Nou. Romario scored 30 La Liga goals in 1993/94, his best ever in a single national league campaign, and played in the Champions League final before later winning the World Cup with Brazil that summer.
Hristo Stoichkov – Brought to Barcelona in 1990, Stoichkov offered consistent goals as the Catalans dominated La Liga for four straight years and were crowned champions of Europe in 1992. He was twice runner-up in the FIFA World Player of the Year rankings in 1992 and 1994, but did scoop the 1994 Ballon d’Or after also winning the World Cup Golden Boot.
Number 50: Marcelo Bielsa: The Argentina Manager’s All Time Best XI
Number 49: Vic Buckingham: The English Manager’s All Time Best XI
Number 48: Claudio Ranieri: The Tinkerman’s All Time Best XI
Number 47: Bill Nicholson: The Tottenham Legend’s All Time Best XI
Number 46: Sven-Goran Eriksson: The Former Lazio Manager’s All Time Best XI
Number 45: Sir Alf Ramsey: The World Cup Winer’s All Time Best XI
Number 44: Antonio Conte: The Fiery Italian’s All-Time Best XI
Number 43: Kenny Dalglish: The King of Anfield’s All-Time Best XI
Number 42: Massimiliano Allegri: The Six-Time Serie A Winner’s All-Time Best XI
Number 41: Sir Bobby Robson: The Legendary Fighter’s All-Time Best XI
Number 40: Luis Aragones: Spain’s Most Important Manager’s All-Time Best XI
Number 39: Herbert Chapman: The Yorkshire Tactician’s All-Time Best XI
Number 38: Carlos Alberto Parreira: The World Cup Hero’s All-Time Best XI
Number 37: Franz Beckenbauer: Der Kaiser’s All-Time Best XI
Number 36: Viktor Maslov: Dedushka’s All-Time Best XI
Number 35: Rafa Benitez: The Likeable Spaniard’s All-Time Best XI
Number 34: Zinedine Zidane: The French Magician’s All-Time Best XI
Number 33: Luiz Felipe Scolari: Picking Big Phil’s All-Time Best XI
Number 32: Jupp Heynckes: The German Master Tactician’s All-Time Best XI
Number 31: Vicente del Bosque: The Moustachioed Mister’s All-Time Best XI
Number 30: Arsene Wenger: The Legendary Arsenal Manager’s All-Time Best XI
Number 29: Udo Lattek: The Inspirational Leader’s All-Time Best XI
Number 28: Jock Stein: Big Jock’s All-Time Best XI
Number 27: Vittorio Pozzo: Il Vecchio Maestro’s All-Time Best XI
Number 26: Jurgen Klopp: Mr Heavy Metal Football’s All-Time Best XI
Number 25: Mario Zagallo: Velho Lobo’s All-Time Best XI
Number 24: Bela Guttmann: The Proto-Mourinho’s All-Time Best XI
Number 23: Valeriy Lobanovskyi: The Soviet Scientist’s All-Time Best XI
Number 22: Louis van Gaal: The Mercurial & Enigmatic Dutch Master’s All-Time Best XI
Number 21: Otto Rehhagel: The ‘King’ Who Conquered Europe’s All-Time Best XI
Number 20: Tele Santana: The Attack-Minded Superstar’s All-Time Best XI
Number 19: Bill Shankly: The Liverpool Godfather’s All-Time Best XI
Number 18: Ottmar Hitzfeld: Der General Who Dominated Germany’s All-Time Best XI
Number 17: Miguel Muñoz: Real Madrid’s Greatest Ever Manager’s All-Time Best XI
Number 16: Fabio Capello: The Serial Serie A Winner’s All-Time Best XI
Number 15: Brian Clough: The Maverick Manager’s All-Time Best XI
Number 14: Nereo Rocco: The Milan Legend’s All-Time Best XI
Number 13: Carlo Ancelotti: The Diva Whisperer’s All-Time Best XI
Number 12: Sir Matt Busby: The Legendary Scot Who Built Modern Man Utd’s All-Time Best XI
Number 11: Marcello Lippi: The Italian World Cup Winner’s All-Time Best XI
Number 10: Bob Paisley: Liverpool’s Humble Genius’ All-Time Best XI
Number 9: Jose Mourinho: The Legendary Portuguese Tactician’s All-Time Best XI
Number 8: Helenio Herrera: The Peerless Pioneer’s All-Time Best XI
Number 7: ?Ernst Happel: The Austrian Mastermind’s All-Time Best XI
Let’