"Johan Cruyff painted the chapel, and Barcelona coaches since merely restore or improve it."
- Pep Guardiola
As the football world comes to term with the loss of the most important player to grace the beautiful game with his presence, tributes have flooded in for the great Johan Cruyff, who sadly passed away after a five month battle with cancer, today.
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The above quote from Pep Guardiola hasn't come in the wake of Cruyff's passing, but was rather one of the innumerable pieces of adulation bestowed upon the Dutch genius who, with Rinus Michels, introduced Total Football to the world, inspiring Ajax to three consecutive European Cups and the Netherlands to the 1974 World Cup final while capturing the imagination of football fans, players and coaches across the globe.
When Cruyff turned to management, his methods translated seamlessly from pitch to dugout, with his Barcelona 'Dream Team' lifting La Liga four years on the bounce along with the 1992 European Cup, the Catalan club's first triumph in Europe's premier club competition.
Cruyff's fingerprints are indelibly imprinted over both Guardiola and Luis Enrique's all conquering Barcelona teams, who have dominated domestically and internationally for the past eight years. It is with this unparalleled legacy that he has been remembered by the footballing world today, with countless tweets pouring in following the news of his passing in Barcelona.
Topics: Football, Johan Cruyff