Going Dutch

I wrote this to celebrate the life and sporting prowess of Johan Cruyff when he died in 2016. His legacy to football remains as strong as ever. Today marks his birthday and also the announcement by his Dutch club Ajax of Amsterdam to rename their stadium in his honour.


The England football team were probably quite confident about their chances of qualifying for the 1974 World Cup which was to be based in Munich, Germany.

Unusually there were only three teams in Qualifying Group Five on the long road to the Tournament, next door neighbours Wales and near European neighbours, Poland.

England got off to a shaky but ideal start in November 1972 with a 35th minute goal by Colin Bell being the winner against Wales in Cardiff. The return match in the first month of 1973 saw John Toshack score first before a rare equalising goal from the hard man defender, Norman Hunter.

Poland showed some of their typical inconsistency with a surprise defeat by Wales and then first points earned from a 2-0 win over England.

After two games per team the home nations led the table on three points each (under the old points scoring system) with Wales ahead on slightly better goal difference. and Poland on two points. The Eastern Europeans, still part of the Soviet Bloc at that time, were able to soundly beat Wales 3-0 which left the group, with just one game for the Poles away at Wembley and only requiring a single point to knock out England.

That game in October 1973 was most memorable for two reasons, the first being the failure of England to progress to the Summer 1974 Finals and the second, the astounding goalkeeping performance of Jan Tomaszewksi that brought it about. England were continuously thwarted by the keeper, described by Brian Clough in his role as guest TV commentator as a Clown . An Alan Clarke equalising penalty in the 63rd minute was the catalyst for an all out assault on the Polish goalmouth.

I was watching the match, I recall in black and white, as an 11 year old football mad kid.

The huge anti-climax of a draw after ninety minutes which meant that Poland were on their way to Germany had quite an affect on me and in fact could be seen as the absolute low point of the England International Team which says a lot for a nation that since becoming World Champions in 1966 have not achieved anything of merit in any Tournament anywhere.

The lead-up to the 1974 Finals was therefore a bit flat.

To add insult to injury the only British representation would be arch rivals Scotland.

My own Scots ancestry demanded a certain amount of loyalty and support and although I paid heed to a deep rooted sense that they too would fail to progress beyond the first group stage they did actually make a good account of themselves. An opening win against Zaire was followed by a 0-0 draw with holders Brazil and a drab 1-1 with Yugoslavia but saw them finish third and outside of automatic qualification to the next stages.

I now had to attach myself to another country if I was to enjoy the rest of the World Cup that balmy summer.

The decision was easy. There was only one exciting team as far as I was concerned with skillful players, a fast paced tempo, great individuals but yet a strong squad ethic and all of this in bright, almost fluorescent orange shirts.

It just had to be The Netherlands, Holland, The Dutch.

I knew a bit about some of the players from listening avidly to evening radio broadcasts of the European Cup and UEFA Cup matches involving British clubs.

In those times there were not many foreign nationals playing across Europe and so most clubs had home grown players.

A quick look through the 22 player squad list for the 1974 World Cup illustrated this with 19 from the likes of Ajax, Feyenoord, Twente and Eindhoven, 2 with clubs in Belgium and the exotic inclusion of one from Barcelona, Johan Cruyff.

He had been awarded European Player of the Year in 1973 and 1974.

The technical expertise of the Dutch in particular was, to me , a revelation especially when compared with the hit and hope, hoof and run game that typified the English League.

Johan Cruyff was definitely, on the basis of my 11 years football knowledge , the best player by far not just in the Dutch team but in the whole of that year's competition.

That was saying something in a star studded line up in bright orange which included Ruud Krol, Johan Neeskens and Rob Rensenbrink.

The rest of the national teams, of course, had their fair share of stellar acheivers.

Playing at number 14, Cruyff,aged 27, was in his prime with a fluidity of play that seemed to make time stand still. He played at his own pace and yet did not lessen the tempo or physicality of a team effort. In physique he was quite slim and of slight build , obviously of natural athleticism, balance and power.

I looked forward to supporting my new but default team with great anticipation after Scotland were knocked out and Holland they did not disappoint.

In the Second Stage, a league arrangement rather than a knock-out, three wins out of three and eight goals with none conceded was impressive including good wins against Brazil and Argentina.

The style of play by the Dutch did appeal to the neutral fans somewhat in contrast to West Germany who were more methodical and to me, a bit boring.

These two progressed to the Final on 7th July 1974 in the Olympic Stadium in Munich with the outcome of a win for the hosts but with many of the opinion that the Dutch were the better team.

Cruyff continued to excel with success on and off the pitch as a player , retiring in 1984 and manager including at Ajax Amsterdam and Barcelona.

His death this week has brought back many great memories of Johan Cruyff.

He was certainly one of the greats  summed up by a contemporary ,"There have been four kings of football—Di Stéfano, Pelé, Cruyff, and Maradona."