Top 10 midfielders of all time

Who is number 1?
Who is number 1?

#3 Johan Cruyff

Johan Cruyff redefined the way football was played
Johan Cruyff redefined the way football was played

The man who created a whole new philosophy of ‘total football’, Johan Cruyff is rightly considered by many to be one of the most important people in football's history. Cruyff redefined the way the game was played and won the Ballon d'Or award an incredible 3 times (1971,1973,1974) during his stellar career.

In the summer of 1973, FC Barcelona came calling for the “Flying Dutchman” and signed him for a then world record transfer fee of $2 million. His arrival at Barcelona helped the Catalan giants put behind their arch-rivals Real Madrid as they thrashed them 5-0 at the Bernabeu.

Dutch journalist Hubert Smeets wrote: "Cruyff was the first player who understood that he was an artist, and the first who was able and willing to collectivise the art of sports".

A player who truly made the game beautiful, the late great Johan Cruyff will forever remain immortal in the minds of football supporters.

Quick Links

Edited by Ashwin Hanagudu
Sportskeeda logo
Close menu
WWE
WWE
NBA
NBA
NFL
NFL
MMA
MMA
Tennis
Tennis
NHL
NHL
Golf
Golf
MLB
MLB
Soccer
Soccer
F1
F1
WNBA
WNBA
More
More
bell-icon Manage notifications