Why they rank here
The most influential footballer who ever lived, and a top-five player before you count the influence. Cruyff won three Ballons d'Or (1971, 1973, 1974) and led Ajax to three consecutive European Cups from 1971 to 1973 as the on-pitch conductor of Total Football, then carried the idea to Barcelona — ending their 14-year league drought in 1974 — and to the 1974 World Cup, where his Golden Ball performance and the Cruyff turn against Sweden outlived the final defeat to West Germany. He scored over 290 league goals and 33 in 48 for the Netherlands, but goals understate a player whose genius was spatial: he directed the positions of all ten teammates while playing. His second act settled the argument about influence — as Barcelona coach he won four straight titles and the club's first European Cup (1992), built the Dream Team, championed La Masia, and created the lineage that runs through Guardiola to the modern positional game. Most great players master the game; Cruyff redesigned it.
Career profile
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Head-to-head
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