“The goalkeeper is the first attacker, and the striker the first defender.” Well, seeing this, any football fan would be speaker of the above-mentioned line foolish or doesn’t have any football knowledge at all. But if delved deeper, one might fight the inner meaning behind this quote. The famous quote belongs to Dutch legendary footballer Johan Cruyff.
He believed in total football, and was against the idea of players being defined by their traditional positions – goalkeepers, defended, midfielder and forward. Instead, Cruyff opined that football should be played as a collective responsibility as a game of space and fluid lines.
Why Johan Cruyff made the quote?
Cruyff’s main objective was to make everyone understand the use to the field collectively. If a goalkeeper starts the attack and an attacker makes the first defence, it allows the team to attack and defend by using the pitch in a collective manner. That means every single player in the field will have to be comfortable in passing, thinking and defending, regardless of their positions.
On the ground, Cruyff saw a single unit and not 11 individuals.
Why goalkeeper is the first attacker?
In modern day football, a goalkeeper’s only job is to stop the shots and boot the ball as far as possible down the field. He found this role as a waste of possession. Cruyff wanted the goalkeeper to act as an extra outfield player. Instead of just stopping shots and booting the football, he should play as a sweeper-keeper, passing the ball to find the defenders or the midfielders.
This not only creates an numerical advantage, but also allows the team press over the opponents. Former Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is one such individual who played under Cruyff. In modern day football, the likes of Manuel Neuer, Ederson or David Raya are some of the goalkeepers, who are excellent with their feet.
Why striker is the first defender?
Cruyff thought differently. At a time when the basic football knowledge talks about defence at the back, Cruyff said it start from the front. After the second team loses the ball possession, the striker of the first team is closest to the opposition. The Dutch start believed that if the striker immediately harasses the opposition defenders, it disrupts their flow to build an attack.
Cruyff, who died in 2016, also stated that, if the striker forces the opponent into rushed clearances or mistakes in their own half, it allows their own midfielders and defenders easy to penetrate.
In today’s football, the high-pressing football is being played by the likes of Erling Haaland and Roberto Firmino (at his peak at Liverpool).
Johan Cruyff’s stats
Regarded as one of the greatest to play the game, Cruyff won the Ballon d’Or thrice in 1971, 1973, and 1974. At the 1974 World Cup, Cruyff single-handedly led Netherlands to the final with three goals and three assists. However, the Dutch lost to West Germany in the final.
At the club level, Cruyff most of his time at Ajax and Barcelona. He played over 500 matches at the club level and scored close to 300 goals. In his managerial career, Cruyff served as the coach of Ajax, Barcelona and Catalonia.
#Quote #Day #Johan #Cruyff #Dutch #legend #goalkeeper #attacker #striker #defender
