All time best team built around Johan Cruyff

[idmanager]

If there ever has been a GOAT who doesn't get his fair share of credit and draft wins, its him.

Have even seen Di Stefano who is again not always rated at his GOAT levels shine in ideal setups but building one around Cruyff is very tough to pull off and to have the voter pull.

Now that we have our own sub forum, I thought it would be a good idea to see how drafters think an ideal Cruyff lineup would be. If we see a general consensus around a few setups, it would help drafters get a general idea on what kind of Cruyff teams will be vote winners. Like a 3-5-2 around Maradona or a 4-4-2 around Pele or a 4-2-3-1 around Di Stefano are the gold standards.

What is your Cruyff gold standard lineup?

1. You can choose any players unrestricted from history.
2. The tactics and team should play around and get the best out of Cruyff

 

[Physiocrat]

Good thread. This is the biggest upside of having our own sub-forum.

 

[harms]

It's definitely a 4-3-3 with him as a false 9. Probably something along the lines of

Stoichkov - Cruyff - Rummenigge
Falcão - Neeskens
Rijkaard
Krol - Baresi - Kohler - C. Alberto
van der Sar​

 

[Tuppet]

More or less this - (improve a few players here and there but there's not much you can do) -

 

[Enigma_87]

It's definitely a 4-3-3 with him as a false 9. Probably something along the lines of

Stoichkov - Cruyff - Rummenigge
Falcão - Neeskens
Rijkaard
Krol - Baresi - Kohler - C. Alberto
van der Sar​

Aye, although I'll have two variations of it:

4-3-3 with him as false 9 or 4-3-3 with him starting nominally from the left with overlapping left back and having van Basten/Ronaldo hovering the box:

Gento - Cruyff - Best
Gullit - Neeskens
Rijkaard
Krol - Baresi - Figueroa - Cafu
Neuer

OR​

Cruyff - van Basten - Best
Gullit - Neeskens
Rijkaard
Krol - Baresi - Figueroa - Zanetti
Neuer

​

 

[Indnyc]

4-3-3 makes the most sense to get the best out of Cruyff

 

[Enigma_87]

Gullit IMO is a must in Cruyff set up. He thrived when young in that Feyenord set up and is typical Cruyff player.

Goes without saying that Neeskens, Krol and Rijkaard also have to feature as they formed great pairings with him or are well suited to his approach.

 

[Tuppet]

Although I do believe that Cruyff would really shine as a number 10 with a pure goalscorer in front of him. Netherlands & Ajax didn't had a better goal scorer than him and played him at number 9 but that doesn't mean he won't work with a proper number 9, it would free him from scoring burden and allow him to move all over the pitch for creativity. So something like -

Romario
Stoichkov --- Cruyff --- Figo
Neeskens -- Rijkaard
Krol -- Baresi -- Figueroa -- Cafu
Neuer​

 

[harms]

Not sure that he'd like Best tbh, I can see the clashes in personality and playing style. Best will never accept Cruyff being the top dog and Cruyff won't like if Best is going to demand the ball all of the time instead of keeping the shape.
@Enigma_87

 

[Enigma_87]

Not sure that he'd like Best tbh, I can see the clashes in personality and playing style. Best will never accept Cruyff being the top dog and Cruyff won't like if Best is going to demand the ball all of the time instead of keeping the shape.
@Enigma_87

To be honest I've put Best due to how well he worked with Keizer who also was a bit like best in terms of playing style, although inferior in terms of quality.

Cruyff placed Keizer in his autobiography on the left wing, opting for him as a perfect foil and he was the lazy, ego type of player Best was, but never that centrally focused in the same sense Maradona, Platini,Di Stefano were that would clash with him.

Of course the alternative is Figo, or even Nedved.

 

[Enigma_87]

4-3-3 makes the most sense to get the best out of Cruyff

You definitely need an overlapping LB in Cruyff's 4-3-3 mate. Maldini is the greatest LB, but from that side if we look past Krol, surely either Facchetti, Roberto Carlos or Nilton would be better options than Maldini.

Rivaldo isn't optimal as a LWF either - if you are opting with Cruyff as false 9 the left winger has to be more of a provider than constantly cutting in - Stoichkov, Gento, Giggs, Nedved, etc sort of a player on that side.

Like a lot the use of Suarez there, would be a great fit for his game.

 

[Indnyc]

You definitely need an overlapping LB in Cruyff's 4-3-3 mate. Maldini is the greatest LB, but from that side if we look past Krol, surely either Facchetti, Roberto Carlos or Nilton would be better options than Maldini.

Rivaldo isn't optimal as a LWF either - if you are opting with Cruyff as false 9 the left winger has to be more of a provider than constantly cutting in - Stoichkov, Gento, Giggs, Nedved, etc sort of a player on that side.

Like a lot the use of Suarez there, would be a great fit for his game.

Fair points.. The reason I chose Rivaldo is because he can play a support role very well and not necessarily hog the limelight.. Gento is a good should actually.

Can see the logic in Carlos/ Facchetti as well.. I was going for more stability at left back because of all the attacking options in front

 

[Physiocrat]

Cruyff - van Basten - Best
Gullit - Neeskens
Rijkaard
Krol - Baresi - Figueroa - Zanetti
Neuer

​

That's my favourite so far as it gives him full freedom on the left and can link with Gullit and Krol. I think the problem with him at 10 is that he could clash with whoever is at LW. The more selfless Figo may be a better choice than Best but see the Keizer link

 

[Theon]

Great thread @idmanager

I'm gonna have a think on a @2mufc0 inspired one from when we teamed up in a previous draft. Think we were close to nailing a Cruyff homage, but made a few silly mistakes.

 

[Theon]

Something different:

 

[idmanager]

I think Cruyff would have enjoyed a lot playing in LVG's Ajax.
From a draft's point of view, the place where Cruyff's teams start losing votes is in the SF's/Final's where they are considered defensively weak as the team strengthen to GOAT level.

LVG's Ajax IMO provided both a solid attacking setup which protected the defensive side of the team quite a bit.

The midfield 4 being the most crucial part. Davids/Seedord/Gullit all are great at playing more roles than one. Gullit is probably one of the only few AM's who wouldn't block Cruyff or take away his freedom, something one would assume a false 9 in 4-3-3 would offer more. Gullit's free role with Stoichkov and Kalle constantly cutting in when Cruyff drops would be pretty great IMO.

 

[idmanager]

Something different:

Yea, that has been my favorite Cruyff team built here. Amazing job that. (I meant the @2mufc0 one)
Also, kinda beat me to it

 

[harms]

The midfield 4 being the most crucial part. Davids/Seedord/Gullit all are great at playing more roles than one. Gullit is probably one of the only few AM's who wouldn't block Cruyff or take away his freedom, something one would assume a false 9 in 4-3-3 would offer more. Gullit's free role with Stoichkov and Kalle constantly cutting in when Cruyff drops would be pretty great IMO.

Looks brilliant but I don't know why you've picked Seedorf over Neeskens, who is perfect for that role and has a proven synergy with Cruyff

 

[idmanager]

It's definitely a 4-3-3 with him as a false 9. Probably something along the lines of

Stoichkov - Cruyff - Rummenigge
Falcão - Neeskens
Rijkaard
Krol - Baresi - Kohler - C. Alberto
van der Sar​

Aye, if you had to pick a team with the Dutch 1974 blueprint, I dont think we could look beyond that.

 

[Jim Beam]

It's definitely a 4-3-3 with him as a false 9. Probably something along the lines of

Stoichkov - Cruyff - Rummenigge
Falcão - Neeskens
Rijkaard
Krol - Baresi - Kohler - C. Alberto
van der Sar​

Looks brilliant. Falcão is a wonderful addition.

 

[idmanager]

Looks brilliant but I don't know why you've picked Seedorf over Neeskens, who is perfect for that role and has a proven synergy with Cruyff

Yea, that was a tough choice, but for me Seedorf offers way more on the defensive side of things which is crucial for the setup to work. And of course, he has played in that Ajax side.

 

[Theon]

Yea, that has been my favorite Cruyff team built here. Amazing job that.
Also, kinda beat me to it

Yeah, we really should have made a better go at winning that I think given the start we had but we made a couple of silly mistakes (mostly my fault to be fair).

In hindsight we should have just upgraded Krol instead of Davids, scrapped the whole 3-3-3-1 thing (which I do think is a purer version of total football) and played 4-3-3.

Think we could have ended up with:

 

[2mufc0]

Yea, that has been my favorite Cruyff team built here. Amazing job that. (I meant the @2mufc0 one)
Also, kinda beat me to it

Cheers, me and @Theon spent a lot of time trying to tweak that team. Definitely my favourite team I've put together on here.

 

[Don Alfredo]

What's the deal with the multiple playmakers criticism? Have seen it in several matches and to me it seemed like a lazy shtick to beat him with.

He would thrive in a tiki taka environment for sure

Xavi and Laudrup are fantastic playmakers and I am certain the three of them would work like a charm.

Maybe you don't want too many playmakers in your first line of attack, but I absolutely don't see Cruyff in the same category as Di Stefano in terms of never being able to work with other dominant playmakers ever.

 

[idmanager]

Yeah, we really should have made a better go at winning that I think given the start we had but we made a couple of silly mistakes (mostly my fault to be fair).

In hindsight we should have just upgraded Krol instead of Davids, scrapped the whole 3-3-3-1 thing (which I do think is a purer version of total football) and played 4-3-3.

Cheers, me and @Theon spent a lot of time trying to tweak that team. Definitely my favourite team I've put together on here.

Was a shame really as it deserved to reach the final. Think I voted for you guys in the game you lost as well. Sort of a disappointing trend that creative lineups usually fizz out in the later stages. Deserve a bit of extra votes for the effort.

Especially loved the Faas Wilkes pick in that team.

 

[idmanager]

He would thrive in a tiki taka environment for sure

Aye, not so straight forward to visualize as Messi and Cruyff are quite different when you watch them. But should work like a charm.

You would probably not want the setup to be as slow as the initial versions of tiki taka though. Probably a slightly faster tempo one to suite Cruyff.

 

[Himannv]

Another alternative.

Obviously based loosely on this Ajax side:

 

[2mufc0]

Cruyff was more direct and aggressive, I could see him getting frustrated with the slow paced and passive tiki taka systems.

 

[2mufc0]

The blueprint is already made for Cruyff in that 1974 team, build a system like that and you will get the best out of him.

 

[idmanager]

Cruyff was more direct and aggressive, I could see him getting frustrated with the slow paced and passive tiki taka systems.

Think that is not always necessary. The time he spends while the ball is being roamed around in tiki taka will not be very different to the team being out of possession in the more direct teams.

Sure you would not want it to be snail paced, but I think he would thrive in tiki taka as well, especially the initial versions with Henry and Etoo to play around.

 

[Don Alfredo]

Aye, not so straight forward to visualize as Messi and Cruyff are quite different when you watch them. But should work like a charm.

You would probably not want the setup to be as slow as the initial versions of tiki taka though. Probably a slightly faster tempo one to suite Cruyff.

Cruyff was more direct and aggressive, I could see him getting frustrated with the slow paced and passive tiki taka systems.

The team I posted has one of the fastest front 3 ever, plus Xavi and Laudrup who could pass the ball as fast as anyone. Tiki Taka can get slow and boring, but that is mostly the case when the manager decides to put central midfielders like Silva or Iniesta on the wing, and the side subsequently looses the penetration it needs to break down deep defenses. The worst has been Fabregas as false 9 at Barca, god I hated that formation.

Another bad example is when you have too many defensive midfielders for even more stability, see the Spain midfield in 2012 consisting of Alonso / Xavi / Busquets or in 2018 with Busquets and Koke in a double pivot, just horrible to watch really. You don't have that here, Laudrup is even more attack-minded than Iniesta. Should make for an exciting watch in my opinion.

 

[Physiocrat]

Not much different from Enigma's side with Cruyff as a free role left winger but I think this would work a treat.

------Cruyff-------MVB---------Figo
--------B.Charlton------Gullit-------
-------------------Rikjaard--------------
Krol-----Nesta--------Baresi---J.Zanetti
--------------------Neuer-----------------

I like the idea of Charlton at LCM as he can drift wide when Cruyff cuts in and can link with Krol. A bit like Marcelo, Di Maria and CR7 at Real. Putting Gullit at RCM allows interchange with Figo, making use of more of Figo's playmaking. Nesta in for Figueroa at allow Baresi to solely focus on libero functions.

 

[Enigma_87]

Not much different from Enigma's side with Cruyff as a free role left winger but I think this would work a treat.

------Cruyff-------MVB---------Figo
--------B.Charlton------Gullit-------
-------------------Rikjaard--------------
Krol-----Nesta--------Baresi---J.Zanetti
--------------------Neuer-----------------

I like the idea of Charlton at LCM as he can drift wide when Cruyff cuts in and can link with Krol. A bit like Marcelo, Di Maria and CR7 at Real. Putting Gullit at RCM allows interchange with Figo, making use of more of Figo's playmaking. Nesta in for Figueroa at allow Baresi to solely focus on libero functions.

Aye, like Charlton a lot in that role and he'll dovetail great with Cruyff.

The reason why I chose Figueroa is his ability to play out the ball from the back - something which was clearly a priority in Cruyff's ideology - everyone of his defenders have to be very good on the ball and able to press/attack as well as hold defensive position.

Nesta obviously is pretty good on the ball but Figueroa was exactly the type Cruyff would love to base the defence on(alongside Baresi) - a proactive sweeper/stopper who can push up, clear the area in the air and also be able to surge forward with quick one twos.

Come to think of it maybe this is my perfect set up:

------Cruyff-------MVB---------Figo
--------Gullit-----------Neeskens-------
----------------Rijkaard--------------
Krol-----Figueroa-------Sammer---J.Zanetti
--------------------Neuer-----------------

Sammer has to take up the libero position - his quick one two's are basically coming out of Cruyff's textbook and both him and Figueroa are capable of playing a high line and also pretty comfortable on the ball. Rijkaard to drop in and fill in at CB when either of them surge forward.

I like Charlton instead of Gullit there or Best in for Figo for that extra flair that Cruyff usually liked up top on one of the flanks(dribbling capacity and his ability to use and spot winger movement).

Perhaps if we switch him to the rightish channel it could also work pretty well as I'd want to have Gento there to stretch up the defence.

------Gento-------MVB---------Cruyff
--------Gullit-----------Neeskens-------
----------------Rijkaard--------------
Krol-----Figueroa-------Sammer---J.Zanetti
--------------------Neuer-----------------

I don't think it has been mentioned, but with Cruyff you definitely want a highish line so the team can shore up the pitch and employ the quick transition and direct style he loved along with forming triangles in possession and quick interplay.

 

[PepG]

Firs of all the best system to built a team around Cruyff in my opinion is his favourite one lol - 3-4-3 diamond! Second - Cruyff was part of one of most legendary sides in football history - Ajax from the 70's so his ideal team would be exactly his teammates from that era..

 

[Šjor Bepo]

Total football.

 

[Physiocrat]

The reason why I chose Figueroa is his ability to play out the ball from the back - something which was clearly a priority in Cruyff's ideology - everyone of his defenders have to be very good on the ball and able to press/attack as well as hold defensive position.

Nesta obviously is pretty good on the ball but Figueroa was exactly the type Cruyff would love to base the defence on(alongside Baresi) - a proactive sweeper/stopper who can push up, clear the area in the air and also be able to surge forward with quick one twos.

I don't think it has been mentioned, but with Cruyff you definitely want a highish line so the team can shore up the pitch and employ the quick transition and direct style he loved along with forming triangles in possession and quick interplay.

I can see your point with Figueroa. I think I was imbuing the side with my defensive preference there rather than Cruyff's. That said if you're going with Sammer, why not Der Keiser instead?

Good point on the high line. The more I think about it Bielsa more than anyone is the heir to Cruyff's vision of how football should be played

 

[Šjor Bepo]

I think Cruyff would have enjoyed a lot playing in LVG's Ajax.
From a draft's point of view, the place where Cruyff's teams start losing votes is in the SF's/Final's where they are considered defensively weak as the team strengthen to GOAT level.

LVG's Ajax IMO provided both a solid attacking setup which protected the defensive side of the team quite a bit.

The midfield 4 being the most crucial part. Davids/Seedord/Gullit all are great at playing more roles than one. Gullit is probably one of the only few AM's who wouldn't block Cruyff or take away his freedom, something one would assume a false 9 in 4-3-3 would offer more. Gullit's free role with Stoichkov and Kalle constantly cutting in when Cruyff drops would be pretty great IMO.

really like this one!

 

[Don Alfredo]

I can see your point with Figueroa. I think I was imbuing the side with my defensive preference there rather than Cruyff's. That said if you're going with Sammer, why not Der Keiser instead?

Good point on the high line. The more I think about it Bielsa more than anyone is the heir to Cruyff's vision of how football should be played

I can‘t imagine Beckenbauer and Cruyff ever playing in the same team. They are on a different wavelength football wise.

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

Joga Bonito!

 

[Enigma_87]

Firs of all the best system to built a team around Cruyff in my opinion is his favourite one lol - 3-4-3 diamond! Second - Cruyff was part of one of most legendary sides in football history - Ajax from the 70's so his ideal team would be exactly his teammates from that era..

3-4-3 isn't much different to 4-3-3. Krol moving with the ball on the flank would make it 3-4-3 with someone like Neeskens dropping to the right. Generally 4-3-3 would be more suitable against more opposition variations and generally the formation that would be easy to implement historically with lot of different players from different eras.

I can see your point with Figueroa. I think I was imbuing the side with my defensive preference there rather than Cruyff's. That said if you're going with Sammer, why not Der Keiser instead?

Good point on the high line. The more I think about it Bielsa more than anyone is the heir to Cruyff's vision of how football should be played

IMO Sammer is the better fit stylistically as his game is well known for his quick one two interplay which would compliment a Cruyff team pretty well.

Der Kaiser would be an upgrade of course in terms of quality but perhaps Sammer would suit Cruyff more.