In an age when terms such as 'genius' and 'legend' are thrown about like confetti, how sad to see the passing of a true artist.
 

Hi,
 
The rare side of his talent, is that he was able to translate it to his coaching days ... and did so very well, and eventually ushered the era that brought you to a Messi and Pep in Barcelona.
 
There was nothing new in what he did, kids in Brazil and Argentina do that every day, but you did not see it on TV, and radio, at the time, did not exactly show you how it went, so someone like him, or earlier a Pele, and later a Maradona, could not exactly be appreciated unless you saw them on TV, and Cruyff was already arriving at the time when TV was starting to get to the game, though radio was still the power behind it. Try describing this with words, and how he moved past a defender ... 
 
Again, the much more important part of it, is how he translated it to be able to coach what he did, differently ... he ended up knowing that not everyone had the dancing feet, but they could all pass faster, and the new dance took off ... passing ... so fast that no one knew where the ball was going ... of course you knew ... into the opponent's net, but by the time you found it, the defense was in total disarray ... and this is the part of the game that is not seen today very well, with teams stone walling Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and the like, because if you don't, they will be past you so fast, you might as well bring in the subs now.
 
Wonderful to watch ... at any time, but he was also a very good passer and team player, which make him even more valuable. This he taught very well later.

This is a nice vid;
 

 
The little section at 1:02 is 'quite extraordinary' as David Coleman might have said.

jamesg1213
This a nice vid;
 

 
The little section at 1:02 is 'quite extraordinary' as David Coleman might have said.

Marvellous stuff.
 
Cruyff is probably the best footballer I've seen. Up there with the likes of George Best, Beckenbauer, Maradona, Gullit, Zidane, Van Basten, Dalglish, Kempes, Muller, Zico, Platini et al.

He and George Best were cut from the same cloth, the ball seemed to be glued to their feet. Uncanny skill.

jamesg1213
He and George Best were cut from the same cloth, the ball seemed to be glued to their feet. Uncanny skill.

Indeed mate. Always makes me laugh when posers like Rooney or one-trick ponies like Beckham are mentioned in the same breath. One can only hope it's wishful thinking, rather than simply delusional.

jamesg1213
He and George Best were cut from the same cloth, the ball seemed to be glued to their feet. Uncanny skill.

I saw Pele in Brazil when he was young and with Santos, as the team in Araraquara was in the same league as Santos, although I think the team got relegated later. Pele was more instinctive and clever ... he could not deceive anyone. He simply took the path that was open to him with his feet and the ball went through every little crevice he found ... and Pele was very good in tight spaces, though Cruyff seems to show his ability much better in the open field trying to get away, which he did as well as any pickpocket out there.
 
For me, this is really about the creativity that some folks have, that we rarely acknowledge during their time and place ... and the American equivalent was Bird and Johnson ... watch this bird ... 20 seconds later ... watch this Madge ... and on it went throughout the whole game ... soccer was much more latent in America because of television, but its quality was well known way before the TV made it really big on sports, which was towards the 70's and 80's mostly. When TV showed Maradona simply ramble on past the whole team and score, it was like ... an one man team ... wow ... and in some ways, it was the first time we realized there was some crazy beauty in that game ... and to this day, the American media dreams of seeing that here in America. 
 
Heck, at least we don't hear so many folks say the game is boring, anymore ... that was sick.