4-5-1? Never. It was always 4-3-3 for me as a player and as manager, j — Johan Cruyff

"Cruyff the player was gloriously impudent, a slight and graceful genius who proved that brain could outmanoeuvre brawn. Watching his Netherlands dart and thrust their way around Uruguay or Argentina in 1974, or seeing his Ajax outwit Juventus in the European Cup final in 1973, was to see a devastating puppet-master toying with lumbering opponents. Cruyff the coach, Cruyff the manager, was able to retain that sense of the joy of the game, the importance of beauty and, what’s harder, to convey that sense to his players. There has never been such a great player who was also such a great manager. In that he stands utterly unique."

"Cruyff has had many enemies and critics over the years. He has been accused of being too idealistic, too stubborn, insufficiently interested in defending and simply too difficult a personality. He loves an argument, and his conflict-model method of working can be bruising."

"I consider him [Cruyff] the ideological father of the football; the one I try to play like and the one I look to learn from as a spectator whenever I watch a game. The intelligent use of the ball and the spaces, the importance of talent over the physical condition and the understanding of football as a team sport are concepts that I definitely endorse."

"There may have been better players in the history of the game, though I doubt you can count them on more than one hand. And there may have been better managers, too, if only because his coaching career only lasted 10 and a half years (during which he won 14 trophies, not a bad return). But its tough to argue that any man has exerted a greater influence -- on the pitch and on the bench -- on the game as we know it today."

"As a player and as a manager he [Cruyff] won a lot of titles, but thats not his legacy. The titles only help. Johan has changed two clubs. Not only did he change Ajax, but also Barcelona – and then the Dutch and Spanish national teams, too. Forget the titles. Ive won more titles than him. Messi, for example, is someone runs less and in that hes the best of Cruyffs alumni. (...) I would not have been capable of doing what he did at Barcelona. He changed everything. He did it all. What Cruyffs done for football cannot be compared. The statue thing is superficial. He has made us love this sport so openly that theres no way we can forget him."

"If you look at the greatest players in history, most of them couldn’t coach. If you look at the greatest coaches in history, most of them were not great players. Johan Cruyff did both – and in such an exhilarating style."