Johan Cruyff's Remarkable Final Season at Feyenoord
It's almost impossible to imagine that, back in the 80s, Ajax legend Johan Cruyff spent a season playing for Feyenoord. But it happened. Due to a lot of issues with the Ajax board at the time, the Dutchman would end up joining their biggest rivals for one final hurrah in his career.Although it remains a bizarre footnote in his career, the season also became one of Cruyff's final great achievements.
Johan Cruyff statue outside the Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam
Cruyff's Final Break With Ajax
But by 1983, he wasn't as prominent as he had once been in the 70s. Many of his teammates-who had once adored him-now saw in Cruyff nothing more than a grumpy old man who never stopped shouting and barking orders. Nor was the club's board convinced that it should meet the financial demands of a player approaching the end of his career, particularly with talents such as Frank Rijkaard and Marco van Basten emerging in the first team. Van Basten was already regarded as one of the brightest young talents in Dutch football and represented the future of the team.He acted as a coach both on and off the pitch, demanding off-the-ball runs, switches of play, and constant positional rotation. He undermined the actual coach whenever he could, and ordered his teammates to run-something he himself never did.
Thus, it came as no surprise when Ajax declined to renew Cruyff's contract that spring of 1983. Cruyff, however, had absolutely no intention of hanging up his boots-and certainly no intention of quitting simply because he was told to. And anyone who knew the man even slightly - and understood the deep-seated resentment he felt towards the Ajax board - knew exactly what his decision would be.
Joining Ajax's Greatest Rivals
For the 1983-84 season-what would prove to be his final campaign as an active player-Johan Cruyff-the boy whose mother had worked on Ajax's cleaning staff and who had grown up in a house situated just metres from the De Meer Stadium-signed for Feyenoord Rotterdam, Ajax's hated rival.But the problem was that Feyenoord was not Ajax. The attacking, collective style of the Amsterdam side was replaced by a direct approach-a 4-4-2 formation-that did not align with Cruyff's ideals. Feyenoord had gone ten years without winning a league title and watched as PSV emerged as the new rival to Ajax.
Yet that was the least of their worries. The fundamental issue was that Feyenoord-unlike the majority of Dutch clubs-championed a style of play distinct from the touch-and-possession game, primarily with the aim of distinguishing themselves from their hated rivals in Amsterdam.
So, when-barely two months into the season-the Ajax side featuring Olsen, Rijkaard, Vanenburg, and Van Basten handed Feyenoord a crushing 8-2 defeat, it seemed that all that remained was to drive the final nail into Cruyff's coffin.
Cruyff Forces a Change of Direction
Fortunately for Cruyff, his relationship with the Feyenoord president was excellent; consequently, there were no issues when Johan called for a change of course and demanded that Van Hanegem-a Feyenoord legend and a former national team teammate of Cruyff's-be appointed as assistant coach.Thus, whenever Cruyff undermined the head coach, Van Hanegem would interject with a witty remark that helped defuse the tension. Likewise, Van Hanegem managed to convince Cruyff to ease up on his demands and compromise on his attacking philosophy in the pursuit of victory. Cruyff-whose greatest desire was to win the league title and exact his revenge on Ajax-eventually relented, though only because Van Hanegem was able to apply just enough flattery to keep him in line.
And so, Cruyff accepted the 4-4-2 formation-provided, of course, that the team remained in constant motion and that no one ever stood still waiting to receive the ball at their feet. As long as there was dynamism and people heeded his instructions, he would be willing to play defensively or look for the counterattack.
The Perfect End to a Legendary Career
In May 1984, Cruyff was hoisted onto shoulders for the final time in his career after winning the double with Feyenoord-exactly twelve months after having done the same with Ajax. Although he had carte blanche to do whatever he pleased and to remain in Rotterdam for as many seasons as he desired, Cruyff was content. He had exacted his revenge, and deep down, he knew that his heart belonged to Ajax.In the spring of 1984, at the age of 37, Johan Cruyff hung up his boots following more than a decade with Ajax, five seasons with Barcelona, and one final campaign-as glorious as it was vindictive-with Feyenoord in Rotterdam. The following year, Cruyff began the next stage of his footballing life. In 1985, despite not holding the customary coaching qualifications, he took charge of Ajax and began a managerial career that would later transform Barcelona.
He would go on to serve as head coach in Amsterdam and Barcelona for a combined eleven seasons. By the time of his death, he was widely regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time.
If anything, his time with Feyenoord proved that he was still good enough to compete and triumph at a high level. It also showed that he could make a difference even when he was not provided with ideal conditions for success. It remains one of the most peculiar and fascinating periods in the career of one of football's all-time greats.