JC takes up the glove!?

Column by Hugo Borst in the AD

Johan Cruyff is angry. In his weekly column, he wrote that the lousy results of the Dutch clubs in Europe ruined his weekly day of golf.
I am totally flabbergasted! Oranje plays dreadful for months and we don’t hear him. And now the Dutch clubs have a collective off-day and he yells bloody murder.

Johan won a lot of prices. But, he is more the man “for the love of the game” than the man with the cups. He came second on the WC74, his only WC, but he was the moral winner with the outstanding quality of the play.

Right? Johan Cruyff is attractive football. And that’s the problem. Because our clubs may not play great, Oranje is even worse. But, Johan Cruyff doesn’t say anything about that. For three years now, he’s been smothering the discussion on Oranje. And being loyal (to protege Van Basten) is great, but you do lose your credibility.

JC claims that our youth development system fails.

He claims: “why do players like Sneijder, Van Persie and Van der Vaart improve in foreign competitions?”

Answer Borst: “Bigger football nations, Johan. More competition, at the club and with the opponents, this makes that players develop and grow.”

Cruijff: ’I name these three because they reached the top not thanks to the youth development system, but because they have extraordinary skills”

Answer expert Borst, after finishing laughing: ‘So, when they’re good it’s because they are extraordinary talents, but when they’re not good it’s the fault of the youth development system? Come on, Johan. Wise up!”

Cruijff: ‘I’m not going to say: see, I told you so. That’s too easy.”

Expert Borst: Oops. By accident, you did say it…’

Cruijff: ‘But I hope everyone has seen that this has to end.’

Expert Borst: ‘Right! So, you are at last going to pick up the glove? Which job are you after? Director of the KNVB? Great. Or director of Ajax? Head coach at Ajax? Pick your own staff, please. Dutch team manager? Ok. Whatever. We’re just glad that you’ll take your responsibility. But…for a while, this means no more golfing.”

Good news is, that Marco van Basten just before the Rumania match said that he does not share JC’s opinion on Ruud van Nistelrooy. Marco doesn’t agree at all. And he even told Ruud in person, that in his eyes, Van Gol is a super striker.

Way to go!

And now, if Marco allows Seedorf to start, he shows the world that he- Marco van Basten - is his own man!