Johan Cruyff is arguably the greatest to ever play the beautiful game. He excelled at every stop with his impact heaviest in Holland, Spain, and the U.S. He rose to the top of the club and international game and never left. It’s quite easy to see that he is bigger than Pelé, Maradona, Messi, Ronaldo, and di Stéfano combined.
But Cruyff’s legacy is not limited to the pitch, he left his mark everywhere he went. That legacy extended to the board room, the locker room, the training pitch, and charitable organizations all over the world. He made his life matter and the world wouldn’t be the same without him.
Even his children and grandchildren would do great work, carrying that legacy to all corners of the world. Players, clubs, organizations, and entire countries mimic the great work of Cruyff even today.
Cruyff’s autobiography, My Turn: A Life of Total Football, is an absolutely brilliant work of art available from Nation Books.
The title is a bit deceptive. It is much more than a discussion of total football, a playing style that took the world by storm. Yes, total football defined a country and a national team, much like Barcelona’s tiki-taka has done in recent years.
It is a behind-the-scenes look at the highest level of the global game with a great deal of perspective on nearly every topic involved with the sport. You’ll learn about the inner workings of major clubs and the evolution of player rights, coaching badges, and player development. You’ll also get to see how European and world soccer has grown, all through the eyes of an all-time great. There’s plenty of stories about incredible players and teams, the likes of Ajax, Barcelona, and the Dutch National Team to name just a few.
There’s plenty of soccer titles available for your pre-World Cup reading, but none are as good as My Turn. This book is one of the finest football titles we’ve seen in years. That’s not a surprise as Cruyff’s greatness comes through loud and clear. Everything he touched turned to pure gold and this book is no exception.
