The epitome of total football For one of the sport’s greatest names, Cruyff’s international career was relatively short. He made his debut for the Dutch national side against Hungary in September 1966 and went on to make 48 appearances for the Oranje before quitting in October 1977 aged 30. His last act on the international stage was to help the Netherlands qualify for the 1978 FIFA World Cup™ in Argentina, though by that stage he was only called up for the key fixtures. Cruyff’s finest hour with the Netherlands came at the 1974 FIFA World Cup finals in Germany. The Dutch went into the tournament with few expectations; they had only just qualified and the players had given little indication that they were comfortable with the tactics of coach Rinus Michels, brought in late in the day to replace Frantisek Fadrhonc. The pieces of the puzzle fell into place just in time, however, and by the end of the first round, the Oranje were considered the tournament favourites. The Dutch dazzled with their total football, a style of play epitomised by Cruyff himself. Although he was fielded as centre-forward, he wandered all over the pitch, popping up wherever he could do most damage to opponents. His team-mates adapted themselves flexibly around his movements, regularly switching positions so that the tactical roles in the team were always filled but not always by the same person. This was a revolutionary concept, and it took the world by storm.
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