All Golds v Newcastle Thunder IPC 2016

THE ALL
GOLD WORLD
OF SPORT
LAST WEEK WAS A VERY SAD ONE FOR SPORT WITH
THE PASSING OF THE GREAT JOHAN CRUYFF.
With his creativity, enthusiasm and
occasional disdain for authority,
Cruyff was an inspiration for those
looking to develop their sport in new
ways, putting the player – or child
– at the centre of the experience
and prioritizing fun, skill acquisition
and innovation over rigid systems,
authoritarian coaching and a win at
all costs mentality.
Johan may never have experienced
rugby league, but in honour of the
great man we have assembled some
of his finest quotes. We think that
rugby league may have something
to learn from him, but we’ll leave you
to be the judge:
Someone who has juggled the ball
in the air during a game, after which
four defenders of the opponent
get the time to run back, that’s the
player people think is great. I say he
has to go to a circus.
Why couldn’t you beat a richer
club? I’ve never seen a bag of
money score a goal.
I always threw the ball in, because
then if I got the ball back, I was the
only player unmarked.
Players that aren’t true leaders but
try to be, always bash other players
after a mistake. True leaders on the
pitch already assume others will
make mistakes.
What is speed? The sports press
often confuses speed with insight.
See, if I start running slightly earlier
than someone else, I seem faster.
There’s only one moment in which
you can arrive in time. If you’re not
there, you’re either too early or too
late.
Before I make a mistake, I don’t
make that mistake.
When you play a match, it is
statistically proven that players
actually have the ball three
minutes on average … So, the most
important thing is: what do you do
during those 87 minutes when you
do not have the ball. That is what
determines whether you’re a good
player or not.
After you’ve won something,
you’re no longer 100 percent,
but 90 percent. It’s like a bottle
of carbonated water where the
cap is removed for a short while.
Afterwards there’s a little less gas
inside.
I’m not religious. In Spain all 22
players make the sign of the cross
before they enter the pitch. If it
works all matches must therefore
end in a draw.
We must make sure their worst
players get the ball the most. You’ll
get it back in no time. If you have
the ball you must make the field
as big as possible, and if you don’t
have the ball you must make it as
small as possible.
Every professional golfer has a
seperate coach for his drives, for
approaches, for putting. In football
we have one coach for 15 players.
This is absurd.
Surviving the first round is never
my aim. Ideally, I’d be in one group
with Brazil, Argentina and Germany.
Then I’d have lost two rivals after
the first round. That’s how I think.
Idealisitic.
Quality without results is pointless.
Results without quality is boring.
There are very few players who
know what to do when they’re not
marked. So sometimes you tell a
player: that attacker is very good,
but don’t mark him.
I find it terrible when talents are
rejected based on computer stats.
Based on the criteria at Ajax now
I would have been rejected. When
I was 15, I couldn’t kick a ball 15
meters with my left and maybe
20 with my right. My qualities
technique and vision, are not
detectable by a computer.
If I wanted you to understand it, I
would have explained it better.
With particular thanks to
Daryl Grove of Paste Magazine
www.pastemagazine.com
who first assembled these
quotations in 2014.
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