The style, the audacity, the simplicity was breathtaking. Perhaps though, the strangest thing about the Cruyff turn is that maybe - just maybe - it was nothing special. For years, you may have assumed that the defender was an Italian by the royal blue of his shirt.
Jan Olsson still cannot help but laugh when he watches footage of himself becoming the first and best-documented victim of the Cruyff turn. Players all over the pitch, from ball-playing centre-backs to strikers in a tight spot, use the turn as a “Get out of jail free” card: in Total Football, Cruyff could’ve pulled out that trick anywhere on the pitch. All rights reserved. It wasn’t.
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Everything from that match is in my mind and my heart.Olsson was 32 when he was deceived by Cruyff’s moment of magic and, despite the passage of time since, his memories of that day remained as acute as ever when asked to recall them after the Dutch master’s death at the age of 68 four years ago.“I thought I was going to take the ball. I don’t want them,” he said. Johan Cruyff temporarily leaving his marker in a crumpled heap was the only noteworthy event in a 0-0 group game: it’s not as if it led to a goal. It’s not like a rabona: you don’t see it coming until the last second. One second you’re about to pass: the next you’re not.
It was Swede Jan Olsson, in his country’s change strip.Maybe though that’s exactly why the Cruyff Turn is still as bewitching as it was 46 years ago.Yes, it was the first time that anyone had seen the Cruyff Turn, but let’s play Alan Hansen on this moment. € 69,95 € 125,00 ... mix & match Quick shop Agua Copa . It’s almost sacrilege to suggest out loud. He carries on with his dribble and gets the ball into the box.Get the best features, fun and footballing frolics straight to your inbox every week.The turn didn't actually decide a game: it wasn't even in a big game against top-class opposition. This is the first time that the Westfalenstadion crowd, or anyone watching from the comfort of their front room, had ever seen such a thing. He carries on with his dribble and gets the ball into the box.Get the best features, fun and footballing frolics straight to your inbox every week.The turn didn't actually decide a game: it wasn't even in a big game against top-class opposition. He instead tucks the ball behind his standing leg and switches direction by 180 degrees. “Even though it was 0-0, it was right to say congratulations.”“It was very funny. Only Cruyff, the man with the greatest vision in football, could.