'There is only one ball, so you need to have it': Johan Cruyff in quotes
The football world lost one of its most iconic members Thursday, as Dutch legend Johan Cruyff succumbed to his battle with lung cancer. He was 68.
Related: Dutch legend Johan Cruyff dies following battle with lung cancer
Recognized as one of the greatest to ever lace up a pair of boots, the impact and influence of the former Ajax and Barcelona star went far beyond his exploits on the pitch - though his famous Cruyff Turn has left many a young footballer trying for hours on end to replicate.
The champion of Total Football, it was his philosophy that separated him from so many. That will be his lasting legacy.
His was a revolutionary mind, one whose influence is still felt today - and likely always will be. There was no better way to get a glimpse into that mind than to listen to Cruyff speak about the game.
And he certainly wasn't shy about doing so.
In honour of the Dutch master - whose No. 14 Netherlands kit is one of the sport's most revered - here are 14 of Johan Cruyff's most memorable quotes:
What he said about football
1. "You play football with your head, and your legs are there to help you."
2. "If I wanted you to understand it, I would have explained it better."
3. "Technique is not being able to juggle a ball 1,000 times. Anyone can do that by practising. Then you can work in the circus. Technique is passing the ball with one touch, with the right speed, at the right foot of your teammate."
4. "Football is a game of mistakes. Whoever makes the fewest mistakes wins."
5. "It's better to go down with your own vision than with someone else's."
6. "Quality without results is pointless. Results without quality is boring."
7. "Why couldn't you beat a richer club? I've never seen a bag of money score a goal."
8. "What is speed? The sports press often confuses speed with insight. See, if I start running slightly earlier than someone else, I seem faster."
9. "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."
10. "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."
11. "We must make sure their worst players get the ball the most. You'll get it back in no time."
12. "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."
13. "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."
14. "There is only one ball, so you need to have it."
What football said about him
Pep Guardiola: "Johan Cruyff painted the chapel, and Barcelona coaches since merely restore or improve it."
Eric Cantona: "If he wanted he could be the best player in any position on the pitch."
Jan Olsson (victim of the Cruyff Turn at the 1974 World Cup): "The proudest moment of my career. I thought I'd win the ball for sure, but he tricked me. I was not humiliated. I had no chance. Cruyff was a genius."
David Winner (author of Brilliant Orange): "Pythagoras in boots. Few have been able to exert, both physically and mentally, such mesmeric control on a match from one penalty area to another."
Related: Footballing world reacts to death of Dutch legend Johan Cruyff
Joan Laporta (former Barcelona president): "As a player he turned football into an art form. Johan came along and revolutionised everything. The modern-day Barca started with him, he is the expression of our identity, he brought us a style of football we love."
Frank Rijkaard: "He is like the Godfather of Dutch football."