My Sport Management Hero: Johan Cruijff

The choice of my sport manager hero can be considered biased based on the fact I am an Ajax supporter. However, in my opinion the choice is based on one concrete reason. The reason is that I respect and admire people that can be honest to themselves and know their limitations, second of all people that can make a seemingly negative situations into a positive one will always receive my respect. Based on those reasons my sport management hero is Johan Cruijff.

Johan Cruijff was born in Amsterdam, the Netherlands on the 25th of April 1947. Johan Cruijff is a former professional football player. His career as a football player included Ajax, FC Barcelona, Los Angeles Aztecs, Washington Diplomats, Levante and Feyenoord, in addition he played for the national side of the Netherlands. Preceding his career as a player Johan Cruijff became a manager of several teams. These teams were; Ajax, Fc Barcelona and Catalonia.

The first part of the reason why Johan Cruijff is my sport management hero is that he is able to admit his limitations. Johan Cruijff did not go to university due to his football career, after his football career he admitted that he did not know anything but football, he even called himself dumb in some interviews. It is with this self reflection that he set up the Johan Cruijff University in 1999. The vision of the institute is to give young professional athletes the opportunity to obtain a educational degree whilst they strive for gold medals. Johan Cruijff learnt from his mistakes but also from the environment and realised that there was an opportunity, similarly to what made him great in football, Johan Cruijff managed to be in the right place at the right time, and seized the opportunity.

The second part of the reason why Johan Cruijff is my sport management hero is linked to one of his most well known dutch quotes. "Ieder nadeel heb zijn voordeel" or directly translated as "Every disadvantage has its advantage". Johan Cruijff is maybe not always known for his optimism, but for his realism. In the documentary about him, Johan Cruijff - En Un Momento Dado, Johan Cruijff says that the fact that the best team in the world lost the World Cup Final in 1974 made them more famous than if they had won. As a Dutchman that is extremely hard to believe but if I take time and reflect on what he says, only a true realist can look at a negative outcome but can see the positive affect it has in the long run. Personally, someone that has his feet so firmly on the ground, commands respect and I feel that he fully deserves it.