Total Football: The Dutch Masterclass of 1974
Orange's total football
If we hear about 1974 Fifa world cup, it's most likely to not talk about champions West Germany, but about Johan Cruyff or total football by Dutch. The influence of the team are reflected in the modern successful teams of Guardiola, Arrigo Sacchi's AC Milan. Dutch team in 1974 world cup advocated a style of play called total football. Coached by Rinus Michels and led by Johan Cruyff, Dutch team reached the final of world cup only to lose to West Germany 2-1 in the final held in Munich and won hearts of football fans around the world. The 1974 world cup is the culmination of Dutch football's success in European club football from 1970's. It started with Feyenoord winning 1970 European cup and Ajax winning three consecutive European cups from 1971 to 1973. The core of these successful clubs formed the backbone of Dutch national team in 1974 world cup.
Essence of Total football
Total football is about positioning and distance between players. Dutch believed that everything else falls in place when team maintains it with right coordination. If someone decides to move out without maintaining posistioning, the whole system collapses. Here is an example about the coordination now common but rarely seen before 1974. Cruyff presses the opponent's strong foot, Neeskens presses his weak foot and Suurbier covers Neeskens. This way, the team brings a numerical advantage over the opponent to win the ball back and forces opponent to use his weak foot. Another reason Dutch team were able to implement total football so effectively is because of their posistional versatility and dominance on the ball. If we watch footage of penalty Cruyff won in the final, we see the example of the versatility of Dutch players. Cruyff(the striker) exchanged role with a defender few moments earlier and initiated the run to West German box. Also in Cruyff, Dutch got a player with bewildering ability to dribble at speed. Cruyff's freedom to roam across the field created spaces that teammates could exploit. His wide positioning and ability to deliver quality crosses led to multiple goals for Neeskens and Rep.
Checkout the number of stripes in Cruyff's jersey
It's a surprise when I learnt that Netherland played their first world cup after second world war in 1974
because of their footballing pedigree I've seen in my formative years.
KNVB(Royal Dutch Football Association) lacked experience preparing for event of world cup scale.
Right before world cup, KNVB signed a deal with sportswear giant Adidas without informing players.
Challenge there was star player Cruyff had a sponsorship deal with rival Puma. Now checkout the number
of stripes in the jersey of Cruyff and other members in squad. As a solution, from Adidas's
trademark of three
stripes
, one stripe removed from Cruyff's jersey. Simple and elegant solution. Right?
Route to the final
| Round | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|
| First Round | Uruguay | 2 - 0 |
| First Round | Sweden | 0 - 0 |
| First Round | Bulgaria | 4 - 1 |
| Second Round | Argentina | 4 - 0 |
| Second Round | East Germany | 2 - 0 |
| Second Round | Brazil | 2 - 0 |
| Final | West Germany | 1 - 2 |
Jersey #8 is for midfielder. Right?
From the time I started watching football, jersey number 1 is reserved for goalkeeper. Symbolically the first line
of defense, goalkeeper got number 1 in modern football. But like in school, Dutch given numbers according to
the alphabetical order. Hence goalkeeper Jongbloed got
number 8. So, who has to take number 1? Cryuff and guess what the celebrity status availed him to use
regular jersey number 14.
Legacy that lasts
Fifty years after the 1974 World Cup, the Dutch “Oranje” remain iconic for pioneering Total Football — a style defined by pressing, fluid positions, and tactical intelligence. As Cruyff himself put it: “From 1974 people remember the losing team, that’s how much of an impact we made. Nobody remembers the winner.”