Football is one of those sports that draws inspiration as one generation paves the way for the next to carry the torch for the future.
While Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola are currently inspiring the current wave of youngsters, they were once in that position too.
Long before their days at Arsenal and Manchester City respectively, they were both just young people with a passion for the sport.
At that time, they drew on the inspiration of one man who seemingly changed everything and opened the pathway for them to become the Arsenal boss and Manchester City manager.
Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola hailed Johan Cruyff as an inspiration
Back in their playing days, both Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola took inspiration from the legendary Johan Cruyff.
The Dutch star was a top player in his day but transitioned into coaching shortly after, taking his knowledge of the game and teaching it to others.
For Arteta, watching his teams as a young boy, he claimed it was a life-changing experience that led him down his current path.
Speaking in January 2025, the Arsenal boss told Sky Sports: “Barcelona. They changed the world for me. So it’s like the sky had opened and I said ‘This is a different sport’.”
On Cruyff, he continued: “Johan was the influence of everything when I was in Barcelona La Masia at that age and all the coaches that work in the academy, it was the same because he was the who one injected that vision, that passion and understanding of the game in a manner that he did.
“Then from there obviously the game has evolved but he took the game and his vision to a very different level and then all of the other coaches had to help us to get where we are.”
When asked if he is one of the greatest, he simply responded: “For me yes [Cruyff is the greatest ever football person]. For me, I fall in love with that team. Honestly, I was six, seven years old, completely fall in love with that team, that way of playing.”
While Arteta grew up watching that Barcelona side – often dubbed as Cruyff’s “dream team” – Guardiola got to play in it under the great manager.
“He was unique, totally unique,” the Man City boss told the Guardian in 2016. “Without him, I wouldn’t be here. I know for sure this is why I am, right now, the manager of Manchester City and before that Bayern Munich and Barcelona.”
He continued: “Cruyff was the best, by far. Creating something new is the difficult part. To make it and build it and get everyone to follow? Amazing.
“That’s why, when I was Barcelona manager, I went to see Johan many times. I made especially sure I went a lot in my first year when we won everything, absolutely everything.”
It shows that perhaps without Cruyff, football as a whole wouldn’t be where it is now, while it remains to be seen what sort of impact Arteta and Guardiola can leave on football themselves one day.
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Johan Cruyff’s impact on football and career
It’s fair to say that Johan Cruyff is one of the best to have ever played and managed in the sport over the years.
Not only was he a fantastic player and manager, but he was able to implement a clear idea and way of thinking that permeated beyond one team and one set of players.
A large part of the modern football history thread can be tracked back to Cruyff and what he brought to Europe as a whole.
In his playing days, he featured for six different clubs, playing for Ajax, Barcelona, Feyenoord, Levante, Los Angeles Aztecs and Washington Diplomats.
On top of that, he was a regular for the Dutch national team, guiding them so close to World Cup success – finishing as runners-up in 1974.
Player honours:
- Eredivisie title x9
- KNVB Cup x6
- European Cup x3
- La Liga
- Copa del Rey
- European Super Cup
- Intercontinental Cup
As a manager, Cruyff took charge of his two most well-associated teams with Ajax and Barcelona, as well as a stint as the Catalonia manager.
Manager honours:
- La Liga x4
- Spanish Super Cup x3
- KNVB Cup x2
- European Cup Winners’ Cup x2
- Copa del Rey
- European Cup
- European Super Cup
He managed to do plenty and even nearly ten years since his passing, Cruyff is leaving a lasting legacy on the sport.
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