 Cruyff in 2009 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Johan Jordi Cruijff[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1974-02-09)9 February 1974 (age 52)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Amsterdam,[3] Netherlands | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[2] | ||
| Position | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | AFC Ajax (Director of Football) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1981–1988 | Ajax | ||
| 1988–1992 | Barcelona | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1992–1994 | Barcelona B | 47 | (14) |
| 1994–1996 | Barcelona | 41 | (11) |
| 1996–2000 | Manchester United | 34 | (8) |
| 1999 | →Celta Vigo (loan) | 8 | (2) |
| 2000–2003 | Alavés | 94 | (8) |
| 2003–2004 | Espanyol | 30 | (3) |
| 2006–2008 | Metalurh Donetsk | 28 | (0) |
| 2009–2010 | Valletta | 17 | (10) |
| Total | 299 | (56) | |
| International career | |||
| 1996 | Netherlands | 9 | (1) |
| 1995–2004 | Catalonia | 9 | (2) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2017–2018 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | ||
| 2018–2019 | Chongqing Dangdai Lifan | ||
| 2020 | Ecuador | ||
| 2020–2021 | Shenzhen FC | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Johan Jordi Cruijff (anglicised toCruyff; born 9 February 1974) is a Dutch-Spanish professionalfootball director, coach and former player. Following an appointment in December 2025, he is the Director of Football atAFC Ajax.
He is the son of footballerJohan Cruyff. He played from 1992 through to 2010, including periods withBarcelona andManchester United. He earned nine caps for theNetherlands national team, playing atUEFA Euro 1996, and he won thePremier League title in 1997 while at Manchester United.[4]
Cruyff played mainly as anattacking midfielder, although he could also perform as asecond striker. In his later years, notably withMetalurh Donetsk, he also played as acentre back. After starting his career with Barcelona and playing for the Netherlands aged 22, Cruyff's career stalled while at Manchester United, as he appeared just 36 times in the league over four years largely because of injuries. His most successful period was arguably withAlavés, which he helped reach the2001 UEFA Cup Final. He also played forCelta Vigo,Espanyol and finished his playing career withValletta in theMaltese Premier League.
Under his stewardship asMaccabi Tel Aviv's sporting director, the club regained its dominance in Israeli football. The team won consecutive league titles from 2012 to 2015, as well as regularly qualifying for the Europa League and Champions League.[5] He was thesporting director atFC Barcelona from 2022 to 2023.
In 1992, Cruyff made his debut forBarcelona B in theSegunda División, becoming the team's top scorer alongsideÓscar García. Two years later, Cruyff was promoted to the senior team during a pre-season tour in the Netherlands, where he scoredhat-tricks againstGroningen andDe Graafschap. On 4 September 1994, he made histop flight debut in a 2–1 defeat atSporting Gijón. On 2 November, he played againstManchester United in theChampions League, setting up the first goal forHristo Stoichkov, as Barcelona won 4–0.
That season, Barcelona finished fourth in La Liga and Cruyff was one of the team's top scorers alongside Stoichkov and Koeman, despite not being a regular starter. Cruyff scored the goal that guaranteed Barcelona played in Europe the following season.
Despite a positive start to the following campaign, Barcelona finished third, and were runners up in the Copa del Rey. On 19 May 1996, he played his last game for the club againstCelta Vigo, at theCamp Nou.
In August 1996, Cruyff signed withManchester United for a fee of £1.4 million on a four-year contract. He made his debut on 11 August in a 4–0 win overNewcastle United in the1996 FA Charity Shield, and then played in a 3–0 win overWimbledon, the opening league fixture of the1996–97 FA Premier League. Cruyff then scored on his next two appearances, helping the team to 2–2 draws againstEverton andBlackburn Rovers.
He was a regular in the first team until the end of November 1996, when he suffered another knee injury. Cruyff's spell at Manchester United was marked by injuries, but he played three games in the group stage of the1998–99 UEFA Champions League. He played eleven times and scored twice in1998–99 season, before a loan deal withCelta Vigo took him back to Spain in January 1999, and thus denying him the chance to win the treble achieved by the club in May 1999. He scored twice in eight games for the Spaniards before returning for United.
Cruyff's contract expired on 30 June 2000. In four years, he had played a total of 57 games for United and scored eight goals.[6][7]
After an initial agreement withHarry Redknapp'sWest Ham United fell through, Cruyff returned to Spain on a free transfer toAlavés. With theBasque club, he reached the2001 UEFA Cup Final, againstLiverpool: despite being 2–0 and then 3–1 down, Alavés embarked on a spirited comeback and Cruyff's goal in the 89th minute tied the game at 4–4. Anown goal inextra time saw Liverpool lift the cup.Cruyff continued to play for Alavés until the club was relegated at the end of2002–03.[8]
The following season, he joinedEspanyol,[9] being played regularly in his only season. Cruyff decided against extending his contract with Espanyol and voluntarily left that summer.
He then trained withBolton Wanderers, coached bySam Allardyce, but failed a medical test. After he temporarily retired in 2004, Cruyff made a return to professional football in 2006, playing two seasons at the Ukrainian sideMetalurh Donetsk,[10] where he played mainly as a centre back. At the same time, he entered the fashion business, helping develop the Cruyff clothing brand.
In mid-2009, Cruyff signed a three-year deal as a player-cum-assistant-manager ofMaltese sideValletta, assisting first team coachTon Caanen,[11] a role he admitted he did not take to.[12] He made his debut on 26 July 2009, in a 3–0 win in theEuropa League 2009–10 first qualifying round against Icelandic sideKeflavík. His first league appearance came on 21 August 2008, in a 3–1 win overBirkirkara. He scored his first goal on 29 August 2009 in a 6–0 win againstFloriana. Valletta won the MFA Trophy in Cruyff's first season beatingQormi 2–1, although Cruyff did not play in the final as he was not fully fit.
Despite mostly playing as a defensive player in the latter stages of his career, Cruyff took on a more attacking role with Valletta.[13]
Cruyff was approached to play at under-21 level by bothSpain and theNetherlands. He was unsure which country to represent, and in 1996 he declined the possibility to join theSpanish team for theOlympic Games; meanwhile, his performances for Barcelona persuaded coachGuus Hiddink to include him in theNetherlands squad forUEFA Euro 1996. He made his debut for the national side in a 2–0 friendly defeat againstGermany on 24 April 1996. He scored his only goal for the Netherlands during a 2–0 win againstSwitzerland atVilla Park on 13 June,[14] and was one of five Dutch footballers to be selected for the Dutch national team while never having played in theEredivisie.[15] Between 1995 and 2004, he also made nine appearances for theCatalonia national football team, scoring twice.
In 2010, Cruyff announced his retirement from professional football and joinedAEK Larnaca asdirector of football on a three-year deal.[16] He appointedTon Caanen as head coach, and the pair worked to establish the team as a new football powerhouse in Cyprus. In his first season, the team finished fourth, and qualified for the Europa League. In his second season, AEK Larnaca qualified for the group stage of the Europa League, after beating Rosenborg in the play-offs.
The participation of the team in the2011–12 UEFA Europa League was historic for both the club and for Cypriot football, as the club became the first Cypriot team to secure qualification to the Europa League (preceded byAnorthosis andAPOEL in the group stages of the Champions League). The team finished fifth that season in the domestic league.
In April 2012, Cruyff was appointed byMitchell Goldhar, owner ofMaccabi Tel Aviv, as the sports director of the club,[17] which paid compensation to AEK Larnaca.[18][19] His initial work included signingÓscar García, then head coach ofBarcelona Juvenil A, as the new head coach.
Cruyff's arrival finally put an end to Maccabi Tel Aviv's bad fortunes in the league, as they won their first championship in ten years. Under Cruyff's and Garcia's stewardship, Maccabi dominated the league and claimed the title by thirteen points ahead of their nearest rival. The team finished the season as the league's highest scorers, with 78, whilst only conceding 30 - the fewest in the league.
The2013–14 season saw a change in the club's coach position, when Cruyff appointed the Portuguese coach,Paulo Sousa to replace Garcia, after the Spanish coach was signed byEnglish Championship sideBrighton and Hove Albion. During this period, many players left the club whilst several others were recruited.
The team continued its success in the league competition by claiming another league title by a margin of 16 points. The club also enjoyed success in the Europa League as they advanced to the round of 32 following a difficult group stage, where they beatBordeaux (twice) andEintracht Frankfurt before eventually exiting the competition following a loss toBasel.
The2014–15 season was characterized by a difficult start.Operation Protective Edge meant that the qualifying games to theUEFA Champions League were held away from Israel, leading Maccabi to be ousted from both the Champions League and theEuropa League. There was also a change in club manager following Paulo Sousa's appointment at FC Basel. Oscar Garcia briefly returned but left before the beginning of the season when Cruyff appointedPako Ayestarán, former assistant toRafael Benítez atLiverpool. Maccabi Tel Aviv became the first Israeli team to win all three local trophies: theIsraeli Premier League, theIsrael State Cup and theToto Cup.
In April 2015, Cruyff renewed his contract for a further two years despite interest from English Championship andBundesliga sides.
In the2015–16 season, Cruyff appointedSlaviša Jokanović as head coach after the Serbian had promotedWatford to thePremier League. The team qualified for the UEFA Champions League group stages for the first time in 11 years, playing againstChelsea,Porto andDynamo Kyiv in Group G, before exiting the competition. Cruyff appointedVitesse'sPeter Bosz[20] after Jokanovic signed as the newFulham's head coach at the end of December.[21]
On 2 June 2021, Barcelona announced Cruyff's appointment to the role of sporting advisor.[22] Following a transition period, he was officially appointed as the club's sporting director on 1 September 2022. Working in close tandem with director of footballMateu Alemany, Cruyff was instrumental in the club's squad restructuring during a period of significant financial constraint and the activation of economic "levers." He played a key role in the recruitment of players such asRobert Lewandowski,Jules Koundé, andAndreas Christensen.
During the2022–23 season, his management of the sporting area contributed to Barcelona winning their firstLa Liga title in four years, as well as theSupercopa de España. Cruyff was praised for his ability to act as a bridge between the board of directors, led byJoan Laporta, and the coaching staff underXavi. On 16 May 2023, the club announced that Cruyff would not renew his contract at the end of the season, expressing his desire to seek new professional challenges.
On 25 February 2025,Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) chairman,Erick Thohir announced that Cruyff was appointed as technical advisor to theIndonesia national team.[23]
On 28 December 2025,AFC Ajax announced that the club had reached a verbal agreement with Cruyff to join as Director of Football.[24] The appointment was considered a historic milestone for the club, as it saw the Cruyff name return to a formal technical leadership position at Ajax for the first time since the passing of his father,Johan Cruyff, who had previously spearheaded the club's "Velvet Revolution".
Cruyff was tasked with overseeing the club's long-term technical policy, with a specific mandate to re-align the first team's recruitment strategy with the traditional Ajax philosophy and the integration of youth talent from the'De Toekomst' academy.
In his first full season as head coach in the 2017–18 season, Cruyff ledMaccabi Tel Aviv toToto Cup glory, oversaw a second-place league finish and secured European qualification for a sixth successive year since he joined the club in 2012. At the start of that campaign, he successfully guided the team through four qualifying rounds to reach theUEFA Europa League group stage. At the end of the season, he announced his intention to leave the club to begin new experiences.[25]
On 8 August 2018, Cruyff was appointed as the manager ofChinese Super League sideChongqing Dangdai Lifan.[26] In 2019, he led the club to their best start in Super League history but decided to not renew his contract, and left the club at the end of the season.[27]
On 3 January 2020, Cruyff reached an agreement to become manager of theEcuador national side.[28] On 23 July 2020, Cruyff resigned from his position. This came after several major leadership changes in theEcuadorian Football Federation. Ecuador did not play any matches or hold any training camps in his time as head coach, due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.
On 14 August 2020, Cruyff was appointed as the manager of Chinese Super League clubShenzhen FC.[29]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Barcelona | 1993–94 | La Liga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1994–95 | La Liga | 28 | 9 | 2 | 0 | — | 5[c] | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 36 | 9 | ||
| 1995–96 | La Liga | 13 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 4[e] | 0 | — | 18 | 2 | |||
| Total | 41 | 11 | 3 | 0 | — | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 54 | 11 | |||
| Manchester United | 1996–97 | Premier League | 16 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4[c] | 0 | 1[f] | 0 | 22 | 3 |
| 1997–98 | Premier League | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[f] | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| 1998–99 | Premier League | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3[c] | 0 | 1[f] | 0 | 11 | 2 | |
| 1999–2000 | Premier League | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4[c] | 0 | 4[g] | 0 | 17 | 3 | |
| Total | 34 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 58 | 8 | ||
| Celta Vigo (loan) | 1998–99 | La Liga | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 9 | 2 | ||
| Alavés | 2000–01 | La Liga | 35 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | 10[e] | 4 | — | 45 | 7 | ||
| 2001–02 | La Liga | 33 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 33 | 4 | ||||
| 2002–03 | La Liga | 26 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | 3[e] | 0 | — | 32 | 1 | |||
| Total | 94 | 8 | 3 | 0 | — | 13 | 4 | — | 110 | 12 | ||||
| Espanyol | 2003–04 | La Liga | 30 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 30 | 3 | |||
| Metalurh Donetsk | 2006–07 | Vyshcha Liha | 13 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 16 | 0 | |||
| 2007–08 | Vyshcha Liha | 15 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | 17 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 28 | 0 | 5 | 1 | — | — | — | 33 | 1 | |||||
| Valletta | 2009–10 | Maltese Premier League | 17 | 10 | 1 | 0 | — | 4[h] | 0 | — | 22 | 10 | ||
| Career total | 252 | 42 | 14 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 37 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 316 | 47 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | 1996 | 9 | 1 |
| Total | 9 | 1 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 June 1996 | Villa Park,Birmingham, United Kingdom |  Switzerland | 1–0 | 2–0 | UEFA Euro 1996 | [31] |
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Maccabi Tel Aviv (caretaker) |  | 5 January 2017 | 10 February 2017 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 085.71 |
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | | 1 July 2017 | 30 June 2018 | 50 | 29 | 9 | 12 | 058.00 |
| Chongqing Dangdai Lifan |  | 8 August 2018 | 14 December 2019 | 46 | 14 | 14 | 18 | 030.43 |
| Ecuador |  | 13 January 2020 | 23 July 2020 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | !— |
| Shenzhen FC | | 6 September 2020 | 4 June 2021 | 17 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 041.18 |
| Total | 120 | 56 | 28 | 36 | 046.67 | |||
Barcelona
Manchester United
Maccabi Tel Aviv
