Johan Cruyff Slams Dutch "Vulgar" Style

Sports | July 13, 2010, Tuesday // 10:27
Bulgaria: Johan Cruyff Slams Dutch "Vulgar" Style A file picture dated 07 July 1974 shows Germany's Franz Beckenbauer (R) and Johan Cruyff of the Netherlands (L) vying for the ball during the FIFA 1974 World Cup final soccer match between Germany and the Netherlands in Munich, Germany. Photo by EPA/BGNES

Johan Cruyff, the legendary Dutch striker, has harshly criticized Netherlands for their approach to the World Cup final and said he had never believed the team could adopt such a "vulgar" style.

"Thursday they asked me from Netherlands 'Can we play like Inter? Can we stop Spain in the same way Mourinho eliminated Barca?" Cruyff wrote in El Periodico. "I said no, no way at all. I said no, not because I hate this style - I said no because I thought that my country wouldn't dare to and would never renounce their style.

"I said no because, without having great players like those of the past, the team has its own style. I was wrong. Of course I'm not hanging all 11 of them by the same rope, but almost.

"They didn't want the ball and regrettably, sadly, they played in a very dirty fashion. So much so that they should have been down to nine immediately, then they made two such ugly and hard tackles that even I felt the damage.

"This ugly, vulgar, hard, hardly eye-catching, hardly football style - yes, it served the Dutch to unsettle Spain. If they got satisfaction from this then fine, but they ended up losing.

"They were playing anti-football."

Spain defeated the Netherlands 1:0 in the 2010 World Cup final after 120 minutes on the Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg.

After a scoreless draw in the regular time, the Spanish and the Dutch went into a 30-minute extra time.

The only goal was scored by Spain's Iniesta in the 116th minute after Netherlands' back Heitinga received a red card in the 110th minute.

Howard Webb, the first referee to officiate the European Champions League final and World Cup final in the same season, dished out 13 yellow cards and one red.

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