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SPORTS> World Cup History
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Classic Coaches (3): Rinus Michels
(FIFAworldcup.com)
Updated: 2006-05-30 15:01 Name : Rinus Michels
If the Netherlands teams of the 1970s were in fact the “Clockwork Oranje,” then Rinus Michels was the genius watchmaker behind the machinery. As the conductor of one of modern football’s most brilliant symphonies, the Dutch innovator was the firm, hushed boss behind the bright orange strip of Totaal Voetbal's finest. Born in 1928, and an infrequent international forward in the 1950s, Michels truly made a name for himself coaching first on the European club scene with Ajax from 1965 to 1971 and then with Holland at the 1974 FIFA World Cup Germany. Led on the pitch by the immaculate Johan Cruyff, the losing finalists were admired the world over for their manner of play, which reflected “Iron Rinus’s” belief in fostering both team coherence and individual imagination. First Europe, then the world Though his club coaching career took him to Los Angeles, Germany and most notably Barcelona, where he established a Dutch connection with the Catalan club that still exists today, Michels and his most significant achievements are linked to Amsterdam club Ajax and Holland’s national team. It was with those two that the “total football” movement that he fostered would flourish in the late 1960s and early 70s. Though the team he built would go on to win two more consecutive European Cups, Michels, a bright and serious man - nicknamed “the Sphinx” because of his stony features - took a major plunge into the heated world of Spanish football with Barcelona. By that point Michels was already known for his strategies emphasising intelligent movement and players with a complete range of skills. He had moderate success at the forward-thinking Catalan club, but it was back with a Dutch team, this time as the natural choice to lead the national side at Germany 74, that he made his definitive statement. One match from absolute greatness The figure most closely associated with Michels achievements is the magical Cruyff, the playmaker who seemed to fill up the cracks in the coach’s ambitious game plan with his uncanny ability to read a match. With the kaleidoscopic shifting of players, rotating into and out of defence and swarming about the ball, Cruyff was the on-field organiser that brought Rinus’s ideas to life. But, made up of mostly Ajax and Feyenoord players, the men came together quickly, breezing through their opening group after beating Uruguay 2-0, drawing with Sweden 0-0 and crushing Bulgaria 4-1. Even in the second group phase, the likes of Jonny Rep, Johan Neeskens and Rob Rensenbrink helped Cruyff demonstrate the gulf in class between them and beaten rivals Argentina (4-0), Germany DR (2-0) and even mighty Brazil were dismissed 2-0. Although the side fell 2-1 in the final to hosts Germany, Michels and Holland are surely one of the greatest teams never to have won a FIFA World Cup. If they had triumphed that famous day in Munich, the 1974 Holland may have been uttered in the same breath as Brazil circa 1970. A varied generation of Dutch flexibility and sheer understanding of the game of football was harnessed by Michels, who did a remarkable job building multifarious factions into a whole. He wrote later in his life about that fundamental task that he seemed to do so well: “It is an art in itself to compose a starting team, finding the balance between creative players and those with destructive powers, and between defence, construction and attack – never forgetting the quality of the opposition and the specific pressures of each match.” A new Dutch generation inspired After the bittersweet final, Michels went back to his club career with Barcelona, though he never strayed far from Ajax or the national team. Nor did he ever achieve as much as he did with Holland. In his four stints in charge, he coached the Dutch to 30 victories and 14 draws in 54 contests. Though he had mostly adapted his concept of Totaal Voetbal to fit the times, Michels team still featured skilled players all over the pitch and a commitment to play creative attacking football. His controversial decision to have the relatively elegant Rijkaard and Ronald Koeman in the centre of defence was proof of that. A thankful world applauded appreciatively as the Dutch lifted their well-deserved first major trophy under the strict watch of the 60-year-old manager. Tactics Management 1974 Netherlands International honours 1974 FIFA World Cup Germany? runner-up 1965 - 1971 Ajax
Playing Career 5 International appearances 1946 - 1958 Ajax 1947, 1957 Netherlands League Champion |
