# Johan Cruyff's most famous sayings

From "Italians can't beat you, but you can lose to them" to "Before I make a mistake, I don't make that mistake": the Johan Cruyff one-liners all of the Netherlands knows, with where and when he said them.

- 0 votes · 10 items
- Apr 14, 2025 · L. van den Berg
- https://even.best/en/l/4814/johan-cruyff-s-most-famous-sayings

## Top 10

1. **Italians can't beat you, but you can lose to them.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Before the 1995 Champions League final, Ajax v AC Milan.
2. **Before I make a mistake, I don't make that mistake.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Quoted in "The language of Johan Cruyff", Onze Taal, 1996.
3. **If it isn't going well, then it isn't going well.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Interview, quoted in Onze Taal, 1996.
4. **Utopias that never happen.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — 1995 interview, quoted in Onze Taal, 1996.
5. **Can you imagine a Spanish league without Real Madrid? Well, that already means the problem is solved.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — To Frank Snoeks on Real Madrid's possible bankruptcy, summer 1995.
6. **I'm not the type who runs after things.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Quoted in Onze Taal, 1996.
7. **Just listen, learn to listen for once.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — TV interview with Barend and Van Dorp, December 1993.
8. **Then you get into story two.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Quoted in Onze Taal, 1996.
9. **For me, passing back to the goalkeeper is not possession.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Column in De Telegraaf, 22 October 2012.
10. **It's the same in every sport. The most important thing is speed of action.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — On meeting Max Verstappen, NRC, March 2016.

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.