Jordi Cruyff

[Andi Istiabudi]

One of my favourite player ...

Jordi Cruyff



Johan Jordi Cruyff (born 9 February 1974 in Amsterdam, Netherlands) is a Dutch footballer currently playing for Valletta in the Maltese Premier League, where he also acts as the side's assistant manager.

Mainly an attacking midfielder, he could also appear as a second striker, though he played mainly as a centre back with Metalurh Donetsk. He is the son of Dutch former player and manager Johan Cruyff.



Jordi Cruyff & Johan Cruyff

Early life
Although born in Amsterdam, Cruyff spent his early life in Spain where his father Johan was playing for Barcelona. He was allegedly named after Sant Jordi, the patron saint of Catalonia.[citation needed] In 1981, the Cruyff family returned to the Netherlands, where the player was introduced by his father in Ajax's youth ranks at the age of seven, after having watched several matches. In 1988, when Cruyff was fourteen, he followed his father back to Barcelona, as the latter had been appointed Barcelona's head coach.

Club career
Barcelona
In 1992, Jordi made his debut for Barcelona B in the Segunda División, and two years later joined the senior team during a pre-season tour in the Netherlands, where he scored hat-tricks against Groningen and De Graafschap. On 4 September 1994, his father gave him his top flight debut in, a 2–1 defeat at Sporting Gijón. On 2 November, he played against Manchester United in the Champions League, and Jordi set up the first goal for Hristo Stoichkov, as Barcelona won 4–0.

However, despite a positive start, Jordi's time at Barcelona effectively came to an end when his father was sacked by Josep Lluís Núñez. On 19 May 1996, he played his last game for the club against Celta Vigo, at the Camp Nou.

Manchester United
In August 1996, Jordi signed with Manchester United for a fee of £1.4 million. He made his club debut on 17 August, in a 3–0 win over Wimbledon, the opening fixture of the 1996–97 season, in a game noted for David Beckham's goal from his own half. Cruyff then scored on his next two appearances, helping to 2–2 draws against Everton and Blackburn Rovers. Despite missing much of the second half of the season due to a knee injury, he returned towards the end to help United clinch the Premier League title.

An ankle injury in 1998 limited the amount of appearances he made and saw him lose his place in the team. In January 1999, he returned to Spain, loaned to Celta Vigo and, as a result, missed out on Manchester United achieving their historic treble. Cruyff rejoined United for 1999–2000, and helped them win the league once again. However, he failed to establish himself as a first team regular and played his final game for the club on 14 May 2000. Despite being a member of the squad for three Premier League title wins, Cruyff only garnered one winner's medal, in 1996–97, due to his limited appearances for the club.

Later years
On leaving United, Jordi moved once again to Spain, and signed with Deportivo Alavés. With the Basque, he reached the 2001 UEFA Cup Final, an epic match against Liverpool: despite being 2–0 and then 3–1 down, Alavés embarked on a spirited comeback and Jordi's goal in the 89th minute tied the game at 4–4. However, an own goal in extra time saw Liverpool lift the cup.

Jordi continued to play for Alavés until they were relegated at the end of 2002–03. The following season he joined Espanyol, being played regularly in his only season. From 2004 to 2006, he was semi-retired after a serious knee injury, keeping fit with Barcelona B and playing in some veteran matches. Cruyff spent the 2007–08 season playing with Metalurh Donetsk, where he played mainly as a Centre back and, at the same time, entered the fashion business, helping develop the Cruyff clothing brand.

Valletta
In the summer of 2009, Cruyff signed a three-year deal as assistant-manager of Maltese side Valletta, aiding first coach Ton Caanen, while also being a player in his first season. He made his debut on 26 July 2009, in a 3-0 win in the Europa League 2009–10 first qualifying round against Keflavík. His league appearance came on 21 August 2008, in a 3–1 win over Birkirkara. He scored his first goal on 29 August 2009 in a 6–0 win against Floriana.

International career
Cruyff's performances for Barcelona persuaded coach Guus Hiddink to include him in the Netherlands team for Euro 96; subsequently, he made his debut for the national side in a 2–0 defeat against Germany, on a 24 April 1996 friendly.



Cruyff scored his only goal for the Netherlands during the final stages, on 13 June, in a 2–0 win against Switzerland at Villa Park, and would be one of only five Dutch footballers to be selected for the Dutch national team while never having played in the country's topflight, the other capped players being Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Rob Reekers, Willi Lippens and Wim Hofkens.

Additionally, Cruyff also played for Catalonia, scoring on his debut, a 5–2 win over Barcelona at the Nou Estadi de Tarragona, on 25 June 1995. He also scored for Catalonia in a 5–0 win over Lithuania on 22 December 2000, at the Camp Nou. In all, Jordi played nine times for the side, including two games against Brazil in 2002 and 2004.

Source : Wikipedia

[Rean]

jiahhhh fans nya jordi akhirnya bikin thread jg

[red_devilz]

Oh, ternyata dipinkamkan ke Celta Vigo yah pas paruh musim 1998-1999....makanya pas final UCL '99 kok gak ada nama Jordi d line up....malah om Giggs yang digeser ke sayap kanan pas final tersebut....

Pemain bagus tapi datang ke United d saat yang tidak tepat .... coz lini tengah United pada waktu itu sudah paten dengan Beckham - Scholes - Keane - Giggs ...

[Andi Istiabudi]

Originally Posted by Rean

jiahhhh fans nya jordi akhirnya bikin thread jg

Meski banyak yang mengatakan Jordi Cruyff kurang memberikan kontribusi maksimal selama membela Manchester United, namun Jordi adalah pemain Manchester United kedua yang saya kagumi setelah Eric Cantona saat masih SMP dulu. Lagipula saat ini Jordi Cruyff sendiri kurang dikenal oleh penggemar muda Manchester United sehingga kalau tidak dibuatkan thread khusus Jordi Cruyff mungkin tidak ada yang mengingatnya kembali....

[s.h.a.r.a.z]

wuaaaah ada thread nya!!!!! hehehe...
pertama kali nonton UNITED, ini dia pemaen favorit gw selaen cantona
dia juga yg bikin gw cinta sama BELANDA.... hehe
poster gedenya masih ada tuh dikamar gw

sayang karirnya gak mulus, "like father,like son" gak berlaku buat dia....
kira2 kalo dia ga pindah ke UNITED dan tetep di Barca gimana nasibnya yah??
terakhir ngeliat dia di tv malah di acara MTV Cribs-footballer edition

anyway, thanks for TS untuk threadnya....aaah jadi kangen sama Jordi...

TS

[Andi Istiabudi]

Alhamdulillah ternyata masih ada yang ingat dengan Jordi Cruyff ...
Mereka yang ingat Jordi, pasti pernah menonton aksi Jordi pertengahan tahun 1990an dimana saat itu masih ada Eric Cantona, Garry Pallister, Andy Cole, Dennis Irwin, Karel Poborsky dan Roy Keane. Kalau Jordi tidak cidera mungkin dia ikut meraih treble. Musim 1997-1998 memang berat terutama saat itu persaingan dengan Arsenal cukup ketat. Wah jadi nostalgia MU tahun 1990an nih ...

[s.h.a.r.a.z]

percayalah..gw gak bakal lupa sama jordi cruyff hehehehe...

[yoshiharu_kubo10]

hwhwhwhwhwh...

salah satu pemain yang keberatan nama nih...seperti juga Maradona Jr...bakatnya memang lumayan...tapi ayah mereka berdua terlalu luar biasa sehingga mereka tenggelam dalam bayang-bayang...

Jordi merupakan pencetak gol terakhir dari umpan Eric Cantona...kalau ga salah...keren umpannya...dari tengah lapangan menembus barisan pertahanan lawan...lupa lawan mana...hwhwhwhwh...

[Rean]

yg gw ingat gol ciamiknya waktu euro 96. debut klo ga salah, dan langsung cetak gol di pertandingan pertama belanda di euro 96.

[Oncy]

Endupnya jd apa ya skrg si Jordi?