I am bored so I will skip Annah..
First player- Arie Haan
Long write up stolen from elsewhere..
First player- Arie Haan
Long write up stolen from elsewhere..
There are a handful of players in history that can rightfully claim the distinction of being called the 'total footballer'. An individual totally comfortable in various roles on the football pitch and executing its requirements effortlessly with ease. The total football (totaalvoetbal) system the Ajax side of the late 60s and early 70s propagated required footballers to have unique levels of versatility and skill for it to prosper. One such product was arguably the most flexible. His name, forgotten in time in certain circles, is Arie Haan.
What made Arie – deriving from the Dutch word for Eagle (Arend) – so special more so than Johan Cruijff, Ruud Krol or Johan Neeskens the three players whose images are commonly conjured up whenever the mythical tactical theory is uttered. It was because he embodied something even more remarkable. Individually he took it to new levels. Like the names of his more stellar teammates he was everything that was wonderful about the revolution Rinus Michels sparked and more.
Haan joined Ajax as a 21-year-old in 1969 which was also around the same time Neeskens and Krol were starting to take a foothold in the side. As an Amsterdam outsider he often clashed with Michels mainly due to his 'free-thinking' lifestyle which reportedly included communist leanings as well as his active social lifestyle. Initially Michels had difficulties trying to get the youngster to conform to his ideals and program but in time he reigned him in.
As a player under The General his instructions couldn't have been anymore simpler. Once in possession his task was to distribute it efficiently often passing to a player that could turn the situation into a goal scoring opportunity often Cruijff, Piet Keizer or fellow midfielder Gerrie Mühren.
By trade he was a defensive midfielder despite this the unique circumstances he found himself at the club made it clear he wasn't simply fixed to this role. In the fluid system Haan would float across the pitch – like clockwork – just as the other nine outfield players. Neeskens famed for his industry and instigator of Ajax’s pressing game on a few occasions would rotate with Haan.
He wasn't the only one, another that often swapped positions with the son of Finsterwolde (in Groningen) was Krol the left-back, whenever he went on his marauding runs down the left flank or moving centrally Haan would cover, the perfect example being the 1973 European Cup final against Juventus.
Haan in Belgrade delivered one of the more iconic - if not breathtaking – individual performances of Ajax’s golden era. Expertly he played across the back four just as he did in midfield and attack. Those watching could have played a game entitled 'guess where Haan will pop up next'. Juventus could be forgiven for thinking Ajax had more than regulatory eleven players on the field of play it was that sensational.
The final demonstrated the sheer athleticism of the player and extreme all-round ability. In his own words, he would often perform at his optimum level under the most strenuous and hostile of circumstances and environment. Games against Ajax's fiercest rivals Feyenoord would always get the best out of him as well as facing Europes's biggest teams and playing in their famous venues.
His passing – whether it was short or long – and rhythmic movement of the men around him enabled the circulation football Michels thrived to perfection to be possible. The rigorous of this favourable choice of build-up style would have taken its toll on many footballers not for Haan and the others.
Ajax rarely took their time and would often by pushing their opponents back create a opportunity in front goal by the least amount of passes. Likewise Haan and Co. weren't afraid to mix things up whether they attacked on the flanks or directly through the centre. Fundamentally space was their refuge as long as it was manipulated most sides it seemed never stood a chance.
It would be incredible if today's data collectors could manage to work out his pass completion rate and (successful) passes made in certain games. If such stats could be compiled and came to an astronomical figure then it shouldn't really surprise given the high levels of possession Ajax then routinely kept.
As a combative player Haan often won the ball back in a tenacious and merciless manner whenever Ajax lost possession even though he wasn't the quickest on the pitch he made up so much ground covering large areas of the pitch and never looked to be out of breath.
The lack of pace he might have had was made up for in his excellent spatial awareness and passing game. His playmaking attributes, early on, often curtailed would be encouraged as he and the side developed as a collective.
When Michels left the club after he guided Ajax to their first European Cup triumph at Wembley against Panathinaikos in 1971 – where Haan as a substitutewould get on the score sheet – the new boss Ștefan Kovács initially didn't know how to get the best out of him it was Cruyff who encouraged the Romanian to allow Haan a free reign. One he took with both hands and expressed to the fullest – which included shooting from long range which would become his trademark – but always maintaining his discipline in his role first and foremost.
The 1971/72 season would see Haan and his teammates become immortal. In some of the best football ever seen in Holland and possibly Europe his complete all-round game started to blossom as the European treble was won. The victory over Internazionale in the 1972 European Cup final in Rotterdam was when total football entered the footballing conscious.
During that campaign Ajax would only lose once out of the 48 games (every competition) they played and that was away to Go Ahead Eagles less than 48 hours before their first leg against Benfica in the European Cup semi-final. A proof that despite their superhuman abilities there was a little mortality running through their veins. In a squad of 19 the word 'rotation' rarely appeared in Kovács lexicon.
His intuition at times could have rivaled the Cruijff's and Beckenbauer’s of the day. He would stay at the club two more years after their last European Cup triumph in 1973 during that time he began playing as a number nine on a regular basis.
It was leaving Ajax that his uniqueness became evident. Haan as the years progressed began to drastically take up advance positions as he aged – defying common wisdom in the process – on the football pitch for the various clubs he played for. Something the rest of his teammates did not manage. This should be seen as typical of a 'total footballer' starting out as a defensive midfielder (Ajax) and ending up as an out-and-out striker (Liège) via as a playmaker (Anderlecht). A new saying should have been coined "Arie of all trades, master of them all."
Already he showed to be comfortable anywhere in defence famously playing at right-back for The Netherlands against Argentina in the 1974 World Cup a position vacated by the absent Wim Suurbier. In fact during that tournament Haan normally played at centre-back. A position Cruijff proposed Michels to play him in as a solution to how the the national team could adopt the renowned brand of football he used at Ajax. Years later in Argentina 1978 he would move into a more central midfield postion.
Many wondered the secret behind his total package, was he also capable of playing in goal, or was he simply just a freak of nature. In truth it simply came down to good old fashioned hard work, the environment he was exposed to made sure every facet of his game to be at a freakily high standard, he simply took the ball and ran with it.
