Dutch Football 1960s-70s.

Southampton Solent University
FACULTY OF CREATIVE INDUSTRIES
Sports Journalism
2015
Joe Thomlinson
Q10151931
“The revolution in Dutch football between
1960-1980 was more to do with cultural,
societal and political factors than the
game itself.”
Supervisor : Jim O’Brien

Date of presentation : May 2015
1
Contents
1. Acknowledgments 3
2. Abstract 4
3. Introduction
3.1 Introduction 5
3.2 Literature Review 6
3.3 Methodology 7
4 Chapters
4.1 A New Holland - Born From War 9

4.2. Ajax – The Phoenix of Holland 17
4.3. Dutch mirrors – Football and Society 27
5 Conclusion 35
6 Bibliography 39
7 Appendix 42
2
1. Acknowledgments
Firstly I would like to thank my dissertation lecturer Jim O’Brien for showing
an equal passion for European football with me and guiding me to this point, I
would not have been able to do it without him.
I would also like to thank my other University lecturers John May, Graham
Hiley, Will Cope, Andy Ford and Dave Reilly for challenging me to do my best
and giving me a wonderful base for my research.
Next, I would like to thank David Winner for taking the time out of his busy
schedule to grant an interested student some time to ask questions.
Finally I would like to thank my family and friends for pushing me and putting
up with my incessant watching and discussing of the game I love so much –
football.
3
2. Abstract
The subject of Dutch football has long interested and fascinated me. On
European nights the tactics of other European sides always kept me
spellbound, this peaked in 2011 when Barcelona were at their imperious best.
After reading and research I discovered the football emanated from Johann
Cruyff and I quickly fell in love with the story and history of Ajax. Since then I
have grown as the game in Holland has declined and I have discovered more
about the nation’s rich footballing heritage and Ajax’s Golden Generation.
This dissertation investigates the reasons behind The Netherland’s

remarkable footballing success during 1960 and 1980 and the reasons behind
it. I also focus my attention on Ajax Amsterdam and discover why they were
so dominant domestically and in Europe at the time. With pioneers of the
game like Cruyff and Rinus Michels dominating those around them, I aim to
discover how much influence they held on the club and national football in
Holland. I also look to the wider Dutch game and how Ajax’s revolutionary
tactics were implemented effectively in comparison to other struggling sides.
Moreover, I look at the wider picture in The Netherlands. Delving deeper into
Dutch society, culture and politics to see the level of influence they had on the
game. I unearth the context behind Jewish culture in Amsterdam and how the
war affected the football. With the changing shape of Europe I discover the
connections and reflections seen in a changing and revolutionary society.
4
3.1. Introduction
In this dissertation the hypothesis that states – ‘The Revolution In Dutch

Football between 1960 and 1980 was more to do with societal and cultural
factors than the game itself’ is being tested. This has been completed over the
course of three chapters.
In the first chapter the time period is analysed and the social, cultural and
even political factors that were influencing Dutch society so heavily at the time
are also looked at. Its effect on Dutch football is also tested and the way the
game was growing. The post-war period is studied to see how Holland was
changing and the country has been followed through three decades of
transformation. The movements of the time were also investigated, most
notably Provo – to see the working relationship between the youth and
society.
In the second chapter there is focus on a case study – that of Ajax during the
specified time period. The question is raised as to whether Ajax and
Amsterdam in particular was a cultural and sporting phenomenon of the time
and country, or whether it was a symbol of wider spread change. The Golden
Ajax team that won three consecutive European Cups and the reasons behind
their success are looked at. Finally, the Jewish roots of the club are looked at
and the discovery of why the new fans have adopted the Jewish religion as a
symbol of pride is made.
In the final chapter the footballing aspect of The Netherlands is studied and
there is an attempt to find its parallels in society in areas such as dance, art
and architecture. The hypothesis is also tested against the quality of
individuals and the impact culture had on Holland’s greatest icon – Johann
Cruyff is investigated. This is because it is crucial to test whether the quality of
the team was an anomaly or if society had molded a superpower by accident.
5
3.2. Literary Review
David Winner (2000). Brilliant Oranje. London: Bloomsbury.
Brilliant Orange was incredibly relevant to the topic of my dissertation. With a

heavy focus on the footballing side of Holland during the golden generation
and since it was an excellent base to follow with some superb sources
included in it. This book was key to discovering incidents and moments that
defined the great Dutch team of the 1970s and like the hypothesis, David
Winner had also looked to see if culture had affected the squad of the 70s and
even 80s. The main strength of Brilliant Orange is the depth of knowledge
about a time-period past, it superbly covers the 1974 and 1978 World Cup
and features reports from players of the era that have since passed away to
give me a good insight into the feeling around the team of the decade. The
weakness is that is fairly one-dimensional in that it only looks at football and
doesn’t link overly well to the societal factors.
Simon Kuper (2003). Ajax, The Dutch, The War. London: Orion.
Much like Brilliant Orange this book by Simon Kuper gave a superb insight
into a team of past generations. It also added some superb stories of the time
period. It gave a superb sense of the changes that were happening in Holland
after the war as well as a look inside the conflict from Holland’s perspective.
The link this book created between the war and the feeling of people was
crucial for the case study on Ajax as it gave context to the Jewish roots of the
club. The main strength of this book is the context it gave to the dissertation in
that it has links to the time period before the hypothesis. However, it was also
weak in that it didn’t look at the wider picture in Holland and focused primarily
on Amsterdam.
6
Herman Vuijsje (2000). The Politically Incorrect Netherlands. Westport:
Greenwood.
Away from the footballing side of the dissertation, it was crucial to get to an
understanding and sense of the culture at the time. This book, while being
accompanied by others such as Contrasts In Tolerance (Downes) and
Policing and Democracy in the Netherlands (Jones), gave an insight and
different perspective. They furthered understanding of the changes that were
taking place after the war. The Politically Correct Netherlands especially gave
a clear sense of the cultural tolerance that was occurring and allowing football
to flourish. The strength to Vuijesje’s work is that he grew up during the time
so makes excellent points in particular on the Provo movement and the
taboos of post war. These are supported well by Jones’ work. However the
negatives are that none of them related the work specifically to football or
sport instead focusing on how it had impacted on the economy.
3.3. Methodology
The aim of this dissertation was to gather and validate data to test a
hypothesis on Dutch football. It was also important to ensure that any of the
data and research collected was relevant to the hypothesis and it was tested
objectively on both sides. The collection of a mixture of primary and
secondary data was crucial to achieve a fair and in-depth study.
Quantitative research was relevant to this study and primary data was
collected through an interview with a prominent authority on the hypothesis.
This helped to assess both sides of the story and get a more in-depth look
into Dutch football from someone who has been involved in the game for a
number of years. David Winner is a published author and authority figure on
the history of Holland and as such was an excellent interviewee for the piece.
The questions used in the interview were of an open nature intending to allow
the subject to expand on their own points and create a debate and
conversation. They were in-depth, balanced and included a range of topics. It
was crucial for the subject to be questioned openly and without leading views
in order to establish a balanced view.
7
The interview allowed further understanding on Dutch football and society
from the time and David in particular gave good insight into the link football
played during the time period. This primary research was a base for
arguments that society did have an effect. In particular this is noted in the
second chapter in which the Jewish connection inside Ajax is investigated.
This was due to the fact that during primary research and trips to Amsterdam,
it was clear that this was a crucial historical route to follow. All of the primary
research was relevant because of the high standing of the interviewees and
their positions of knowledge within the subject.
The hypothesis was tested against existing secondary data. Books, journals,
magazine and radio shows tested the statement and were used to find out the
background to some of the stories the primary data had revealed. ‘Brilliant
Oranje’ by the interview subject David Winner was useful in gathering an
overall view of the time period and other more cultural books including ‘Racist
Violence and the State’ by Rob Witte gave a detailed understanding of
societal pressures of the time. Another crucial secondary source were
journals written on the subject as they allowed further testing of the
hypothesis and find other reasons behind the success of Dutch football.
8
4.1 A New Holland – Born From War
Michael Anderson – “The Netherlands was left with the war torn lands
plundered by the Nazis, who destroyed between 27 and 40 percent of the
total capital stock.”
After the Second World War Dutch society and culture was changed forever.
When the Nazis and the Nationalist Socialist Movement, also known as the
NSB, were thrown from power, liberation swept across the flat landscape like
a tidal wave of change. However, it was clearly the hard work of the 1950s
that laid the foundations for economic, cultural and sporting revival in the
1960’s; this eventually led to The Netherlands being known as a shining light
of fair democracy in the modern era. Football in Holland was one of many
aspects that felt the full boost of the development as it went from bleak
unprofessionalism to become a European superpower in the game. It is clear
that the transition in society was the key reason behind football’s great turn
around.
In 1945 the World War had crippled Holland and in particular Amsterdam,
which was seen as a predominantly Jewish community before the war. Most
of these Jews, around 80,000 of them, made a living as merchants, diamond
cutters and even banana salesmen in the hub of the city. But, by 1940 the
Germans and the NSB had sealed off this hub with barbed wire and by 1945
over 80% of its occupants had been murdered. Most of the country was
ashamed of its anti-Semitic government and many hid or fed members of the
Jewish faith. As Simon Kuper notes in Ajax, The Dutch, The War, “The
average Dutchman spent his time during the war delivering newspapers with
news of the resistance or feeding his hidden Jews.1” This shows the
underlying current of strong moral values in the Dutch nation. Unlike many
other countries that had begun to fold and turn in support of Adolf Hitler, the
Dutch were clearly showing a resilience to fight against the state.
1
Simon Kuper (2003). Ajax, The Dutch, The War. London: Orion. 135.
9
The Dutch as a nation were typically used to following authority, usually that
of a philosophical and religious nature, but when the NSB came to power it is
clear that the comprehension of a nation changed. This meant that when the
fighting was over and the people were liberated a number of taboos were born
as a consequence of war. The key three taboos were: Invasion of privacy by
the state, state coercion and ethnic differences. Herman Vuijsje notes, “It is
impossible to examine the taboos without immediately thinking of World War
II.2” This is because each was born of a different problem during the
occupation. Invasion of Privacy was created due to the Nazi’s constant desire
for knowledge and forcefulness in getting people to share their secrets. State
coercion came about because the NSB and Hitler had brutalized the country,
killed those who stood for different ideas and imprisoned those who were
unwilling to cooperate. Finally the ‘ethnic differences’ taboo was born of the
state’s racism and the embarrassment the Dutch felt after the war.
Each taboo was influential on a country that was reeling from its previous
support of anti-Semitism and its human crisis, and each would have a long
lasting legacy on the Dutch cultural system. After the Nazis and an all-
powerful NSB government folded in 1945, the main anxieties created were of
an Invasion of Privacy and State Coercion which had previously existed under
the Nazi regime. These caused great fear, and it was this that clearly acted as
a catalyst for social change some 15 years after the war. By 1960 the people
had rebuilt society and redefined Dutch culture. At the time it was believed
that each person must be able to “develop without being treated like a child by
the state.3” This clear anxiety around political strength can be shown in the
fact that since the war there has not been a single majority government in
power.
In addition ethnic differences caused cultural and social change for decades
to come, as the Dutch rapidly became a nation of multiculturalism and
inclusion. However, from a historical perspective, the Dutch have been a
2
Herman Vuijsje (2000). The Politically Incorrect Netherlands. Westport: Greenwood.
102
3
Herman Vuijsje (2000). The Politically Incorrect Netherlands. Westport: Greenwood.
36.
10
nation willing to accept those of different race and ethnicity. For example this
is clear to see when in 1796 the National Assembly ruled that Jews would be
known as ordinary Dutch citizens. However over a century later, this was
seriously tested during the Nazi’s reign of terror. Jews were mercilessly
persecuted and hunted down in the streets. In Holland the percentage of Jews
murdered during the war was greater than any other European country. Of the
140,000 Jews in the country at the outbreak of war, 102,000 were killed, the
rest were rounded up for camps or went into hiding.4 These shocking statistics
led to a feeling of embarrassment in the Dutch community and after the war
many Jews were castigated as the Dutch nation blamed them for invasion.
However the generation after the war changed perceptions and the baby
boom generation, as they would come to be known, welcomed the Jewish
community again. They felt sympathy and, like the system they were growing,
showed openness and love towards those who had been targeted.
Once the war ended rebuilding was the priority and this continued in all
aspects of Dutch life until the 1950s when focus switched to boosting the
economy. With the taboos in place and the masses calling for an improved
welfare state it was clear that the government would have to do everything in
its power to appease the people. This allowed all parts of Dutch society to
begin regrowth and by the mid 1950s this new economy was prospering. As
Kees Schuyt wrote, “The years between 1951 – when the repair phase
switched to an economic growth policy - and 1973 were years of uninterrupted
economic growth.5” The incredible nature of this economic boom clearly lent
much weight to the system and with the increase in job prospects and money
people could begin to create lives for themselves away from hard manual
labor and memories of the war.
After this time of stability and increased prosperity in the economy and
industry, began a period of increased freedom and individualism. The
4
Manfred Gerstenfeld. (1999). Wartime and postwar time Dutch attitudes towards
the Jews. Available: http://www.jcpa.org/jl/vp412.htm. Last accessed 16/2/2015.
5
Kees Schuyt (1988). Dutch Culture In A European Perspective 1950. Basingstoke:
Palgrave MacMillan. 40.
11
traditional Dutch democratic system, which is made up of pillars – media,
trade unions, education, health, and recreation, began to fold. Each of these
pillars had a political party sat at the top supporting it. In 1960 The Dutch
began to get rid of this rigid political way of thinking, thus leading the people
away from its traditional Dutch roots. Trevor Jones claims, “In the 1960’s there
was a marked depillarisation of Dutch society, this was clearly associated with
greater individualism.6” As this depillarisation began to occur so self regulation
began to grow and the clear nature of a welfare state began to shine through.
Many sections of policy making began to be placed away from the hands of
central government and into those of outside parties. Interest groups and
industry organisations started to create agreements with the government in
which regulatory powers were transferred to civil society. This was a crucial
step towards the individual power that was growing in Dutch society.
Much of the self regulation that grew in the 1960s was made up of
agreements to turn a blind eye, codes of conduct, gentleman’s agreements
and declarations of intent all of which lacked any legal binding and allowed
the powers that be to stay in control but with more delegation. With a lack of
interference from the state growing, the power shifted to the people and
politicians were too nervous to enforce real laws for fear of an uprising and
reprisal by the people. This lack of governance created a tolerance and this
tolerance created even greater cultural and social change.
By the mid 1960s the Netherlands was trying to teach foreigners the values
of open-mindedness, peace and joy. Simon Kuper notes, “The Dutch Political
Discourse of the 60’s favourite phrase was ‘Netherlands, guide land’.7” This
idea showed how they believed their own democracy was as close to perfect
as a democracy could be. This was despite holding very little power and being
nervous to show any control in case the people rose up and they tried to be a
shining light for the larger states like America and Russia to follow.
6
Trevor Jones (1995). Policing and Democracy in the Netherlands. London: PSI. 19.
7
Simon Kuper. (2014). The Dutch Style and The Dutch Nation. The Blizzard. Issue 0,
310.
12
The era that grew up in this time of leniency was the post war ‘Baby Boom
Era’ and would be part of the rise of the well-known hippy scene. The hippy
scene exploded in Holland in the 1960s but before that came the Provo
movement. After the drabness of the 1950s where post war life was dull and
boring, the people were crying out for a catalyst to spark a revival. Dutch
youngsters who formed together to create Provo, a cultural movement that
attempted to draw violence from the state, ignited this revival and it quickly
drew support from all corners. They believed the Government should be there
for help only, not to control them. Provo would stage weekly happenings and
protest against the Left. As Lynn Owens states, “The Provo ranks grew so
quickly that their weekly happening would attract thousands.8” These numbers
all came to join against the state, in further moves that would create a large
number of apologists in power.
With the trendsetting elite and Dutch Political system concerned about
further revolt from the young they stuck rigidly to the taboos of the post war
era, however this just allowed young people to challenge the system further.
These young groups began to openly smoke pot, wear all white and generally
attempted to provoke over the top attacks from the state. The high point in
their influence came in 1966 when Princess Beatrix announced she would
marry, a German man. Provo tapped into the anti-German feeling across
Holland and claimed to many newspapers that they would disrupt the
ceremony. On the day of the wedding they let off white smoke bombs and the
public watching on TV witnessed in shock and horror as the police waded into
the Provo crowds and viciously beat those involved. Unsurprisingly all the
focus was drawn away from the wedding and people began to stand up and
rally even more behind the Provo movement. This was hugely fruitful for the
people as it provoked political change. As Sefanie Chambers notes, “The
movement’s success in influencing social and political order was reflected in
the dismissal of the mayor and police chief in Amsterdam.9” This shows the
8
Lynn Owens (2009). Cracking Under Pressure. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University
Press. 47.
9
Stefanie Chambers (2006). Mayors and schools. Philadelphia: Temple. 25.
13
change that was happening. A change forced by the young generation in
Holland known as the ‘Baby Boom Generation.’ It was spreading to all corners
of Dutch society; from football to music the bland, controlled nature of society
was turning. The arts became a focal point for creativity and for the first time
in decades young people had the time and the money to focus on their free
time, to buy tickets to events and to take a real interest in leisure activities.
With apologists in power, tolerance on the streets and youth revolt in the air,
individualism and creativity began to soar. The nanny state was clearly dying
and this gave the people the opportunity to create something by themselves.
With the post war baby boom came the people willing to take this opportunity
with both hands. In a world where everyone wanted freedom and the
opportunity to create their own destiny youth could rule. However, with greater
freedom came greater risks. One such risk was that as tolerance grew so
would crime and there was clearly a rise around this time. However, with the
state’s fear of retribution from the people they became scared of prosecuting
them for minor crimes and between 1952-65 the Dutch police did their upmost
to imprison as few offenders as possible. David Downes claims, “The prison
population of the Netherlands has been progressively reduced over virtually
the whole post-war period.10” This clearly demonstrates that the state was
attempting to be as tolerant as possible when it came to crime, choosing to
only warn the offenders.
This is particularly clear around drug related crime. As Ed Leuw notices,

“The 1960’s signalled a dramatic change in drug policy in the Netherlands,
Marijuana and Amphetamines were no longer restricted to artists, students
and other Creatives.11” This change is common for the time, as laws and
tolerance levels in the 1960s softened so the feeling of power amongst the
people grew. Creativity levels sky rocketed, and a feeling of cultural, social
10
David Downes (1988). Contrasts In Tolerance. New York: Oxford University Press.
5.
11
Ed Leuw (1996). The Dutch Experiment In Drug Policy. Amsterdam: Kugler. 16.
14
and artistic movement swept through the nation. After 15 years of dull
depression finally times were changing.
New job opportunities meant that the economy boomed to one of the
strongest in Europe. Divisions between the old 1930s bourgeoisie and the
modern youngster were crumbling and the long-lived link between religion and
society were almost non-existent. Freedom for youth was created by the
economy’s increased prosperity and for the first time in years people could
buy luxury items and be whatever they wanted. This Cultural Revolution
swept, not only across the Netherlands, but Europe too and it was becoming
increasingly influential outside of Holland. The hippy movement saw
thousands of youngsters given greater freedom and music became king. The
Beatles were ruling Europe and gathering millions of hippy followers in their
successful wake.
With hippy culture beginning to spread across Europe, in Holland art,

architecture, music and even sport were riding on the wave of optimism,
change and freedom. Where the Beatles were the fulcrums of revolution and
change in England, it was Johan Cruyff who was to become the idol of a
generation in Holland. As Hubert Sweets an NRC Handelsblad journalist of
the time noted, “The Netherlands was experiencing a political, cultural and
social revolution with Cruyff the main representative.12” Some in Holland were
even comparing him at the time to John Lennon. As Cruyff’s reputation also
grew in Amsterdam the rest of Holland’s young generation began to stand up
and take notice. He was clearly becoming the leading light in a generation of
powerfully free youth. Karel Grabler grew up in Holland during the 1960’s and
agrees, “Cruyff was kind of a model for us, like John Lennon was in England.
He talked with the logic of our whole generation.13” This idea grew and as the
young generation turned away from the grey times of the past decade and the
dull life that had followed the brutality of war, creativity and art began to
prosper amongst the people. If the forties and fifties had been a time of
depression, it was now that the new youth of the sixties that had chosen to
12
David Winner (2000). Brilliant Oranje. London: Bloomsbury. 8.
13
Karel Grabbler as quoted in Brilliant Oranje. (2000). London: Bloomsbury. 19.
15
change themselves; they were doing this through the arts and one such art to
be seriously influenced was football.
16
4.2. Ajax - The Phoenix of Holland
David Winner – “It’s fair to see Cruyff as Michels’ slightly junior

essential collaborator in the creation of Ajax.”
After the war everything about life was hard, especially work, and families
had to rebuild everything around them again. Football during this time period
was dull, bleak and boring. The Dutch game did not even turn professional
until 1954 and even then the standard was low, the football uninspiring and
many people had very little interest in it. However in 1956 at the formation of
the Eredivisie, football sprang into life. Dutch Psychoanalyst Anna Enquist
agrees that, “Football was liberated, it suddenly became a valuable thing – to
talk about, to study and to take seriously.1”
Prior to the war Ajax Amsterdam were one of the more powerful amateur
clubs in Holland and were seen as the major strength in the West of the
country. They drew large numbers of spectators; the majority who would go to
games would be from the affluent area of Amsterdam and any Jews who
attended the games would either do so for pure entertainment, or be
exceedingly rich. As ex-Ajax winger Bennie Muller claimed, “Jewish people
enjoyed something good, and so they enjoyed going to Ajax.”2 This was
simply because the poorer Jews from the Jewish Quarter could not afford the
ticket and needed to work on their stalls or in their shops on the day of the
game. The club had no direct link to Judaism and in fact only had one Jewish
player in the 1930s. However it is clear to see with the effects of the war
began to bring certain ethnic and religious groups together again, especially in
Amsterdam. As Marco De Waard argues, “It was World War Two that unified
the nation across religious divides.”3
1
Anna Enquist as quoted in David Winner Brilliant Oranje. (2000). London:
Bloomsbury. 24.
2
Bennie Muller as quoted in Simon Kuper (2003). Ajax: The Dutch, The War.
London: Orion. 19.
3
Marco De Waard (2012). Imagining Global Amsterdam. Amsterdam: Amsterdam
University Press. 243.
17
Just prior to the war the amateur Ajax were successful. This was particularly
the case throughout the 1930s when they won five titles under the reign of
Jack Reynolds, a legendary manager who was in charge of the club for 35
years. However when Holland became involved in the war the consequences
were felt in Amsterdam more than in any other city in Europe. Many in the
Netherlands actually claim that war barely affected the rest of the country,
only Amsterdam. Dutch journalist Frits Barend claims in Ajax, The Dutch, The
War, that there was no war in Holland, but there was in Amsterdam and for
their Jews4. Prior to the war, the city had been populated with vast amounts of
Jews, in fact nearly 1 in every 7 was of Jewish descent. The Jewish quarter of
the City was a bustling community of 80,000 and just a few miles outside of
the quarter was the De Meer stadium, Ajax’s home. But when the Germans
invaded Amsterdam became the target of the worst murders in any European
Country with over 90% of its Jews being captured and killed5.
However, despite this evil surrounding them during the war Ajax made a
concerted effort not to help the Nazis. They refused to place banning orders
on Jewish members and are even believed to have hidden some Jews in De
Meer stadium itself. As Simon Kuper argues, “Ajax – not just as a club, but as
a network – saved people, and not just Jews.”6 As they supported the Jewish
population and other ethnic minorities in Amsterdam people were drawn to the
club for protection and when the war was finished in 1945 and Holland was
liberated, Ajax was seen as a focal point for rebuilding. As this happened so
Jewish members began to sweep onto The Board of Directors and with this
Judaism became the essence of the Dutch club7.
The wealthy Jewish members that had managed to escape and hide their
riches from German soldiers took over the club and quickly developed it into a
Jewish symbol of hope. This togetherness was so strong that, according to
4
Frits Barend as quoted in Simon Kuper (2003). Ajax: The Dutch, The War. London:
Orion. 70.
5
Marnix Croes. (2006). The Holocaust in the Netherlands .The Rate of Jewish
Survival (Table), 482.
6
Simon Kuper (2003). Ajax: The Dutch, The War. London: Orion. 107.
7
Ajax – The Jewish Club, 2013. Radio 5 Live. 24th March. 2015.
18
Simon Kuper, “belonging to Ajax was a clearer identity than being Dutch.” 8 It
became iconic to be a member at Ajax and in some circles it was seen to be
better to belong to Ajax than it was to be Dutch. As the culture of rebuilding
and reconciliation in the country gradually grew it is clear that Ajax followed
suit. Dutch Jews across the nation began to fall in love with the club and
regularly flocked to watch the still amateur game in the late 1940s and early
50s despite the club only managing to win the league twice during that time.
When the Dutch League turned professional and became the Eredivisie in
1956, Ajax were again crowned Champions. However they were still only
seen as a regional power. Where there had once been an abundance of
football clubs in and around the Amsterdam area now only one, only Ajax
stood firm and represented the city that had suffered so badly during the war.
Despite there not being many actual Jewish players Barry Hulshoff claims that
there was a distinctly Jewish element to the team: “It was an Amsterdam
thing, many Jews had a feeling for the club, it was part of the atmosphere,
part of the personality of the team.”9 This is made clear when in 1956 the half-
Jewish Sjaak Swart made his debut for the club and immediately became a
club icon that Jews would flock to De Meer just to see play. He would go on to
become the record appearance holder for the side and known as ‘Mr. Ajax’.
However, during the 50s, and even in the immediate years after turning
professional, Ajax were still a relatively small time outfit. But, by the 1960s
change was sweeping the nation. The rebuilding of Holland was well
underway, the economy was beginning to prosper, the baby boom generation
was growing up and Amsterdam as a City had turned into the liberal focal
point of Holland. As Amsterdam underwent this Cultural Revolution, so Ajax
became the tip of the arrow of change. Some even compare them as a Dutch
version of the Beatles in that they were idols, gods and led the young
8
9
Barry Hulshoff as cited in David Winner Brilliant Oranje. (2000). London:
Bloomsbury. 216.
19
generation of change. Simon Kuper agrees: “The Beatles are actually the
English 1960’s version of Ajax.”10
As it had begun its rebirth, a youngster call Johan Cruyff had been growing
in and around the Ajax team. From the age of 10 when his father died he had
spent every day at the ground, cleaning after players and even getting
involved in matches and quickly became an adopted son of the club. On
February 2nd 1964, the Golden Age of Ajax begun. The teenage sensation
who had grown up in the baby-boom generation, in a tide of change and
liberation took his first steps on the De Meer pitch and scored his first goal. As
Ruud Stovkis argues, “Johan Cruyff mirrored the era of optimism, liberal
ideology, freedom and hope.”11 It would take a few more years yet before Ajax
begun reaping the rewards of Cruyff and the change he was surrounded by,
but this is clearly the foundation and focal point at the beginning. What is also
clear is that as Cruyff grew up the changing environment he grew up in
shaped him into something special. Like many young people at the time he
began to question the norm. Again this is clearly an example of society having
a huge effect on the football of the time. Hubert Smeets argues that Cruyff,
“was a typical baby boomer, he shared Provo’s anarchic attitude and love for
provoking the establishment.”12 This clearly demonstrates that Cruyff
challenged what was happening at Ajax and found new methods to win
games.
In addition, the team around him was forged of war-hardened soldiers; a

mixture of Jews and non-Jews they gave the skinny teen the sure footing to
progress. This integration in the Ajax squad even included Germans, who had
developed into the Dutch’s archrivals for obvious reasons. Despite the fact
Cruyff himself was not of Jewish descent many considered him an honorary
Jew. As Simon Kuper discovered, “Many Dutch Jews seem to regard Cruyff
10
Simon Kuper & David Winner. (2013). Comparing The Apple and The Orange. The
Blizzard (iBook version). 3 (18), 580 (iBook version).
11
Ivo van Hilvoorde & Ruud Stokvis (2013) ‘Pythagoras in boots’: Johan Cruijff and
the Construction of Dutch National Identity, Sport in History, 33:4, 427.
12
Hubert Smeets as cited in Brilliant Orange page 25
20
as a sort of Jewish Patron Saint.”13 This lends weight to the argument that
Ajax was swept up in the cultural change of integration and acceptance. With
the implementation of the ‘Jewish Saint’ Cruyff, the rich Jewish connection
behind the scenes and little in the way of competition Ajax soon began to
thrive.
In 1965 an Amsterdam born non-Jew by the name of Rinus Michels strode

into De Meer and kick-started the true Golden Ajax era that Cruyff had slowly
given a nudge to the year before. He and Cruyff together implemented a
unique style of the game that would come to be known as ‘Total Football’. He
immediately joined the club and revolutionised everything about it, from the
training ground routines, to the tactics, to the diets. As Jonathan Wilson
claims, “Michels modernised every aspect of management of the club to the
point that every player was fully professional and could commit absolutely to
his training schedule”14. With divisions in society crumbling and new job
opportunities at every turn, football began to become a sought after
profession and quality players started to join Ajax under Michel’s iron-like
control.
It is clear that Rinus Michels absorbed the modernization that was

happening in the Amsterdam of the 60s and began to implement new modern
formations such as the Brazilian 4-2-4. This signalled a shift away from the
traditional Dutch 2-3-5 and tightened up the leaky defence. If Ajax were the
Beatles of Holland then as Simon Kuper claims, “Rinus Michels is Brian
Epstein.”15 The players immediately responded to Michel’s methods and gave
their growing fan base something to cheer about, lifting the Eredivisie in his
first campaign. As life changed in Amsterdam so did the professionalism of
Ajax. Before Michels most players would have day jobs and then train for an
hour after working hours. However he quickly began using the Jewish riches
that were at the top of the board to pay the players well, meaning they could
13
14
Jonathan Wilson (2008). Inverting The Pyramid. 3rd ed. London: Orion. 100.
15
Simon Kuper & David Winner. (2013). Comparing The Apple and The Orange. The
Blizzard (iBook version). 3 (18), 585 (iBook version).
21
leave their day jobs in shops and train full time. This also gave the players
greater desire to perform for the club because, as former Ajax player Bobby
Haarms suggests, “The boys knew they had to do their best or risk going back
to their lousy jobs.16” This clearly demonstrates that Michels was using the
societal change and modernity in Amsterdam to get more out his players and
create a more modern atmosphere.
With Michels in charge of a brilliant team brimming with the confidence of

professionalism, and a booming society, success was easily achieved. The
Golden Ajax team won six league titles between 1965 and 1973. The club
was experiencing an amazing progression and represented the upturn in
fortunes of the Amsterdam area. Alongside the societal developments, the
new tactics were slotting into place and Ajax’s players were being tasked with
becoming the complete attacking force by their coach. What was created was
an ultra-aggressive style, in which players switched positions and rained
attacks from every angle17. Teams could not cope and Ajax began to
completely dominate Dutch football with such an ease that players realised
they had to take the next step and battle for international success.
This international glory eventually arrived in 1970, when Ajax won the first of
their three successive European Cups. This was a cultural, historical and
footballing phenomenon of the time as Holland was a tiny country and an
even smaller footballing nation. Cruyff and Michels had redefined Dutch
football and as Martyn Hindley claims, “Cruyff helped transform Holland’s
football culture into one of artistry, innovation and nonchalance.”18 The whole
club was completely wrapped up in an incredible wave of talent, tactics and
societal change. On the pitch the players dominated every opponent like they
were playing children and in Europe it was no different. Ajax were showcasing
Amsterdam to the world; using their brilliant Total Football, their talented
players and revolutionary coach they began to take the typically Dutch ideals
16
David Winner Brilliant Oranje. (2000). London: Bloomsbury. 17.
17
David Winner Brilliant Oranje. (2000). London: Bloomsbury. 30.
18
Martin Hindley. (2014). The Revolutionary Genius Of Johan Cruyff.Champions
Matchday. Special Ed. (2), 18
22
of freedom, style and liberalism and translate them onto the pitch. This
combination of tactics and culture was unstoppable. Opposing teams had no
answer to the tactics so their fans attempted to put Ajax off by branding them
‘Dirty Jews’ and chanting anti-Semitic remarks during games. However, this
only caused the team and fan base to rally together further. Such was the
acceptance and liberalism at the time that the people of Ajax began to claim
themselves ‘Super Jews’19 and wave the Star of David during games.
Despite the Jewish portion of Amsterdam being a fraction of the size that it
was before the war, people began to come together and call themselves
Jews, even though they were not. It was clearly another demonstration that
the collective strength of Amsterdam was rubbing off on the football. Fans at
the ground would come together and form a solid wall of pro-Jewish noise
simply because people were trying to put them down. As Franklin Foer
argues, “Ajax in the post-war years became a club house for Jews without
families.”20 Ajax took the ideas of the Provo groups and society that had gone
before and adopted a policy of inclusion. Non-Jews began supporting the
Jewish community again; they began to form a family of fake Jews with Ajax
at the centre. This can clearly be seen as society affecting football during the
60s and 70s yet again and football standing up to racism. Tamir Bar-On
supports this view, “These symbolic displays of defiance by Ajax enhance
tolerance and multi-ethnic inclusiveness.”21
Ajax of this period was the symbol of the changing patterns of society, the
growing prosperity of youth and the increased freedom. Johan Cruyff
represented this period, Karel Gabler agrees stating that, “Cruyff was a
model, like John Lennon, he talked and acted with the logic of our whole
generation.”22 With the changing shape of Amsterdam, and Cruyff iconic to
19
Tamir Bar-On (2014). The World Through Soccer. Plymouth: Roman & Littlefield.
72.
20
Franklin Foer & Simon Kuper. (2011). Voetbal after Auchwitz. Jewish Jocs an
Unorthodox Hall Of Fame. 123.
21
Tamir Bar-On (2014). The World Through Soccer. Plymouth: Roman & Littlefield.
73.
22
Karel Grabler as cited in Brilliant Orange page 19
23
the youth revolt, the football was able to ride on the back of innovation,
change how it was played and become as successful as the rest of the city.
However, this change was not representative of Holland as a whole. Other

cities like Rotterdam were not seen as culturally free, but instead hard working
grafters that took longer to adapt. Rotterdam was the main target of Luftwaffe
bombings during World War 2. The city centre was almost completely
destroyed23, it’s harbour installations too and it resulted in over 400 human
casualties.24 Because of this mass damage the city took time to rebuild and
found itself a distance behind the prospering Amsterdam. The main club,
Feyenoord also struggled without the Jewish riches that had been pumped
into Ajax and they were forced to win the hard way, through sheer hard work.
But, once again this is reflective of society. With the diligent people of
Rotterdam, rebuilding the city and rebuilding the football clubs came hard
working players who would run all day and play a more English brand of
football. The effort paid off, as Feyenoord were the only team to really
challenge Golden Ajax. In fact Priya Ramesh claims that, “they were the
Dutch team that set the ball rolling.”25 This argument is a fair one and must be
considered, especially as they were the first Dutch team to win the European
cup in 1969.
However, what stands the Golden Ajax team apart from Feyenoord is that
they were a symbol of post-war integration, of freedom. They encompassed
the taboos of society and did their upmost to include all races and nationalities
in the team – providing they were good enough. Michels had no qualm with
fielding players of differing background - from Germans to Jewish - if they had
ability and could accept his training methods, they became part of the squad.
However, at the time immigration was lower than that of modern times and it
was rare for football clubs to sanction large payments for players so the
23
Jennifer Meyer (2005). A Dutch Design Model City: A question of historical
continuity, authenticity and sustainability. Groningen: Institute for History of Art and
Architecture. 3.
24
Ivo de Jong (1998). Mission 85. 4th ed. USA: Stackpole Books. 15.
25
Priya Ramesh. (2014). The Forgotten Feyenoord Team Of 1970.Available:
http://www.thehardtackle.com/2014/before-ajax-michels-and-cruyff-the-forgotten-
feyenoord-team-of-1970/. Last accessed 25/3/2015.
24
majority of talent was found from the country of the club. With all of the
success however followed a string of doubters and haters of the Ajax
liberalism and the Amsterdam culture. Feyenoord’s supporters mostly came
from working class backgrounds26 and grew jealous of the Jewish riches, the
accompanying success and the talented players flooding into De Meer. They
lashed back through anti-Semitism – targeting the Jewish factors of Ajax and
ridiculing them during games with chants such as these:
“There comes the Ajax train from Auschwitz.”
“Sieg, Sieg, Sieg. Sssssssss.” (The sound of escaping gas.)
“Hamas, Hamas, Jews To The Gas.”27
This hatred was mainly found in just one fixture to begin with, as Christos
Kassimeris notes, “anti-Semitism in Dutch football usually comes from games
involving football giants Ajax, particularly, when playing Feyenoord.”28 This
clearly shows that football was yet again being greatly affected by the society
that surrounded it. However, soon other clubs across Holland picked up on
this anti-Semitic attitude and a wave of racism swept across Dutch football.
During a match between Ajax and FC Uterecht two men were even arrested
for performing the Hitler salute to the Ajax fans29. In reply the Ajax fan base
and Board bonded even more tightly together to form a replica Jewish family.
As a consequence of their stand against racism it is again clear that Ajax had
operated as a force of unity in Amsterdam. They bought the non-Jewish and
Jewish citizens together again after they had been separated after the war,
bought back a feeling of togetherness and protection. This was to such an
extent that Ajax fans adopted the star of David as their honorary badge,
chanted pro-Jewish songs and were incredibly proud to be Jewish.30
26
Ramón Spaaij. (2007). Football Hooliganism in the Netherlands: Patterns of
Continuity and Change. Soccer & Society. 8 (2/3), 328.
27
Ajax The Dutch The War 213
28
Christos Kassimeris. (2009). Football and prejudice in Belgium and the
Netherlands. Sport in Society. 12 (10), 1331.
29
Rob Witte (1996). Racist Violence and The State. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge.
131.
30
Ajax – The Jewish Club, 2013. Radio 5 Live. 24th March. 2015
25
Fortunately for the rest of society this anti-Semitic battle stuck to football and
at no stage crushed the taboo on ethnic differences in the communities.
Away from the stands and onto the pitch, Ajax was still strolling to success.
The club were showing the world what liberal thinking, freedom and economic
change in a city like Amsterdam could do for their club. In Europe they were
representing Holland to the very highest level; where once it had been a flat
landscape that was fairly unheard of, now it had become a super-power in
football. However the good times could not last forever. After three European
titles and winning every game with ease in Holland the team began to become
disillusioned and bored. Rinus Michels left for Barcelona in 1971 and was
replaced by Stefan Kovacs. Despite continued success under their new coach
it was clear players were becoming disillusioned. Ex-Ajax player Jonny Rep
agrees: “The biggest problem was it was all too easy. The players needed a
new team, a new club, a new challenge.”31
As players hunted out new challenges abroad even Cruyff decided to leave
and join Michels in Spain after an altercation with his teammates and staff
over the captaincy. Slowly but surely the Golden Ajax was pulled apart. The
once great side that had grown with and also reflected the modernization of
Amsterdam and the cultural shifts in society was dying away. The Beatles of
Holland, and in particular Amsterdam, had finally parted ways.
31
Jonny Rep as cited in Brilliant Orange page 171
26
4.3. Dutch Mirrors – Football and Society.
David Winner – “What had been ‘Ajax football’ became ‘Dutch football.”
After Ajax had revelled in the glory between 1970-73 and become the
symbol of a creative and free Amsterdam, so the national football team begun
to become the symbol of the whole country. When, in 1974, the Dutch romped
their way through the world cup beating all in front of them the people of
Holland rose to form a collective body that was ready for the glory that a
World Cup win brings. This world cup was particularly poignant due the fact it
was being hosted in West Germany and the Netherlands would go on to face
the Germans in the final. As a nation there could not be a greater rival, a
bitterer adversary, to face in the final and the people were desperate to win.
After going a goal up in the first minute thanks to a wonderful jinking run from
Cruyff, the Dutch got carried away and begun to play with the Germans. Scott
Murray supports this view: “Holland started to bugger about in an attempt to
humiliate the Germans for the crimes of World War Two."1
This game plan backfired and the Germans turned the game on its head,
and winning the World Cup 2-1. The Dutch as a nation could not believe it, the
greatest team in the world, their team with the like of Cruyff and Michels had
again been defeated. Many in the nation mourned the result like the loss of
another war, newspaper columnist Auke Kok best sums this up: “They tricked
us again.”2 The nation could not believe it and were furious. The players too
were angry and felt the tide of emotion left over from the war roll over the
country and it’s football again. Playwright Johan Timmers also believes it
affected the country: “The defeat of 1974 is the biggest trauma that has
1
Scott Murray, ‘On Second Thoughts: the 1974 World Cup Final’, The Guardian
(UK), September 19, 2008,
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2008/sep/19/germanyfootball
2
Aute Kok as quoted in Winner’s (2000). Brilliant Oranje. London: Bloomsbury. 98
27
happened to Holland in the twentieth Century, apart from the floods of 1953
and the Second World War.”3
Four years later and the Dutch had again waltzed their way to a World Cup
final. This time there was no Johan Cruyff, who had pulled out the night before
the team flew to Argentina, due to injury. The Netherlands performed brilliantly
again, where the club teams were now struggling following the departures of
key players abroad, the national team was easing its way back into form. By
the time they had reached the final they were again expected to win
comfortably. In the final they played the hosts, Argentina, who had got to the
final through a mixture of hard work, gamesmanship and down right cheating.
In fact, some claim the fascist government has bribed officials in a similar
manor to Mussolini in 1934. David Winner claims: Argentine
gamesmanship, drug use, influence on officials and bribing Peru were the
least of the crimes: the tournament was drenched in blood.4 Again the Dutch
would go on to lose the final despite being desperately unlucky with injury,
cheated by Argentina and unfairly refereed in the final the fans were still
happy. This was not the Germans, this time their team may have lost but they
were again proud of the beautiful football the new coach Ernst Happel’s team
had displayed.
Despite the beauty of the football these two losses, in particular 1974, the
results cut the nation deep and clearly showed again the relationship between
football and society was a huge influence on the game itself due to the
players feeling the pain as much as the public. However, it is also clear that
this failure is deep-rooted in Dutch society and history. Since the middle-ages,
Dutch upper classes, dealers and exporters have been forced to forge their
own path in life not helped out by the monarchy or the state and this has
shaped how the football team play. There is a clear hesitation to accept the
authority of a coach, just as there was with people and the state after the war.
3
Johann Timmers as quoted in Winner’s (2000). Brilliant Oranje. London:
Bloomsbury. 126
4
Interview with David Winner – Appendix 1
28
Just as Holland had grown to be the most democratic ‘guide land’ for
Democracy in the world, so to its football copied these principles. David
Winner believes Total Football was imbued with Democratic principles. It
prided itself on being the most cosmopolitan, creative form of the game and
finding a perfect balance between collective responsibility and individualism.5
This reflection of society in football meant that the people were deeply
affected by the 1974 loss, particularly because it meant the Germans had not
only won, but also killed the Dutch’s creativity much like they had done during
the war.
There are some in Holland however; who believe it is better to lose playing
well than win like the Germans, playing ugly football. In Dutch society
competitiveness is not a crucial attribute to every day life. Youngsters are
bought up believing that freedom and enjoyment is more crucial than the
victory itself. These principles have also developed in football, young Dutch
footballers are bought up believing that the score line is not the crucial thing,
instead how they played the game. Coaches at Ajax’s academy nurture talent
not by making a team of big players to bully their way to victory, instead
favouring to lose with a team of technically gifted smaller boys. As Simon
Kuper states: “Some times (Ajax) kids were even put into older age groups,
where they could no longer get by on physical attributes”.6 This is again a
clear reflection of society in football, where winning becomes second to how
the team has played. In fact the week after the immediate nauseating
depression of losing to the Germans in 1974, people began to celebrate and
rejoice in how the Netherlands had become glorious losers. The style of play
they had bought to the World Cup was seen as a symbol for the Netherlands
as a whole, a beautiful country, playing beautiful football draws more
supporters and tourists in than Germany winning and playing ugly football.
5
6
Simon Kuper (2014). Soccernomics. 2nd ed. London: HarperSport. 415.
29
This beautiful football was formed of wider society; total football itself is born
from the way players create space for each other on the football pitch. Cruyff
is the architect and each player moves around freely to create space for one
and other. Again this can clearly be seen as the Dutch nature forcing its way
into the footballing side. Cruyff and Michels began to think innovately about
how to use the pitch to cause trouble for the opposition. The Dutch perceive
space inventively. This is because they must do so in their every day lives
when it comes to the landscape of Holland as a country. As David Winner
argues: “because of the flat landscape the Dutch are a nation of spacial
neurotics.”7 This constant desire to find and exploit new space in innovative
ways meant that the team could easily find and exploit space on the football
pitch. David Winner argues: “Football is always unconsciously about space,
the big change came when Cruyff and Michels started to discuss space no-
one ever did it before them”8 Cruyff and Michels were symbolic of a wider
Dutch people that have always been forced to come up with new innovative
ideas about how to build their towns.
In the 19th Century Cornelius Lely began to create and build polders and
create dikes in order to manipulate the land around him. With such a flat land
this was partly born out of necessity, but also it allowed more room for
freedom of movement and expression. This manmade quality has clearly
spread to the beautiful game. Cruyff and Michels used it to define Total
Football, by players creating their own space, just like they did in life on the
pitch. Cruyff in particular was exceptional at creating his own space. As David
Goldblatt agrees: “Cruyff appeared to possess an innate and precise sense of
geometry and spatial awareness.”9
Much like the way the Dutch play their football in terms of cultivating space,
so too can we see football in the nations art. During the Michels era and
Golden Ajax the football that was played was beautiful, a constant dynamic
shape that was in motion and played with freedom. Some liken the style of
7
8
9
David Goldblatt (2006). The Ball Is Round. 2nd ed. London: Penguin. 167.
30
play to that of Ballet or modern dance, the images of Cruyff and Neeskens
elegantly prancing their way through defences with grace and balance would
not be out of place on a performance stage. As Choreographer Toer Schayk
claims: “Cruyff was an artist, he had incredible speed, yet was so in control of
his body and movements that it was beautiful.”10 Like dancers and performers
on the pitch, the footballers were mirroring what they saw in society, as the
times changed in Holland so too the football followed.
Music was changing during the 60s and 70s and people were beginning to
use it to express feelings of rebellion, love and peace. Where Holland was
now a democratic icon, Michels and Hammel were conducting one of the most
free and democratic teams in Europe. Like an orchestra the players all play
their own way, move the ball and create play off each other. But without the
conductor people clash, he must be able to keep the squad of different
personalities as one strong team. Hans Vonk a leading conductor in Holland
claims: “Football is a kind of art, players should be free to express
themselves. But a coach, like a conductor, must be a leader.”11 Here again we
can see football developing and using pieces of society to change, with
Michels taking the democratic feeling in Holland and using it to give the
players greater freedom on the pitch as they had in real life. However, in order
to get the best out of the collective he acted as a leader and mentor and
showed them how to win.
With all these areas: art, music, literature and architecture developing and
growing in Dutch society after the war it is easy to see how football followed
suit. Where there was Total Football in the 60s and 70s there was too Total
Society in Holland, a utopia of change that was engulfing all around it. In 1974
J.P Bakema advocated the ‘Total’ approach to life: “Total Urbanisation, total
environment, total energy.”12 This shows that at the time many things in
10
Toer Schayk ss quoted in Winner’s (2000). Brilliant Oranje. London: Bloomsbury.
132
11
Hans Vonk as quoted in Winner’s (2000). Brilliant Oranje. London: Bloomsbury.
201
12
Jonathan Wilson. (2013). The Great European Cup Teams. Available:
http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2013/may/22/great-european-cup-teams-
ajax. Last accessed 29th April 2015.
31
Holland were changing and developing, as the land and the people grew so
Total Football was too born, and Rinus Michels used the societal change that
Bakema was talking about to form an idea of how football should be played.
This idea that football was like art continued from the Golden Ajax and onto
the national team. Despite the nations lack of respect for authority it was
crucial for the team to develop under different coaches. First Michels and then
Hammel took characteristics from artists, conductors and architects and
transferred them successfully onto the football pitch. This is best summed up
on the official Dutch website: “Our coaches are modern day Rembrandts.”13
With managers the artists of the team, the players formed the canvas that was
needed to paint a winning formula in Europe for Ajax and at the World Cup for
Holland. Despite the fact they twice fell short of World Cup winners, it is clear
to see how the culture of the time had affected the football in so many ways.
With football acting as a symbol of society and Rinus Michels the conductor
extraordinaire it was up to Cruyff to act as the people would, and question the
authority. Despite the fact that he and Michels got on, Cruyff still constantly
changed the team and altered it himself, thus rebelling against the leadership
of the great manager. Winner agrees: “While Michels may have been an
authoritarian figure, even he could not control them, Cruyff ran the whole
thing.” 14 This constant questioning of the system that Cruyff had clearly
picked up on from the changes he had experienced in society. He had grown
with the Provo movements, with the changing shape of the country and had
learned from them that in order for a better life you have to change your
situation.
He led a revolt in Dutch football that would see everything about the game
change. Cruyff was immediately able to progress concepts that were at the
centre of life after WW2, he stood as a symbol against the establishment but
he also had his own establishment one which he had based on the inventive
13
Hindley M (2014). The Revolutionary Genius Of Johan Cruyff.Champions
Matchday. Special Ed. 17.
14
David Winner (2000). Brilliant Oranje. London: Bloomsbury. 24
32
individuality of the 1960s. Louis Van Gaal agrees: “Johan Cruyff is the main
representative of combining the system with individual creativity. He made the
country after the war.”15 Where some argue that Cruyff made the country, it
can also be argued that the country and the time he grew up in made him.
Had he grown up in the 30s or the 40s he would not have had the society to
implement such change, he would not have take the freedom of the economic
boom, the Provo movement, the rebuilt Holland and the youth revolution. So it
is also clear that the society in Holland at the time made the greatest
footballer in the countries history what he was.
Much like Cruyff of the time, many in Holland had experienced the hardships
of the past 20 years, especially coming out of the war. They saw football as a
way to express themselves and as time changed so did the nature of the
game. In the 50s it was dull and grey, much like society, which was reeling
from war and just starting to regain its economic platform. The 60s saw
change sweep across Holland as the youth revolted so did the football as
teams grew to an increasingly high standard. Young people in Holland saw it
as a chance to change themselves and their country and used Provo, Ajax
and Cruyff as a spearhead to provoke the establishment. Hubert Smeets
agrees: “You could see the sixties in Cruyff, on one side he was against the
backwards establishment and wanted change, on the other he was aware of
personal interests.”16 With Cruyff’s individualism and willingness to question
how football was played so change occurred. Where he had changed football,
so the youth had changed society. In the 70s culture and society were as free,
creative and liberal as any in the world. Again football took the strength of
society and became a truly powerful force. The players had grown with the
increased stability in society, turned professional and used individualism to
produce a team full of winners, creatives and geniuses guided by the
conductor – Rinus Michels.
15
Suminder Sandhu. (2010). The Dutch Influence. Available:
http://www.footballfancast.com/football-blogs/the-dutch-influence-a-history-and-its-
affects-on-football. Last accessed 26th April 2015.
16
33
Cruyff as a man was symbolic of the individuals of the 60s and 70s. But,
firstly, Golden Ajax and then the national team were the true representatives
of The Netherlands. It is clear that they took what was great in society -
freedom, joy, space and individualism and combined it with great footballing
ability to become The Netherlands true symbol of change.
34
5. Conclusion
Following in depth research into the topic via my reading, visits to The
Netherlands and even my interview I have found my hypothesis to be partially
validated. On the one hand the country produced a number of genius
footballers that were incomparable to others at the time. A tactical innovator
and revolutionary footballing brain in Rinus Michels also led this group of
players. However, the reason he could be revolutionary and could challenge
the norms was because of the society that surrounded him. Like Michels,
Cruyff was a footballing virtuoso and his talent played a large role in his
success. Again we can clearly see from the research carried out that more
than his talent, Cruyff’s biggest skill was challenging the system and
revolutionising how the team played. Even the official FIFA website agrees:
“Cruyff created a revolutionary concept, and it took the world by storm.”1
However, without the changes and the liberal attitudes he had grown up
around he would not have done this in the first place. It was society and
culture that had shaped the team and its ethics, and it was the players who
had the ability to implement this change.
The biggest legacy of Dutch football to date is that footballing fans are living
in a nostalgic time warp that actually has very little to do with the football now.
As the game has changed the teams of the 70s are still held on such a high
pedestal that no team can even get close to match them. With the game
peaking in 1970 everything since then has been downhill with players
expected to have the ability to play beautiful, total football. As Simon Kuper
explained: “The Netherland’s path in football is blocked by an impossible view
on the past.”2 Since then even the less talented 1978 team that reached the
final through determination and graft as much as ability, is seen through rose-
tinted glasses. The Dutch have created an atmosphere around their football in
which it simply has to be the best or it is unacceptable, one with far too much
1
FIFA. (2010). The Netherlands' Grand Master. Available: his was a revolutionary
concept, and it took the world by storm. Last accessed 28th April 2015.
2
Simon Kuper (2014). Soccernomics. 1st ed. London: HarperSport. 412
35
nostalgia. When, 10 years after the Dutch lost against Argentina in the 78’
final, Holland were again in a final – this time the European Championships –
the support continued to be unwavering. However, it was nothing compared to
what it had been in the 70s.
The 1988 team featured glorious individual footballers. The likes of Frank
Rijkaard, Ruud Gullit and Marco Van Basten were the best players in the
world and at times were completely untouchable on the pitch. However, this
team was not nearly as highly talented as the 1974 team, despite winning.
They were a team of great individuals, not a great team unit like the Golden
Generation had been. Couple this with the fact that the best players in the
team were actually migrants from Suriname this meant the public did not have
the same connection they had with the typically Dutch, working class players
of the late 60s and early 70s. Despite this, the players were still of exceptional
quality. James Adams agrees: “The national team boasted an impressive
side, and this was mainly thanks to the Surinamese players.”3 Finally, they did
not play such beautiful football – Gullit was branded an ugly footballer
because he was more famed for marauding runs and his engine than pure
technique like Cruyff had been.
This legacy of aversion to ugly football, despite getting results, continues to

the modern day – where even when the Dutch ground their way to the 2010
World Cup final there were those in Holland that were disgusted by the team.
Even the great Cruyff publically condemned them – “Regrettably, sadly, they
played very dirty. It hurts me that Holland chose an ugly path to aim for the
title.”4 This view is one that is held by the majority in Holland; the rose tinted
glasses of the 1970s are still worn by the masses and whilst living in a time
warp the team struggle to gain any real success.
3
James Adams. (2014). Suriname’s enduring football legacy. Available:
http://www.worldsoccer.com/blogs/surinames-enduring-football-legacy-
356464#5SHl3VQpwSZDrJq5.99. Last accessed 23rd April 2015.
4
36
The link between football and society is still there, but it has changed.
Holland was once the most tolerant country in the world. Freedom and
expression of individualism was incredible, and hence the players played with
the same sense of liberty. However, tolerance is now a shadow of that in the
1960s as Maurits Rade agrees: “The out dated and misinterpreted narrative of
tolerance in the Netherlands is a faded version of the past.”5 The Netherlands
has now become one of the most regulated countries in Europe. Amsterdam
is no longer a symbol of a wider nation, it is now an irregularity and as such
much of the rest of the country is subject to strict control. As this structure,
control and regulation has grown, so the football has become stifled. As it had
in the 60s, football still reflects society, but for The Netherlands it is now a
land more focused on economic growth, policing and control. Where once it
was a country based upon the taboos of war with time these have faded and
been forgotten. A clear parallel between football and society can be seen here
as the individual and special nature of the football has faded and become
more common and standard to the rest of Europe because of regulations
placed on it.
It is hard to see Dutch football in the future changing until something special
galvanizes the nation. The lack of quality teams is the most concerning thing
for the future of Holland. It can continue to produce great players like Arjen
Robben and Robin Van Persie, but they need to form together in order to
recreate the special scenes of the 70s. This level of the club football in
Holland has experienced a big drop off over the past 20 years since Ajax last
won a European Cup. Now players move abroad as soon as they become too
talented for the club side, usually aged very young and instead are replaced
by ageing talent from other European Leagues. With the poor level of club
football, so the national team has and will continue to struggle. If the downturn
continues we could in the future see The Netherlands take a similar trajectory
to the some of the Eastern European nations.
5
Maurits Rade. (2011). The Dutch Myth of Tolerance. Available:
http://www.humanityinaction.org/knowledgebase/315-the-dutch-myth-of-tolerance.
Last accessed 23rd March 2015.
37
As long as the Dutch can continue to produce individuals there may one day
be another peak. However this remains unlikely and with the
commercialisation of football coupled with the watering down of Dutch society,
it is hard to see any way that the once great Golden Holland will ever find its
sparkle again.
38
6. Bibliography
Primary Sources
David Winner, author of Brilliant Orange – See Appendix 1.
Secondary Sources
Books
• Bar-On T (2014). The World Through Soccer. Plymouth: Roman &

Littlefield.
• Chambers S (2006). Mayors and schools. Philadelphia: Temple.
• De Jong I (1998). Mission 85. 4th ed. USA: Stackpole Books .
• De Waard M (2012). Imagining Global Amsterdam. Amsterdam:
Amsterdam University Press.
• Downes D (1988). Contrasts In Tolerance. New York: Oxford University
Press.
• Foer F & Kuper S. (2011). Voetbal after Auchwitz. Jewish Jocs an
Unorthodox Hall Of Fame.
• Goldblatt D (2006). The Ball Is Round. 2nd ed. London: Penguin.
• Jones T (1995). Policing and Democracy in the Netherlands. London: PSI.
• Kuper S (2003). Ajax, The Dutch, The War. London: Orion.
• Kuper S (2014). Soccernomics. 2nd ed. London: HarperSport. 415.
• Leuw E (1996). The Dutch Experiment In Drug Policy. Amsterdam: Kugler.
• Owens L (2009). Cracking Under Pressure. Amsterdam: Amsterdam
University Press.
• Schuyt K (1988). Dutch Culture I7n A European Perspective 1950.
Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan.
• Vuijsje H (2000). The Politically Incorrect Netherlands. Westport:
Greenwood.
• Wilson J (2008). Inverting The Pyramid. 3rd ed. London: Orion.
• Winner D (2000). Brilliant Oranje. London: Bloomsbury.
39
• Witte R (1996). Racist Violence and The State. 2nd ed. New York:
Routledge.
Radio
• Ajax – The Jewish Club, 2013. Radio 5 Live. 24th March. 2015.
Journals
• Croes M (2006). The Holocaust in the Netherlands .The Rate of Jewish

Survival.
• Kassimeris. C (2009). Football and prejudice in Belgium and the
Netherlands. Sport in Society.
• Kuper S (2014). The Dutch Style and The Dutch Nation. The Blizzard.
Issue 0.
• Kuper S & Winner S. (2013). Comparing The Apple and The Orange. The
Blizzard (iBook version).
• Meyer J (2005). A Dutch Design Model City: A question of historical
continuity, authenticity and sustainability. Groningen: Institute for History of
Art and Architecture.
• Spaaij. R (2007). Football Hooliganism in the Netherlands: Patterns of
Continuity and Change. Soccer & Society.
• Van Hilvoorde I & Stokvis R (2013) ‘Pythagoras in boots’: Johan Cruijff
and the Construction of Dutch National Identity, Sport in History.
Magazines
• Hindley M (2014). The Revolutionary Genius Of Johan Cruyff.Champions

Matchday. Special Ed.
40
Websites
• Adams J. (2014). Suriname’s enduring football legacy. Available:

http://www.worldsoccer.com/blogs/surinames-enduring-football-legacy-
356464#5SHl3VQpwSZDrJq5.99. Last accessed 23rd April 2015.
• Gerstenfeld M (1999). Wartime and post war Dutch attitudes towards the
Jews: Myth and Truth. Available: http://www.jcpa.org/jl/vp412.htm. Last
accessed 16/2/2015.
• Murray S, ‘On Second Thoughts: the 1974 World Cup Final’, The Guardian
(UK), September 19, 2008,
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2008/sep/19/germanyfootballteam.ho
lland. Last accessed 14/3/2015.
• Rade M. (2011). The Dutch Myth of Tolerance. Available:
http://www.humanityinaction.org/knowledgebase/315-the-dutch-myth-of-
tolerance. Last accessed 23rd March 2015.
• Ramesh P. (2014). The Forgotten Feyenoord Team Of 1970.Available:
http://www.thehardtackle.com/2014/before-ajax-michels-and-cruyff-the-
forgotten-feyenoord-team-of-1970/. Last accessed 22/3/2015.
• Stevenson J. (2010). The Story Of The 1978 World Cup. Available:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/legacy/jonathanstevenson/2010/05/the_story_
of_the_1978_world_cu.html. Last accessed 28th April 2015.
• Sandhu S. (2010). The Dutch Influence. Available:
http://www.footballfancast.com/football-blogs/the-dutch-influence-a-history-
and-its-affects-on-football. Last accessed 26th April 2015.
• Wilson J. (2013). The Great European Cup Teams. Available:
http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2013/may/22/great-european-
cup-teams-ajax. Last accessed 29th April 2015.
• FIFA. (2010). The Netherlands' Grand Master. Available: his was a
revolutionary concept, and it took the world by storm. Last accessed 28th
April 2015.
41
7. Appendix 1
Interview with David Winner
Joe: Who had a greater influence on the Golden Ajax team - Cruyff or Michels
and why?
Winner: Neither golden Ajax nor total football would exist without Michels. To
a degree its creation is a collective achievement. But Michels makes it
happen. He provides the drive, ambition, professionalism and tactical
acumen, which take Ajax from obscurity to world importance in the late 60s
and early 70s.
At the same time it’s hard to imagine that team or style developing as it did
without Cruyff. The greatest season of Ajax 1971-72 comes after Michels
leaves when Kovacs is the official coach but to a large degree Cruyff is
running the team. In 1974 the Dutch World Cup team – the greatest flowering
of total football - is absolutely created by Michels. But it’s also fair to see
Cruyff that year as Michels’ slightly junior essential collaborator in the
creation. Thereafter, Cruyff becomes the much more important figure,
especially as veteran player then coach in the 80s and 90s.
Subsequent iterations of total football – in Holland and beyond – are more

directly linked to Cruyff and his work at Ajax and Barcelona than to Michels.
Indeed, these days Michels, named as FIFA’s ‘coach of the century’ in 1999,
is in danger of being forgotten. Dennis Bergkamp says in stillness and speed
that all Dutch players took their cue from Cruyff. True enough. Then again,
over the last 25 years Van Gaal has been important too. And he’s a Michels
man. As you probably know, Van Gaal and Cruyff hate each other. With 90s
Ajax, modern Barca, Man U now, and Bayern - Van Gaal is a key figure. He
laid the foundations for the great modern Bayern and Germany’s 2014 world
cup win
42
Joe: Dutch football seems to be stuck in a nostalgic time warp - fixated on a
glorious past that they can no longer replicate. Would you agree?
Winner: No, I don’t think that’s fair. Yes, the Dutch are very aware of and to a
degree in thrall to their past. But they don’t make a complete fetish of it. In
some ways they don’t even remember the details well enough. Guys like
Krol, Suurbier, Rep, Haan, Rijsbergen, Jansen and Rensenbrink have been
rather forgotten. Especially when compared with the English banging on
about the 1966 team, which was not one of the great world cup teams and is
of little interest to the rest of the world.
The Dutch are certainly not stuck and backward-looking in the manner of, say,
Liverpool, who talk continuously of Shankly and Paisley. Or like the
Hungarians who look back to their golden team of the early 50s. There’s also
quite a lot of Dutch innovation. Economically, the Dutch clubs can’t compete
with English, Spanish, Germans etc. But they still produce good players –
and a few great ones – and reached the 2010 World Cup final and the 2014
semi-final playing in styles that were not nostalgic at all. More recently in
2011 Cruyff, together with Bergkamp and others, took over Ajax with the
explicit intention of changing everything about the youth system in order to
turn the club into a kind of football equivalent of an Oxbridge college or a
French grande ecole or a Japanese violin school: a hothouse of talent, a
factory for producing truly exceptional players. It’s too early to tell whether this
is working. I hear bad and good things. Time, as they say, will tell. But there
are apparently some terrific young players beginning to come through. I
suppose one could argue that this attempt is in itself a nostalgia–driven
attempt to recreate the most important thing about the 70s-90s, the
creativity. But is it ancestor worship? It’s a fresh, bold approach to stop living
in the past and move forward.
Joe: How many of Michels' revolutionary tactics borrowed influence from

Dutch society?
43
Winner: There is no direct link. Rinus Michels never stands in front of
Rembrandt’s ‘Nightwatch’ and thinks: ‘Eureka! Looking at this painting
makes me realise I have to rotate my defenders, midfielders and
attackers’. There’s never anything remotely like that going on. But in the
book I suggest any number of softer connections between wider Dutch culture
and the football that emerged. The most important is the Dutch culture of
space, discussed at length in the chapter ‘Dutch space is different’
Joe: Are Ajax typical or atypical of Dutch football and why?
Winner: In the early years of total football Ajax were unique, different and
probably as resented as they were admired. But eventually the whole of Dutch
football adopted their technically and tactically sophisticated positional,
passing game. What had been ‘Ajax football’ became ‘Dutch football’. The
influence has now spread far beyond Holland. Spain and Germany won the
last two world cups with a style and approach heavily based on the
Dutch. Many nations have copied the 1980s-2000s Ajax/ Dutch model youth
system. Barca’s La Masia was essentially the Catalan version of the Ajax
system, with Cruyff laying down all its essential philosophy. Guardiola, Xavi
and that are pure Cruyffians.
Joe: Why was the win in 1988 not seen as glorious as the losses in the
1970s?
Winner: The football wasn’t as good. Mainly because they played a flexible
442 instead of total football and their first three games were actually pretty
poor – they lost to USSR and were lucky to beat England and Ireland. And it
was the European championship not the World Cup. The closest to 74 and
78 was actually 1998 World Cup and, I suppose to a lesser degree, Euro
2000. Actually, 1978 is a very different story to 1974. In 74, the Dutch defeat
is self-inflicted. In 1978 they were cheated. I did a long piece for the
Financial Times about the horror of Argentina ‘78 on the 30th anniversary in
2008. Argentine gamesmanship, drug use, influence on officials and bribing
Peru were the least of the crimes: the tournament was drenched in blood. It
44
should never have been played. The junta’s main killing and torture centre
was about the same distance from the main stadium as Wembley Park tube
station is from Wembley.
Joe: Finally, why did you choose 'neurotic' for the title of the book?
The book is about beauty and losing. I was gripped by – and trying to account
for - the two things together. In their three great eras Cruyffian 70s, Van
Basten, Gullit, Rijkaard in 80s and Bergkampian 90s, the Dutch had the best
players and best way of playing. Yet the great prize eluded them. Or, to put it
another way, they kept fucking up at the vital moment in all sorts of strange
ways: feuding, over-confidence, penalty-incompetence.
It’s obviously a collective psychological problem. Hence ‘neurotic’. The word

‘genius’ alone wouldn’t do the job. It would have been ridiculous to focus only
on the good stuff.
45

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Southampton Solent University

FACULTY OF CREATIVE INDUSTRIES

Supervisor : Jim O’Brien

3.2 Literature Review 6

4.1 A New Holland - Born From War 9

This dissertation investigates the reasons behind The Netherland’s

In this dissertation the hypothesis that states – ‘The Revolution In Dutch

David Winner (2000). Brilliant Oranje. London: Bloomsbury.

Brilliant Orange was incredibly relevant to the topic of my dissertation. With a

This is particularly clear around drug related crime. As Ed Leuw notices,

With hippy culture beginning to spread across Europe, in Holland art,

David Winner – “It’s fair to see Cruyff as Michels’ slightly junior

In addition, the team around him was forged of war-hardened soldiers; a

In 1965 an Amsterdam born non-Jew by the name of Rinus Michels strode

It is clear that Rinus Michels absorbed the modernization that was

With Michels in charge of a brilliant team brimming with the confidence of

However, this change was not representative of Holland as a whole. Other

“There comes the Ajax train from Auschwitz.”

“Sieg, Sieg, Sieg. Sssssssss.” (The sound of escaping gas.)

“Hamas, Hamas, Jews To The Gas.”27

This legacy of aversion to ugly football, despite getting results, continues to

David Winner, author of Brilliant Orange – See Appendix 1.

• Bar-On T (2014). The World Through Soccer. Plymouth: Roman &

• Croes M (2006). The Holocaust in the Netherlands .The Rate of Jewish

• Hindley M (2014). The Revolutionary Genius Of Johan Cruyff.Champions

• Adams J. (2014). Suriname’s enduring football legacy. Available:

Interview with David Winner

Subsequent iterations of total football – in Holland and beyond – are more

Joe: How many of Michels' revolutionary tactics borrowed influence from

Joe: Are Ajax typical or atypical of Dutch football and why?

It’s obviously a collective psychological problem. Hence ‘neurotic’. The word

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