Everyone is of course talking about the passing of the great Dutch football coach Rinus Michels.
Famous for giving the world "total football" and leading the beautiful teams of Cruyf and Neeskins, Michels was once a great player himself. He ended up becoming one of Ajax's most prolific strikers, scoring 120 goals in 257 league games for the club.
What intrigues me though is to learn about the environment he grew up in; what sights, experiences, the boy Michels fed on inorder to become the important football figure he became.
According to uefa.com, "Michels was born in 1928, only a few hundred metres from the Amsterdam Olympic Stadium, venue for that year's Olympic Games. He was passionate about football from a young age and played on the streets until being invited to join the Ajax youth set-up in the summer of 1940."
I love that little piece of information: street football and living close to the stadium. It gives one goosebumps.
Imagine being a boy in that world.
What wonder.
It's an environment that can only produce loving, happy footballers.
Indeed, it can only produce a lifetime commitment and lifelong love affair.
No comments:
Post a Comment