Jordi Cruyff

Jordi with father Johan Cruyff and mother Danny Coster in 1977

In 1992, Cruyff made his debut for FC Barcelona B in the Segunda División, becoming the team's top scorer alongside Óscar. Two years later, Cruyff was promoted to 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, he made his top flight debut in a 2–1 defeat at Sporting Gijón. On 2 November, he played against Manchester United in the Champions League, setting up the first goal for Hristo Stoichkov, as Barcelona won 4–0.

That season, Barcelona finished 4th in La Liga and Jordi was one of the team's top scorers alongside Stoichkov and Koeman, despite not being a regular starter. Cruyff scored the goal that guaranteed Barcelona played in Europe the following season.

Despite a positive start to the following campaign, Barcelona finished 3rd and were runners up in the Copa del Rey. On 19 May 1996, he played his last game for the club against Celta Vigo, at the Camp Nou.

In August 1996, Cruyff signed with Manchester United for a fee of £1.4 million on a four-year contract. He made his debut on 11 August in a 4–0 win over Newcastle United in the 1996 FA Charity Shield, and then played in a 3–0 win over Wimbledon, the opening league fixture of the 1996–97 FA Premier League. Cruyff then scored on his next two appearances, helping the team to 2–2 draws against Everton and Blackburn Rovers.

He was a regular in the first team until the end of November 1996, when he suffered another knee injury. Jordi's spell at Manchester United was marked by injuries, but he played three games in the group stage of the Champions League the same season that the Red Devils claimed the title in 1999.

He played eleven times and scored twice in 1998–99 season before a loan deal with Celta Vigo took him back to Spain in January 1999. He scored twice in eight games for the Spaniards before returning for United.

Cruyff's contract expired on 30 June 2000. In four years he had played a total of 57 games for United and scored eight goals.[2][3]

After an initial agreement with Harry Redknapp's West Ham United fell through, Jordi returned to Spain on a free transfer to Alavés. With the Basque club, he reached the 2001 UEFA Cup Final, against Liverpool: despite being 2–0 and then 3–1 down, Alavés embarked on a spirited comeback and Cruyff's goal in the 89th minute tied the game at 4–4. An own goal in extra time saw Liverpool lift the cup. Cruyff continued to play for Alavés until the club was relegated at the end of 2002–03.[4]

The following season, he joined Espanyol,[5] being played regularly in his only season. Jordi decided against extending his contract with Espanyol and voluntarily left that summer.

He then trained with Bolton Wanderers, coached by Sam Allardyce, but failed a medical test. After he temporarily retired in 2004, Cruyff made a return to professional football in 2006, playing two seasons at the Ukrainian side Metalurh Donetsk,[6] where he played mainly as a centre back. At the same time, he entered the fashion business, helping develop the Cruyff clothing brand.

In mid-2009, Cruyff signed a three-year deal as a player-cum-assistant-manager of Maltese side Valletta, assisting first team coach Ton Caanen,[7] a role he admitted he did not take to.[8] He made his debut on 26 July 2009, in a 3–0 win in the Europa League 2009–10 first qualifying round against Icelandic side Keflavík. His first 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. Valletta won the MFA Trophy in Cruyff's first season beating Qormi 2–1, although Cruyff did not play in the final as he was not fully fit.

Despite mostly playing as a defensive player throughout his career, Cruyff took on a more attacking role with Valletta.[9]

In 2010, Cruyff announced his retirement from professional football and joined AEK Larnaca as director of football on a three-year deal.[12][13] He appointed Ton Caanen as head coach, and the pair worked to establish the team as a new football powerhouse in Cyprus. In his first season, the team finished 4th and the team qualified for the UEFA Europa League. In his second season, AEK Larnaca qualified for the groups stage of the Europa League after beating Rosenborg in the play-offs.

The participation of the team in the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League was historic for both the club and for Cyprus football, as the club became the first Cypriot team to secure qualification to the Europa League (preceded by Anorthosis and APOEL in the group stages of the Champions League). The team finished 5th that season in the domestic league.

In April 2012, Cruyff was appointed by Mitchell Goldhar, owner of Maccabi Tel Aviv, as the Sports Director of the football club[14] paying compensation to AEK Larnaca.[15][16] His initial work included signing Óscar, then head coach of FC Barcelona Juvenil A, as head coach of the club.

Jordi Cruyff's arrival finally put an end to Maccabi Tel Aviv's bad fortunes in the league as they won their first championship in ten years. Under Cruyff's and Garcia's stewardship, Maccabi dominated the league and claimed the title by thirteen points ahead of their nearest rival. The team finished the season as the league's highest scorers, with 78, whilst only conceding 30 - the fewest in the league.

The 2013–14 season saw a change in the club's coach position, when Cruyff appointed the Portuguese coach, Paulo Sousa to replace Garcia, after the Spanish coach was signed by English Championship side Brighton and Hove Albion. During this period, many players left the club whilst several others were recruited.

The team continued its success in the league competition by claiming another league title by a margin of 16 points. The club also enjoyed success in the Europa League as they advanced to the round of 32 following a difficult group stage, where they beat Bordeaux (twice) and Eintracht Frankfurt before eventually exiting the competition following a loss to FC Basel.

The 2014–15 season was characterized by a difficult start. Operation Protective Edge meant that the qualifying games to the UEFA Champions League were held away from Israel, leading Maccabi to be ousted from both the Champions League and the Europa League. There was also a change in club manager following Paulo Sousa's appointment at FC Basel. Oscar Garcia briefly returned but left before the beginning of the season when Cruyff appointed Pako Ayestarán, former assistant to Rafael Benítez at Liverpool. Maccabi Tel Aviv became the first Israeli team to win all three local trophies: the Israeli Premier League, the Israel State Cup and the Toto Cup.

In April 2015, Jordi renewed his contract for a further two years despite interest from English Championship and Bundesliga sides.

In the 2015–16 season, Cruyff appointed Slaviša Jokanović as head coach after the Serbian had promoted Watford to the Premier League. The team qualified for the UEFA Champions League group stages for the first time in 11 years, playing against Chelsea, Porto and Dynamo Kyiv in Group G before exiting the competition. Jordi appointed Vitesse's Peter Bosz [17] after Jokanovic signed as the new Fulham's head coach at the end of December.[18]

Source:[23]