The Cruyff turn is an evasive
dribbling
In sports, dribbling is maneuvering a ball by one player while moving in a given direction, avoiding defenders' attempts to intercept the ball. A successful dribble will bring the ball past defenders legally and create opportunities to score.
As ...
move used in
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
, and named after Dutch player
Johan Cruyff
Hendrik Johannes Cruijff (25 April 1947 – 24 March 2016), internationally known as Johan Cruyff (), was a Dutch professional Association football, football player and Manager (association football), manager. Regarded as one of the greatest ...
.
In the 22nd minute of the game against
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
in the group stage of the
1974 World Cup
The 1974 FIFA World Cup was the 10th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in West Germany (and West Berlin) between 13 June and 7 July. The tournament marked the ...
, while Cruyff had control of the ball in an attacking position and being guarded tightly by Swedish defender
Jan Olsson, Cruyff feigned a pass before dragging the ball behind his standing leg, turning 180 degrees, and accelerating away. With its simplicity, effectiveness and unpredictability, the Cruyff turn remains one of the most commonly recognized
dribbling
In sports, dribbling is maneuvering a ball by one player while moving in a given direction, avoiding defenders' attempts to intercept the ball. A successful dribble will bring the ball past defenders legally and create opportunities to score.
As ...
moves in modern football.
["All-time Top 20: No. 3 Johan Cruyff"](_blank)
espnfc.com; retrieved 17 November 2013.
The fact that the feint was named after Cruyff, however, does not mean that Cruyff was the first to perform this move. Just like with most evasive dribbles, feints and tricks, the first footballer to perform it, is almost always impossible to trace down. Pele, for example, performed the trick in 1960 (vs Juventus).
See also
*
Marseille turn
*
Pelé runaround move
References
External links
BBC Guide to the Cruyff turn
{{Association football terminology
Association football skills
Association football terminology
Johan Cruyff
it:Glossario calcistico#G