Johan Cruyff: Football's to have fun and Messi makes us enjoy it

It was important to know first hand what went through Johan Cruyff's head after Lionel Messi's passed penalty in Barcelona's 6-1 win over Celta Vigo on Sunday.

He executed a similar one in 1982, while playing for Ajax. Genius? Provocation? Cruyff was clear. "Football is to have fun and Messi is making it fun for all of us," said Cruyff, who is winning his battle with cancer. He saw the famous and historic penalty in his house and said "it may me very content", because "I share ideas with the players who dare to do these type of things".

Cruyff understands what Messi did was fun, a way of entertaining the fans. He never looked to provoke, to enter battles of life or death. Nutmegs, rabonas, back-heels or impossible pieces of control make football great, and "you can't criticise them". The Dutchman understands these type of moves are executed by the brave and the bold.

Of FC Barcelona he says it's "a team I love" and "I enjoy the three up front a lot, Iniesta, Busquets and Bravo. It's a beastly team." He also highlighted Celta's play. "A great team, with identity. They maintained their philosophy until the end against Barcelona at Camp Nou. It's something to applaud. And at 2-1 they had chances to come back."

Cruyff also admitted he "hadn't seen" Rik Coppens doing what's been made famous as the Cruyff penalty, in 1957. "I was 10 years old and in my house we didn't have a TV. Until I was older I didn't know what this device was!"

He also remembered when he came up with the idea himself. "It was born in a training session talking to Jesper Olsen, a left-footer. Left footers always are always ready to do this type of thing! At first he said it was crazy, but later he changed and said, 'OK, I'll do it'." 

And they did it. And nothing happened. "The referee, after the penalty, asked me 'What have you done? Is that valid?' and I said yes, the ball always moved forward, it wasn't offside. He gave it."

And of controversy after it? Nothing. The opposite. "The press of the time praised the play. They saw it as genius. And it's been like that since, so I don't understand the controversy we saw. Football's to have fun, not to get into wars or provocations."