Barcelona’s Cruyff legacy brought full circle with Dutch revolution

With Frenkie de Jong arriving in the summer and Matthijs de Ligt appearing poised to join him, Barcelona is going back to their roots as they build for the future.

For the first time in over a decade of playing some of the planet’s best football, FC Barcelona are preparing to undergo a massive summer transition. With an aging spine at the core of the Catalan outfit, Josep Maria Bartomeu has made discovering world-class youth talent with the ability to play in Barcelona’s unique style a priority.

Arthur has impressed in his first season at the Camp Nou following a £27.4 million move from Grêmio in the summer, but the biggest capture came with the January announcement of Dutch international and Ajax starlet Frenkie de Jong‘s £67.5 million switch this upcoming summer. Alongside the Brazilian, the 21-year old central midfielder has the opportunity to form the Blaugrana‘s next great partnership in the middle of the park.

By signing technically gifted passing maestros in midfield, Barcelona have developed their first clear succession plan after the departure of club icons Xavi Hernández and Andrés Iniesta. Although neither of Arthur or de Jong were brought up in Barça’s La Masia academy, their style of play fits seamlessly into the Catalan club’s footballing philosophy.

Moreover, Barcelona appear to possess a clear lead in the race to sign de Jong’s Ajax and Netherlands teammate Matthis de Ligt. The 19-year old central defender is arguably Europe’s most highly-touted prospect at the back, and could serve as the long-term replacement for the 32-year old Gerard Piqué.

The two young Dutch talents are both highly-regarded around the continent as two potential future stars, and have had their fair share of success already. With de Jong and de Ligt at the heart of the team, Ajax has advanced to the quarterfinals of the Champions League for the first time since the 2002-03 season and remain locked in a domestic title race with PSV Eindhoven.

For Barcelona, however, the return to young Dutch talent harkens back to the glory of the past. The great Johan Cruyff starred for Ajax and Barcelona on the pitch before revolutionizing both clubs as a manager and in youth development. Cruyff’s vast influence still resides at the core of both clubs as well as some of the game’s greats, including former Barcelona managers Pep Guardiola and Frank Rijkaard.

Former Barcelona president Joan Laporta perhaps best summed up Cruyff’s impact on both the club and its unique philosophy of truly artistic football.

"“As a player he turned football into an art form. Johan came along and revolutionized everything,” Laporta said. “The modern-day Barca started with him, he is the expression of our identity, he brought us a style of football we love.”"

Former Barcelona and Ajax legend Marc Overmars, who now serves as the sporting director of the Amsterdam club, is openly discussing a formal partnership between the two clubs.  

With Ajax eliminating Barça’s Clásico rivals Real Madrid in a shock upset in the Champions League’s last 16 stage, the deep connection between the clubs, founded by Cruyff, appears to be shaping the future at the Camp Nou through de Jong and de Ligt.

The two Dutch internationals will comprise the core of a new era for the Catalans as several of this generation’s stars age and construction of a modernized Camp Nou gets underway at the beginning of the next decade.

As this new dawn approaches in the storied history of FC Barcelona, Cruyff’s legacy appears to be coming full circle in a way the late footballing icon would take pride in. The return of young Dutch talent to Catalonia continues a special relationship that has shaped the club into a powerhouse on the pitch as well as a symbol of the artistic beauty of our Beautiful Game.