Former Barcelona players Juan Asensi and Jon Andoni Goikoetxea have made it clear that Johan Cruyff was the one to change the course of history at the Blaugrana, both as a player and a coach.
The Dutchman moved to the Camp Nou from Ajax in 1973, when, according to Asensi, he was considered as the world's best footballer.
"We were very excited to play with the best player in the world," Asensi told Radio MARCA.
"He seemed to fly over the field and the key to success was not [us] to adapt to him, but that he adapted to us.
"He was amazing, and he had a great personality.
"If he had played at Real Madrid, I don't know what Barcelona would be like today."
Under Cruyff, Barcelona won the Champions League in 1991/92, but as Goikoetxea explained, the Dutchman gave them something much more important than that trophy.
"Not only did he win a European Cup, but he gave Barcelona a philosophy," Goikoetxea said.
"In my first training session my legs were shaking.
"He explained things incredibly and it was impossible not to believe in what he was saying."
Longlife2000
54
He started it all and Valverde destroyed it....
raynknight
38
Cruyff not only espoused a philosophy and laid a foundation for it to thrive, he built the infrastructure so that the game, as he saw it, could live on. La Masia, the youth academy that produced not only the core of the greatest club side in history, but also one of the best coaches in the history of the game, as well as the game's best-ever player, was his brainchild. He Revolutionized Us and Barcelona........Ur Legacy Will Last Forever at Barcelona , Forever !!