History remembers Rinus Michels as a great player, manager, motivator, teacher and figurehead in Dutch football. Thanks to Total Football’s legacy, Rinus Michels and Rinus Michels’ team wowed crowds at the 1974 World Cup, and Michels would become one of the top five coaches of all time. Thanks to the rise of Dutch national football on the European stage, the Michels team at the 1974 World Cup, including Johan Cruyff, may become the most iconic loser in the competition’s history. However, at the 1974 World Cup, it was Rinus Michels who brought all-around football to the world stage, while the Dutch national team shook and captured the hearts of fans worldwide in defeat.
Rinus Michels coached the Los Angeles Aztecs in the North American Football League in the late 1970s. Still, he is best known with Holland, Ajax Amsterdam and Spain Barcelona, as well as with the Netherlands national team, the Dutch national team. A former Ajax player for most of Rinus Michels’ career, he soon began his journey on the bench, making a significant impact on football. However, Ajax Rinus Michels had the most significant impact on football, thanks to Total Football. Thankfully, once Rinus Michels settled in from his early stint with JOS and DWS, Michels missed them. However, given Ajax’s trajectory from trailing relegation to champions, the causality was clear: Michels shaped his players, not others vice versa.
Michels is known for his achievements as a manager. He won the European Cup with Ajax, the Spanish title with Barcelona, and served as the head coach of four Dutch national teams, leading him to the 1974 FIFA World Cup final and the 1988 European Cup. After the Dutch national team qualified for the 1974 FIFA World Cup, Michels was appointed national team manager of the Royal Netherlands Football Association (KNVB). Vic Buckingham helped instil the progressiveness of Ajax football, which paved the way for redefining the style of world football. As head coach of Ajax, Michels used Total Football to win four Eredivisie titles (1966, 1967, 1968, 1970), three KNVB Cups (1967, 1970, 1971), an Intertoto Cup (1968) and a European Cup (1971).
Managers these days are working on the tactics which were founded by him though some world-class managers have modified the tactics and are creating their gameplay for the betterment of the team. Michels will be remembered as a manager who was at his top and made every player on his side believe that they were on their top; it’s the mentality of the coach and the players that helps them win the game. The modern era has managers like Jurgen Klopp, Pep, Jose Mourinho, Conte and many more who are setting a benchmark for the upcoming managers.
