23.12.2009 14:16
Cruyff returns to the Camp Nou
Jesús Carrillo
Johan Cruyff led Catalonia to a fine win against Argentina. The return to the world of football of the former Barça player and manager just had to be in the Camp Nou!
The match kicked off at 8.45 pm and Johan Cruyff was back in charge of a football team after more
than 13 years since he officially said farewell to the Camp Nou, though he had previously come back
for a tribute to his legendary Dream Team.
Cruyff was undoubtedly one of the main attractions of the night. At the
end of the match he praised his team’s performance and made special mention of the Barça
players: “They showed great commitment”.
13 years after he said goodbye
Cruyff’s last competitive match as manager was away to Espanyol in their old Sarrià
stadium, corresponding to the 36th matchday of the 1995/96 league campaign. With just two games
left (Celta Vigo in the Camp Nou and Deportivo in La Corunna), Carles Rexach took over the reins of
the team.
Tribute to the Dream Team
In the 1999/2000 season, Cruyff was back on the Camp Nou manager’s bench for a tribute
to the team that won four league titles and the European Cup at Wembley. The Dream Team took on
Louis van Gaal’s Barça side and the match was repeated a few days later in the Amsterdam
Arena, this time between the Dream Team and Ajax.
Oscar Garcia makes his debut
On Tuesday evening, another former Barça favourite, Oscar Garcia Junyent, made his debut as
assistant coach alongside Cruyff, the very same manager who also handed him his Barça first
division debut in the 90’s.
Party atmosphere in the Camp Nou
Despite the rain that had fallen all day in Barcelona, some 53,000 spectators tuned up at the Camp
Nou to see the match, the second highest attendance at a Catalonia match over the past five years.
The highest attendance during this period was for the game against Euskal Herria in 2006 (56,000
spectators).