Rinus Michels
Dutch footballer and manager (1928-2005) · Netherlands · Footballers · Died at 77
Rinus Michels is read about 581 times a day, in 47 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 6 October 2026
The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 381 days, one point a day.
Something wrong?The architect of Total Football - the system that turned Ajax and the Netherlands into the most watchable, most imitated side of the 1970s. FIFA named him Coach of the Century.
A life in dates
Also in Deutsch
Photos 3
.jpg?width=1200)
In their own words 2
, Unfortunately, I didn't have a tail, otherwise I would have waggled it.
Professional football is something like war. Whoever behaves too properly, is lost.
Teams 3
Career record
Awards
About this person
Rinus Michels played his entire career as a forward for Ajax, then returned to manage the club and later took four separate stints with the Dutch national team. He led Ajax to the European Cup and Barcelona to the Spanish league title before guiding the Netherlands to the 1974 World Cup final and, fourteen years later, to victory at Euro 1988. In the 1970s he developed Total Football, a fluid tactical philosophy in which any outfield player could take over any position, remaking how the game was played. FIFA named him Coach of the Century in 1999; France Football called him the greatest coach in football history in 2019. He died on 3 March 2005.
In common with Rinus
Footballers from the Netherlands 3
Fame.am measures public visibility signals. It does not measure human value, talent, morality, or credibility.