香川真司
In an interview in 2011, when Argentina's 1978 World Cup-winning coach César Luis Menotti was discussing Lionel Messi's place in the pantheon of footballing greatness, he mentioned Cruyff in the same breath as Pelé and Maradona: "There have been four kings of football – Di Stéfano, Pelé, Cruyff and Maradona – and the fifth has not yet appeared. We are awaiting the fifth, and it is sure to be Messi, but so far he is not among the kings. You can't give him the crown after five years." Several notable figures in the world of football such as Arsène Wenger, Michel Platini, Eric Cantona, Marco van Basten, Michael Laudrup, Emilio Butragueño, Rafael Benítez, and Joan Laporta once revealed that they considered Cruyff as their "childhood hero", "idol", or "inspiration". Arrigo Sacchi, Arsène Wenger, Carlos Alberto Torres, Telê Santana, and Marcelo Bielsa were among the great admirers of Cruyff-inspired Dutch school of Total Football. Over the past years, several footballing starlets were dubbed the 'new Johan Cruyff', including Kaká, Luka Modrić, Shinji Kagawa, and Adnan Januzaj.