Johan Cruijff: en un momento dado

In 1974, Cruijff arrived in Barcelona. `Did this skinny chain smoker have to make our club champion again after years of misery?’ according to one of those interviewed. `It worked, but Cruijff did more. He gave the Catalans their pride back after the oppression during the Franco dictatorship.’ Ramón Gieling interviews many Catalans. From the taxidriver and the flamenco guitarist who provided musical accompaniment to Cruijff’s graceful actions, to the heart surgeon who operated on Cruijff after a heart attack. Gieling shows the strange uniqueness of the leader through the words of his admirers. They imitate his movements and provide arguments for their admiration, like the single secretary who could never find a man to approach the waywardness, grace and `niceness’ of Johan Cruijff. The film is much more than a portrait. It’s a documentary about the role of Cruijff and the soccer club Barcelona for the idiosyncratic Catalonia. During the homage to Cruijff in 1999 in the packed Nou Camp Stadium, three years after his dismissal as trainer in a less successful period, Cruijff addressed a hundred thousand Catalans with the words: ‘Only God knows why we had to wait so long for this.’ It’s the only moment in the documentary when he seems to lose control. In the centre circle stands the virtuoso top trainer whose football career is finished. The audience refuses to leave the stadium.