Watch Johan Cruijff - En un momento dado For Free

the audience applauded

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Highly Overrated But Still Good

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

So-so documentary about the arrival of Johan Cruijff (or Cruyff, as he is probably better known internationally), then the world's best football player, to Barcelona Football Club in 1974, and how it changed the fortunes of the Catalan team, who won several championships in the following years, and beat eternal rival Real Madrid 5-0 in Madrid in a memorable game. There are interviews with fans, and with Cruyff himself, but there is not much more. Only for die hard football fans. Even with such limited appeal, it could have been more interesting. The title - en un momento dado - means in a given moment - and it was an expression apparently popularized by Cruyff in Spain.

This movie shows the impact of Johan Cruijff on the society of Catalunya, as El Salvador de Catalunya. First as footballplayer, later as trainer. Johan Cruijff brought back the pride so important to the people of Catalunya. A true document to be remembered. The movie contains some footage of important football matches, for instance against Madrid on February 15, 1974, one of the most important matches in the career of Cruijff in Barcelona. This match made Cruijff almost a legend. The way the people speak about Cruijff is amazing. The title of the movie is derived from an expression that Cruijff made in a press conference, but not true spanish.

This film is packed with moments of magic. Its makers went to Barcelona to interview admirers of /El Salvatore/: former Real (!) player Butragueño, the heart surgeon who operated on Cruijff after his heart attack in 1989, and a host of no-names, all of whom shed light on different aspects of the subject's life. Most of them have wonderful anecdotes to tell, and many take the opportunity to re-enact favourite actions of their hero. And, finally, we hear the Man himself speak in a long interview.The beginning and the end of the film is made up of Cruijffs Barcelona farewell match in 1999, played by his former dream team against contemporary Barça players. While the film shows much of the events of the night: Cruijffs speech at the beginning, and the audience's standing ovation after the match - one absolutely crucial moment is left out: that Cruijff, to top it all off, grabs the mic and starts singing the Barcelona club anthem. The moment I am referring to here is only briefly mentioned by Cruijff himself: "I didn't want to ruin a great evening". That is just an understatement; it was typically Cruijff to do a thing like that, and it was very moving. Those who saw the match will never forget that moment, and why it was left out of this documentary is completely beyond me.

This strong movie features Catalan people talking about how Johan Cruijff changed their lives. The movie shows in a humorous way the importance of Johan Cruijff for the Catalonian identity, after being supressed by the Franco regime. The people interviewed tell about their personal Johan Cruijff moment and this gives us some hilarious moments. One to remember is the journalist that tells us how Johan influenced the spanish language by translating sayings from his native language (Dutch) directly into Spanish. Off course there is some beautiful footage of Cruijff as a player and as a coach at FC Barcelona, but the Catalan people play the central role in this movie. This makes it perfectly suited for non-soccer fans.