Sports Talk

Was the 1974 Dutch 'Total Football' team really as revolutionary as we say?

As a Dutch person I grew up with this story like a religion. Cruyff, Michels, everyone can play every position, the beautiful game, and then we lose the final to West Germany anyway.

For my journalism course I am reading about it and I think the myth is bigger than the reality. Ajax and the national team had great ideas, pressing high and rotating, yes. But some of it was already in Hungary in the 1950s, and Dutch fans maybe forget this.

Also, it was not 'everyone plays everywhere'. The players had roles. They just switched more than normal.

I don't want to destroy a national treasure. But I am curious: do other countries see the 1974 team as revolutionary, or is that mostly us talking about ourselves?