The Barcelona Inheritance (Jonathan Wilson)
Chapter 1: The Great Tradition
Wilson opens the book jumping around Johan Cruyff's timeline of a variety of roles with a variety of clubs, but the most interesting section is when he provides the historical and philosophical context of Cruyff's contributions to soccer:
1872: Scotland surprisingly ties England 0-0 by emphasizing passing over dribbling and charging
1890s: Robert Smyth McColl best exemplifies Scottish club Queen's Park's style of play that emphasized passing and "pattern-weaving"
1912-1927; 1938-1942: One of McColl's teammates at Newcastle United Peter McWilliams was influenced by McColl's preferred style of play, and he implemented it during his two tenures as the coach of Tottenham Hotspur
1939-1952: McWilliams disciple Arthur Rowe participated in a lecture and debate circuit in the tactical hotbed of Budapest, Hungary before returning to England during WWII and eventually emphasizing a "push-and-run" style of play during his tenure as Tottenham Hotspur's manager in the late 1940s and early 1950s
1950-1974: Another member of the McWilliams-Rowe coaching tree Bill Nicholson implemented their style of play during his successful tenure at Tottenham Hotspur
1959-1960; 1964-1965; 1969-1971 : Yet another member of the McWilliams-Rowe coaching tree Vic Buckingham has a couple of stints at Ajax and a stint at Barcelona
1965-1971; 1971-1975; 1974: Rinus Michels and Johan Cruyff team up with Ajax, the Netherlands national team, and Barcelona to extend the style of play legacy that dates back to the Scottish in the 1870s
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