Holland legend Johan Cruyff says he finally disclosed his reasons for skipping the 1978 World Cup because he was sick of criticism of his wife.The former Barcelona star revealed on Tuesday that he missed the tournament because of a kidnap attempt in which a rifle was held to his head, admitting that the attack on his family in 1977 also played a part in his decision to end his five-year spell at the Catalan giants.
And Cruyff has spoken out in defence of his oft-criticised wife, Danny Coster, in a programme about the 1978 World Cup entitled Reunion, to be broadcast on television channel Holland 1 on June 1.
"People think because Danny didn't want to see me go to Argentina, Holland did not became world champions," he said.
"If you know the story as it really was as a family, than that is like a blow to the face."
Cruyff revealed his decision to tell the truth was spurred by speculation surrounding his decision not to take up the position as technical director at Ajax in March, a couple of weeks after accepting the offer.
"I was thinking for a long time about telling the truth and my decision to do that came after it was said on TV that I chose not to join Ajax under pressure from Danny," Cruyff continued.
"That was enough and the programme about the 1978 World Cup is the right place to tell the truth.
"That is a reliable programme with many viewers, so all Dutchmen will hear in one instance the complete truth."
Holland fans have often thought that Cruyff's wife has a lot of influence on the 60-year-old with a significant number claiming that he was unable to focus in the 1974 World Cup final because of her interference.
Cruyff's playmaking influence was stifled by Germany as Holland lost 2-1 with the three-time European player of the year frustrated to such an extent that he received a yellow card at half-time for talking to the referee.
"There is all this rubbish that is written and said about my wife Danny," added Cruyff. "And it goes on and on.
"Even though she is one of the few who has never sought publicity, she still gets the blame.
"It started in 1974 with that rubbish story about the phone calls before the final, after which I was supposedly not in my right mind against the Germans.
"There is even a book about it that won a prize. But it is incorrect.
"Danny was in Barcelona then in our house in the mountains outside of the city. There was no phone connection there. That's why we didn't talk to each other for a while.
"So the story that I was on the phone constantly before the final is nonsense. And when I turned 60 we got that Argentina story."
Former Barcelona team-mate Carles Rexach recently wrote a book in which he outlined the suspicion in Holland that Cruyff missed the 1978 World Cup because his wife asked him to.
Another popular idea at the time was that it was a sign of protest at Argentina's military dictatorship - a plausible idea as Cruyff once claimed he chose Barca over Real Madrid because he could not play for a club associated with Franco.
But the European Player of the Century confirmed his decision had nothing to do with either of the alleged reasons.
"It was all about the safety of my family," Cruyff said. "So it wasn't hard to be silent at the time.
"That's also why I never hesitated for even a second about not going to Argentina. That was out of the question. He who leaves his family alone in such circumstances is out of his mind."
Cruyff was named the player of the tournament in the 1974 World Cup and played an important part in qualifying for the 1978 tournament.
His decision to skip the finals shocked everyone and Cruyff
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