The time Johan Cruyff almost signed for Dumbarton
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Sean Fallon, who was the Dumbarton manager, spotted an opportunity at a time when the 33-year-old superstar was open to offers after leaving Los Angeles Aztecs.
“Cruyff was struggling a bit financially in those days because he’d lost all his money in a bad investment, so we felt offering him a few thousand pounds per game might tempt him,” said Fallon as he recalled the story 20 years later.
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Hide Ad“We needed to boost the club’s image and show the fans we were trying at Boghead so I came up with the scheme to ask Cruyff if he’d sign for us. I won’t argue if you call it a publicity stunt but I flew to Amsterdam and met Johan, who politely listened to what I had to say.”
Cruyff confirmed that he had taken the offer seriously when he was asked about it during a visit to St Andrews in 2012.
“Was I tempted? Yes, of course,” he said.
“Playing in England, or Britain, was something I had always wanted to do. But I thought I was too old at that stage to go to Scotland, where you know the weather will be difficult.
“When you’re old your muscles get stiff, and moving to a cold country is asking for problems.”
Instead, Cruyff signed for Washington Diplomats in the NASL … and Dumbarton fans were left wondering what might have been.
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