Michels, Rinus

Rinus Michels, in full Marinus Hendrikus Jacobus Michels, (born Feb. 9, 1928, Amsterdam, Neth.—died March 3, 2005, Aalst, Belg.), Dutch football (soccer) player and coach credited with having created “total football,” an aggressive style of play in which players adapt, shift positions, and improvise on the field as needed.

Michels played professionally (1946–58) for Ajax, scoring 121 goals in 269 matches and contributing to the team’s league championships in 1947 and 1957. He also appeared in five matches with the Dutch national team.

While he had a solid playing career, his greatest success in the sport came on the sidelines. As Ajax’s coach (1965–71), “the General” led his old team to four league titles (1966, 1967, 1968, 1970), three Dutch Cup titles (1967, 1970, 1971), and the 1971 European Cup (now known as the Champions League). He guided the national team to the 1974 World Cup final, in which the Netherlands lost to Germany, and to the 1988 European Championship title. Michels also coached FC Barcelona (1971–78), the Los Angeles Aztecs (1978–80), FC Cologne (1980–83) and Bayer Leverkusen (1988–89).