When Ronald Koeman won a Champions League golden boot from defence

Ronald Koeman could hardly believe what Johan Cruyff had done. “Boss,” he said. “This is the first time and also the last time.” After five seasons decorated with silverware – three league titles, one European Cup, a Copa del Rey and the Cup Winners’ Cup – it took a bold player to criticise Cruyff’s decisions. But Koeman had a point.

In his quest for perfection, Cruyff had signed Romário from PSV Eindhoven in the summer of 1993. League rules dictated that teams could pick only three foreigners and Michael Laudrup was usually the player sacrificed to make way for the Brazilian striker, but the manager sprung a surprise in the first game of the season and dropped Koeman to pick a bold, attacking lineup. Barcelona eased to a 3–0 win over Real Sociedad courtesy of a hat-trick from Romário, vindicating Cruyff’s choice to exclude the Dutch defender to accommodate the exciting new arrival, but Koeman did not hesitate to inform his coach that benching him regularly was simply not an option.

It would prove to be an exception rather than the rule. In future Cruyff would think twice about leaving out Koeman. Koeman’s confidence could have rubbed people up the wrong way but Cruyff understood his reaction. Koeman was a special talent. Not only was he a defender who read the game brilliantly, but he was also a prolific goalscorer.

Koeman’s goalscoring is almost unfathomable in hindsight. He scored 239 goals in his career; he reached double figures in each of his six seasons at Barcelona; and he scored 26 goals for PSV in the 1987–88 season, when the club won the Eredivisie, Dutch Cup and European Cup. Not only did he score the winning goal in the final when Barcelona won their first European Cup in 1992, but he was also the joint top