Guadalajara is thousands of kilometers from Johan Cruyff's adopted home in Barcelona. Yet ahead of Spain's meeting with Uruguay at the Estadio Akron on June 26, this corner of global football still bears the mark of its legacy. Of course, he is not the only one to boast this honor: the style of dozens of teams in the tournament has been influenced by the Dutchman's ideas, but the Estadio Akron has something unique. One of the lesser-known moves of Cruyff's football career was at CD Guadalajara, more commonly known as Chivas. The Mexican giants are one of the most historic clubs in the country and a source of national pride for their policy of fielding only Mexican players, now extended to players of Mexican origin. In Mexico's 1–0 win against South Korea at the Estadio Akron in Guadalajara on 18 June, four Chivas players started the match, with two others coming on as substitutes. Cruyff spent just under a year here in 2012, ten years before his death. His first decision was to appoint his former Ajax player, John van 't Schip, as manager. The second? Introducing the turf field now rated one of the best in North America. "Cruyff wanted to develop his legacy — he had the foundation — and it all started because Chivas were one of the biggest clubs in Mexico, and they hadn't been doing well for a few seasons," Van 't Schip recalls. "The president at the time was Carlos Moyano, who was in contact with (legendary Argentine coach) Cesar Luis Menotti. That way he got Cruyff's contacts and they started talking about whether he wanted to become a consultant. "He was enthusiastic about the academy, about the challenge of fielding only Mexican players, and so they talked about introducing the way of playing that Johan had started, which starts, of course, with the youth. So it was agreed that he would come to Guadalajara a few times a year to give his opinions. The first was that he appointed me — but the second was to remove the pitch and replace it." When the previous artificial pitch was introduced in July 2010, it had been praised — but Cruyff was unimpressed. "It wasn't that he was against artificial pitches in total, because he also created his Cruyff Courts on them," Van 't Schip recalls. "But with a professional club, especially where he remembered his name, he wanted to make sure that the real and pure things of football were perfect. This started with good grass, so he hired one of the best grass specialists to help with the field. I remember he was responsible for the best golf courses in Mexico. So immediately after his first season, they took out the turf and put in real grass." At the time, Cruyff's decision made Guadalajara's Estadio Akron the most modern pitch in Mexico, a major factor in its selection as the venue for this summer's tournament. A men's World Cup match has never been played on a fully artificial pitch under FIFA regulations — although ironically, some stadiums, including Guadalajara, have been further upgraded by introducing hybrid filaments into the pitch to limit any damage. The Estadio Akron is now the first of its kind in Mexico. Unfortunately for Cruyff and Van 't Schip, this was their most lasting contribution in Guadalajara — the former's stint as consultant turned into a turbulent nine months. "The owner, (Jorge) Vergara, was very involved in the decisions," recalls Van 't Schip. being emotional with the team instead of standing on the sidelines and letting the coaches do their job. "Johan had some really good conversations with him about this, and made sure it didn't interfere too much with my work. And, although it had been a difficult season, we did well by finishing eighth and qualifying for the play-offs." However, in the end, the tempestuous Vergara, who died in 2019, could no longer tolerate the prospect of Cruyff. "Johan was fired in December because he interfered a little too much in the club," says Van 't Schip, referring to the hiring of employees without his knowledge. "Johan said that some had to be removed for the good of the club — and so it was. "I only stayed an extra month — they fired me just a few days before the Clausura (one of the two tournaments played in the top division Liga MX), so I only did the pre-season." Despite the way his time at Chivas ended, Van 't Schip enjoyed seeing matches at the Estadio Akron and remembering the role of old friends. "Obviously there were difficulties," he says. "But I remember stopping to see the grass's progress all the time, talking to Johan and being with the grass master. And now you see it as one of the best courses in Mexico, protagonist at the World Cup.
