Former Barcelona Coach Johan Cruyff believes Brazil are favourites for the World Cup, not Spain.
Cruyff also touched on the Champions League final by dismissing any suggestion the win over Atletico Madrid makes Real Madrid the best team in Europe.
“You can’t complain about luck. I’m used to the Dutch saying for instance, you can’t trust the Germans, in the last five minutes they’ll score a goal,” Marca reports Cruyff as telling Cadena Cope.
“You can’t say you’re the best team in Europe because of one game. I saw Bayern Munich playing in a great way but when they faced Madrid they had already won the League and they were very relaxed.”
Cruyff added that if he was Diego Simeone, he wouldn’t have started with Diego Costa in the final.
“It’s difficult to comment when you’re not inside but from the outside, playing a final against Real Madrid and having to make a change in 10 minutes, it’s a risk,” he said.
“If it was me, if I was losing 1-0 in the final minutes I’d put him on the pitch and see what happened.”
Cruyff concluded by rating Spain as one of the favourites to lift the World Cup, but behind the hosts Brazil.
“The Netherlands are a young team and we’ll see if they are nervous or not,” Cruyff said of his compatriots.
“They have quality, just a lack of experience.
“Spain has all the experience in the most important competitions. For me they are a great team.
“The best candidate is Brazil, playing at home, and we saw what happened in the Confederations Cup.”
Cruyff also offered his thoughts on Barcelona and where his old club go from here.
