Ford FeelFootball champion Ruud Gullit enjoyed a 19-year playing career with HFC Harlem, Feyenoord, PSV, AC Milan, Sampdoria and Chelsea.

He was named the European and World Footballer of the Year in 1987. He won the latter a second time in 1989. In 1988 he captained Holland to victory at the European Championship in West Germany. Gullit has since managed Chelsea, Newcastle United, Feyenoord and LA Galaxy.


How do great players find space in a game?
They anticipate. They understand where the ball could go so you find their space by moving away from it. It’s a natural ability, but it also comes with experience. I remember when I was with Chelsea Gavin Peacock used to ask me, “How are you always free?” It’s difficult to explain but you just get a feel for where the ball is going to end up three or four passes ahead of play.

How do stay a step ahead of the play?
It’s not by study; it’s by playing the game as much as possible to improve. A lot of people underestimate the game. Football is a game of chess with moving parts and that’s what makes it so interesting. You have to be intelligent to play this game. You have to have a feeling of what can happen with all these players trying to get the ball.

Is there a technique behind vision and the ability to pass well?
You have to practice at every opportunity. Make sure you are in space to receive the ball and then do what you need to do with it immediately. It’s one touch and then you deliver the pass. I’m better when I have no time.

Under pressure I can put the ball exactly where I want it, it happens in a split-second, but when I have time, sometimes I make a mistake. Before you receive the ball you should look around to see where your team-mates and opponents are. Don’t worry about controlling it; stay a step ahead and think about what you’re going to do with it when you get it.

That way you will relax and controlling the ball will come naturally. If you’re prepared, you’ll know what you are going to do with before you get it. If everyone is on this same level, it’s like a chain reaction. When you get the ball, your team-mate should have automatically started his run – a pass-and-move routine you should have worked on in training.

Play simple or take risks?
It’s a little bit of both. Without taking any risks nothing will happen and it will be a boring game. Sometimes an individual has to do something out of the ordinary – that will excite the crowd. But playing simple is the most difficult part of football and the most effective.

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