CRUYFF, REP & RENSENBRINK

According to Rinus Michels’ free- flowing

Totaalvoetbal, anyone could have slotted into the Netherlands’ front three. But come the 1974 World Cup Final, the three forwards on his teamsheet had come to symbolise an entire nation’s ideology.

Johan Cruyff wasn’t just anyone. This was a Lennon- like figure, with shoulder- length hair who could dribble as if the ball were stuck to his feet. The instinctive Johnny Rep was Cruyff’s Mccartney at Ajax; the duo combining expertly to win the club’s third straight European Cup in 1973.

Rob Rensenbrink, meanwhile, was the outlier. Neither an Ajax boy nor a Feyenoord product, the forward was instead well on the way to establishing himself as an Anderlecht legend. But Michels wanted his Ringo.

The Dutch were fluent by the second group stage, as attackers swooped and swivelled like fighter planes. They destroyed Argentina 4- 0, with Cruyff bagging a brace and Rep his fourth in as many appearances, then saw off defending champions Brazil.

The final loss to West Germany in Munich has become infamous, but for one shining summer the Brilliant Oranje frontline inspired and devastated with equal effect.