Put simply, they were the coolest team around. The kit was iconic and, by the time they were completing a hat-trick of European Cup wins, they wore it with shirts untucked and socks rolled down, offset by flowing locks and ferocious facial hair.
Up front they had Johan Cruyff, the world’s best player, yet they moved as one, with elegance and fluency, and they freed European football from the defensive lock of Italian catenaccio.
This was Ajax in the early 70s and their style spread beyond Dutch borders under the broad philosophy of Total Football, now evident in Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City as they try to win the Champions League for the first time.