Cruyff vs Beckenbauer
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Cruyff wins: Dominance, Peak, Statistics
Beckenbauer wins: Longevity, Honours
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Showing full careers. Pick a window to recalculate the selected period.
Category radar
Verdict
Cruyff leads in 3 of 5 weighted categories. Total Football's defining player and three-time Ballon d'Or winner.
Category breakdown
Season form · Goals per season
Career timeline · Goals per season
Cumulative output season by season — the shape of each career against the other.
GOAT pace tracker
Career stage · GOAT pace
Through season 5 · Goals per season| Ghost race · career day | 30 | 100 | 365 | 1000 | 1825 | 3650 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇳🇱 Cruyff | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 58 | 211 |
| 🇩🇪 Beckenbauer | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 19 | 57 |
Careers are aligned at debut, so a rookie's first 5 seasons are measured against the same window in a legend's career — Yamal against Messi at the same age-stage, a tour rookie against Tiger Woods in 1996.
| Metric | CruyffRetired | BeckenbauerRetired |
|---|---|---|
| Career goals | 401 | 105 |
| Ballon d'Or | 3 | 2 |
| European Cups | 3 | 3 |
| League titles | 9 | 5 |
| International caps | 48 | 103 |
| International goals | 33 | — |
| World Cups | — | 1 |
| Dominance w25% | 94 | 93 |
| Peak w20% | 95 | 93 |
| Longevity w20% | 90 | 92 |
| Honours w20% | 93 | 94 |
| Statistics w15% | 92 | 90 |
Fan vote — data vs the people
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