Chivas Goes Dutch With Cruyff Last Saturday morning, Johan Cruyff walked into the press room of Estadio Omnilife and a new era began. Chivas of Guadalajara, the team which in this age of globalization has followed its philosophy of playing only Mexican players, had not won a game since last October, after having led the Mexican league. Cruyff, 64, a former player and coach was presented as "asesor deportivo" (a sporting consultant), but his real role will be to stop the agony. In the deepest crisis perhaps in Chivas history, the club owner Jorge Vergara said Cruyff, a star at Ajax, Barcelona and with the Dutch national team, will have full control to cure the club's ills with a three-year commitment for part-time duty for a salary reported to be between $3 and $5 million. Some see the signing of Cruyff as a marketing and propaganda masterstroke, diverting attention from Guadalajara's on-field travails. He is the third Dutchman given the reins at Chivas, after Leo Beenhakker and Hans Westerhof, who were hired to coach the club. "For serious problems, serious remedies," Vergara said. We wanted to bring the best in the world to lead Chivas. Now we have no excuse to not succeed. Cruyff added: "It's impossible to think that Chivas or Mexico will play like Holland just because I'm here. Mexicans are Mexicans and Spain plays with Spaniards. The walls flanking the press room where Cruyff spoke have a picture of a Chivas player with the words "100% sangre mexicana" (Chivas: 100% Mexican blood). The team bus has slogans painted on the outside: "Aquí viaja el corazón de México" (Here travels the heart of Mexico) and "100% equipo mexicano" (100% Mexican team). They have passed the cadaver from him to me, said Cruyff, a three-time European player of the year who has been credited with helping Barcelona build a strong youth system and senior team over the past 20 years. That's life. I have to take care of this. We'll study it, see what works, and what doesn't work. It can't be that the players knew how to play and have forgotten. Before, the man in charge of the "body" was Rafael Ortega, the team's orthopedic surgeon and a former player, who was appointed the team's sporting president and hired current coach Ignacio Ambriz. Ortega resigned the day after Cruyff was introduced. Cruyff acknowledged the team known as the "holy herd" was a different animal. "Chivas is different from other clubs because they also preach values, that are based on other things," he said. We showed in Holland and in Barcelona that when you start with values, these always come back. Vergara added: "It will be a jump in quality. A brand, fútbol total, that will help us be like Barcelona, the best in the world. Cruyff, the star of the 1974 World Cup in Germany added: "It's impossible to think that Chivas will win [Sunday] because now I'm here. They are not going to start to play like Holland now. But the former Ajax, Barcelona, and Washington and Los Angeles (N.A.S.L.) star will help develop Mexican players, something that differentiates Chivas. When they strolled on the artificial turf at Estadio Omnilife some 400 Chivas fans booed Vergara. "You've been invited to a home," Vergara responded. Respect the home and the people in it. Cruyff, a product of the Ajax Amsterdam youth system and the architect of Barcelona's successful youth academy, will make about five trips a year to Guadalajara. He was accompanied at the presentation by the American Todd Beane, the international director of the Cruyff Institute. Beane spoke in Spanish, and said he was moving to Guadalajara to implement Cruyff's recommendations. Vergara, whose Grupo Omnilife started as a multilevel network of vendors of health products, took over Chivas in 2002. Extensive licensing of the Chivas name and shrewd business deals have helped Vergara finance the construction of the $200 million Omnilife Stadium, on the outskirts of Guadalajara. Many Chivas fans, however, have resisted the move from historic Jalisco stadium in the city core. Chivas personnel have chafed under the perceived impositions Vergara and his wife Angélica Fuentes, and their insistence of corporate-style self-improvement programs for players and coaches. Vergara has also berated coaches and players publicly; Chivas has had seven coaches since 2009. Guadalajara was first in the last regular season but was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, and had two points from seven matches when Cruyff was introduced. Chivas" last league victory was on Oct. 13. The sport daily Récord had reported that Vergara had earlier been in discussions with Cruyff, but his wife vetoed the expense in a cost-cutting campaign. Chivas has invested heavily in developing young players, but in January did not sign any players to reinforce the team that faces Mexican league and Copa Libertadores challenges. Chivas bet on the status quo and on its youth system, which produced Javier Hernández, who was sold to Manchester United. Westerhof, another Dutchman who worked with the youth divisions at Chivas, is now working for another Mexican club, Pachuca and told Raza Deportiva: "I'm sure Johan can help Chivas very much. He's very clear in his philosophy. But he's not easy. When he says "this is how it should be" we [Dutchmen] are not flexible. And he less than I. I'm sure there will be many disagreements. The mastermind of the current Barcelona philosophy said that at Ajax, "I had to fight six battles to get the control to operate I will have here." Moreover, the cultural mix of Dutchmen, known for candor and ventilating opinions, and Mexicans, who can be sensitive and less open about discussing problems, may cause problems. On Sunday, however, Guadalajara responded with its first victory of the season, beating Santos, 2-1, and the mood had changed for the better on Monday. "This sport is about contagious enthusiasm," said midfielder Jorge Enríquez. The goalscorer Marco Fabián added: "We had to win, no two ways about it. It's a great privilege to be around such a legend as [Cruyff]. Vergara said, "You definitely saw a change. On the field, the stands, everywhere. We played again. Guadalajara still is last in the standings (now tied), but if the Chivas crisis fades into the horizon, the responsiblity now lies with a Dutch superstar riding into town. Keyvan Antonio Heydari is an international soccer journalist and broadcaster. He can be followed on Twitter at keyvan9.