Cruyff bemoans lack of La Liga suspense

Barcelona legend Johan Cruyff believes the two-horse title race between the Catalan side and Real Madrid dampens the excitement of La Liga.

As two of the country's most successful clubs, Real Madrid and Barcelona more often than not battle amongst themselves for La Liga supremacy.

Although Atletico Madrid have managed to sneak into the title race this season, Tito Vilanova's squad hold a commanding nine-point lead at the top of the table.

Speaking to Marca, Cruyff expressed his concerns at the lack of competition provided by the other teams.

"It’s too much; the difference is huge. The truth is that it’s bad for the league," he remarked.

"A league championship is judged on the excitement and thrill it creates. The suspense is already over here."

Much praise has been showered on Barcelona's style of possession football, but the Dutchman pointed out that the key to the club's success could be found in the movements the players made without the ball.

"To fully appreciate how Barça plays you have to watch the players when they don’t have the ball," Cruyff explained.

"Barça always puts the opposition keeper under pressure when he has the ball to try and win it back. The hardest thing to do in the football is to do things well and make them easy. That’s the biggest difference between Barça and other teams."

The transition from the end of Pep Guardiola's reign to the start of Vilanova's has gone swimmingly for the club, but Cruyff believed it was only a matter of time before the Champions League-winning manager made his return to club football.

"Pep is too young to retire. He'll be back for sure, but to do something different. What exactly? Nobody knows," he said.

"Coaching a national team for example has it pros and cons. Pep needs lots of training sessions and that isn't possible with a national team. If he finally joins a club, it would have to be somewhere where he can implement his philosophy and his system, where they allow him to work in peace and where the fans can enjoy themselves."

Taking a jibe at rivals Los Blancos for instilling the wrong mentality in its players, the former Ajax man was proud the likes of Xavi and Andres Iniesta conducted themselves well.

"What annoys me the most is the club’s ethos, how it educates its youngsters," Cruyff shared.

"Look how Xavi, Messi and Iniesta conduct themselves. They’re just normal people, everyday people."