The new Mamelodi Sundowns coach wants to blend a strong element of Johan Cruyff's "total football" philosophy with the Pretoria side's famous "shoeshine-and-piano" style of play.

Johan Neeskens - once the hard man in Ajax Amsterdam's 1970s team, in which the likes of Cruyff, Rinus Michels and Jack Reynolds created and popularised "total football" - was yesterday unveiled as the new Sundowns coach.

And his first announcement had much to do with the Cruyff style of play.

Neeskens was, along with Cruyff, part of the Holland team that finished as runners-up in the 1974 and 1978 editions of the Fifa World Cup.

The two also played together at Ajax Amsterdam in the early 1970s, with Cruyff the lethal marksman and Neeskens doing the dirty work in midfield.

Neeskens, 59, said yesterday that the two soccer legends had now been reunited through Sundowns.

The Pretoria club has formed a partnership with the Johan Cruyff Institute, a deal aimed at enhancing Sundowns' youth development academy.

But the coach's arrival at Sundowns comes at a heavy price.

Patrice Motsepe, the club's president, admitted that he had to pay top dollar to land the Dutchman.

Neeskens, who has agreed to a three-year contract, will be under pressure to deliver in his first season.

He said he was aware the Pretoria club had not won the Premier League title since 2007, when a local coach, Gordon Igesund, was in charge.

"I am a winner by nature and have worked hard for what I have achieved at Ajax and Barcelona (he was Frank Rijkaard's assistant). I am also committed and don't run away when there are problems," Neeskens said.

"I share the same philosophy as Cruyff and believe it's not just important to win matches, but how you win them.

"We need to keep this 'shoeshine-and-piano' system that Sundowns have, but we are going to blend the Barcelona way into it because it works. Look at how many trophies [Barca coach] Pep Guardiola has won at that club."

Neeskens is expected to bring in his own assistant before the season kicks off in August.

The coach and Motsepe have also agreed to keep the assistants that surrounded former mentors Hristo Stoichkov and Antonio Lopez Habas.

"I want them to learn from me. They will also help me settle into the country because I need to understand the culture of South African football players as well as how they think," said Neeskens.

He added that he had watched re-runs of last season's first division matches thinking they were premier league games.

Although Motsepe would not reveal details of Neeskens's monthly salary, he said European coaches did not come cheap.

"We paid an excessive amount to get him here. And we believe it's a prerequisite at Sundowns for a coach to win the premiership. This club hasn't done so well. We need to start winning trophies and do much better," he said.