Cruyff “died peacefully in Barcelona, surrounded by his family after a hard-fought battle with cancer”, said a statement on Cruyff’s official website.
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Football lost one of its greatest players, coaches, administrators, personalities, influencers today, when the legendary Johan Cruyff passed away on Tuesday after a hard-fought battle with lung cancer.
“My thoughts are with his wife Danny and his family at this very sad time”.
He was regarded as one of the game’s greatest players.
Cruyff captained Holland at the 1974 World Cup at the height of his playing career and led the Oranje to the final, which they ultimately lost 2-1 to West Germany.
Perhaps Cruyff’s most enduring legacy is the famous turn that it named after him, which he first used at the 1974 World Cup, leaving Swedish defender Jan Olsson completely flummoxed.
From Ajax he joined Barcelona for a then world record fee of approximately 2 million dollars and went on to help the Catalan club win their first La Liga title in almost 15 years in 1974. Cruyff had it all – vision, speed, passing ability and the knack of getting into attacking positions, a genius that resulted in 33 goals in 48 games at national level.
Cruyff became synonymous with “Total Football” and returned to Holland to finish his playing days, with the sought-after football thinker again swapping Amsterdam for Catalonia after retirement.
“Rest in peace. Thank you, Johan”.
Cruyff was diagnosed with Lung Cancer last October, but had the belief that he could beat the frightful disease.
“As a player, as a coach, you changed the history of our club”.
The stylish playmaker spent 11 years across two spells with Ajax, winning eight Eredivisie titles as well as the European Cup on three successive occasions in the early 1970s.
The news still came as a shock to the football world and tributes quickly flooded in. “I have been very lucky to have him as my manager and a friend “.
He said: “The best team by a mile has been Barcelona and he created that”.
“With great sadness, we have learnt of the death of Johan Cruyff”.
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Former England global Gary Lineker has told the BBC Cruyff is the best European footballer of all time. He won four straight Spanish titles from 1991-1994 there and the 1992 European Cup with Pep Guardiola at the heart of his side.
