Johan Cruyff
Johan Cruyff was born on 25 April 1947 in Amsterdam, Netherlands
Johan Cruyff died on 2016 in Barcelona.
- Johan Cruyff was a Dutch professional football player and coach. As a player, he won the Ballon d’Or thrice, in 1971, 1973, and 1974.
- He was an exponent of the football philosophy, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in football history.
- Known for his passing skills and setting up setpieces for attackers and creating chances for them to set up a goal.
- Cruyff led the Netherlands to the final of the 1974 FIFA World Cup and received the Golden Ball as player of the tournament.
- During the 1974 World Cup finals, he executed a skill move that subsequently was named after him, the “Cruyff Turn”, a move widely replicated by footballers in the modern game.
- Cruyff set the trend of wearing shirt numbers other then 1 to 11 as he wore the number 14 shirt.
- At club level, Cruyff started his career at Ajax, he won eight Eredivisie titles, three European Cups and one Intercontinental Cup with the Dutch side.
- In 1973, he moved to Barcelona for a world record transfer fee, winning La Liga in his first season and was named European Footballer of the Year.
- After retiring from playing in 1984, Cruyff became highly successful as manager of Ajax and later Barcelona; he remained an influential advisor to both clubs.
- He ranked three in the voting of the FIFA player of the century by French Footall. He was chosen on the World Team of the 20th Century in 1998, the FIFA World Cup Dream Team in 2002, and in 2004 was named in the FIFA 100 list of the world’s greatest living players.
Who was Michel François Platini? Tip! He is from France and also played for Juventus.
