Died Johan Cruyff. The former Dutch champion and soccer manager was 68 years old. The news was released on his own website, www.worldofjohancruyff.com: “Johan Cruijff died peacefully in Barcelona surrounded by his family after a long battle with cancer. It is with great sadness that we ask you to respect the privacy of his family during this time of grief."
Born in Amsterdam on April 25, 1947, Hendrik Johannes Cruijff, called Johan and often spelled Cruyff outside the Netherlands, was the embodiment of the Dutch style of "total football" based on ball possession and quick passes to teammates, involving all players in the maneuver, from defense to attack. His nickname was "Prophet of goal", and it also inspired the title of the documentary film on Cruijff's sporting life directed by Sandro Ciotti. The journalist Gianni Brera instead renamed him "the white Pelé".
He is, together with Michel Platini and Marco van Basten, the footballer who has won the most Ballon d'Ors (recognition not to be confused with today's FIFA Ballon d'Or) in history, three: in 1971, 1973 and 1974. Between the Dutch national team and club teams, he scored 402 goals in 716 official matches as a professional. He was voted the second best footballer of the XNUMXth century behind Pelé in the IFFHS ranking.
He is to date one of six coaches to winning the European Cup after winning it as a player: holds the record with Miguel Muñoz, Giovanni Trapattoni, Josep Guardiola, compatriot Frank Rijkaard and Carlo Ancelotti.
