Johan Cruyff · Biography

In August 1973 FC Barcelona paid Ajax 60 million pesetas for Hendrik Johannes Cruijff, the most expensive transfer to that date. The forward was born in Amsterdam on 25 April 1947. He arrived with two Ballon d’Or awards and three European Cups. Barcelona was where he played, coached and, in 2016, died.

Early years and Ajax debut

He grew up in Betondorp, a working-class district in the east of Amsterdam, and joined the Ajax youth teams as a boy. He made his first-team debut on 15 November 1964 against GVAV Groningen. Within a few seasons he was the forward of the side that won the Eredivisie in 1966, 1967 and 1968. His game was built on movement. He started as a centre-forward, but dropped into midfield and drifted wide to escape his marker.

Three European Cups in a row

Ajax won the European Cup three years running: in 1971 against Panathinaikos at Wembley, in 1972 against Inter in Rotterdam and in 1973 against Juventus in Belgrade. In the 1972 final at De Kuip on 31 May, he scored both goals in a 2-0 win. The Intercontinental Cup and the European Super Cup came in the same period. He won the Ballon d’Or in 1971 and again in 1973.

Barcelona player

His first season at the Camp Nou ended with the 1973-74 Spanish league title, the club’s first in fourteen years. On 17 February 1974 Barcelona won 5-0 at the Santiago Bernabéu, a result that came to define that campaign. That year he won his third Ballon d’Or. In 1978 he added the Copa del Rey, beating UD Las Palmas 3-1 in the final. He then crossed the Atlantic, playing for the Los Angeles Aztecs in 1979 and the Washington Diplomats in 1980 and 1981. In 1981 he also had a short spell at Levante in the Spanish second division.

Return to the Netherlands and retirement

Later in 1981 he returned to Ajax, winning the Eredivisie in 1982 and 1983. When the club did not renew his contract, he joined Feyenoord, Ajax’s great rivals from Rotterdam. There he won the league and cup double in 1983-84 and was named Dutch Footballer of the Year for the fifth time. He retired in 1984. For the Netherlands he won 48 caps and scored 33 goals after debuting against Hungary in September 1966. He captained Rinus Michels’ side at the 1974 World Cup, which lost the final 2-1 to West Germany in Munich on 7 July. He received the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player.

Coaching Ajax and the Dream Team

In June 1985 he returned to Ajax as technical director, in practice the head coach, with Marco van Basten leading the attack. On 13 May 1987 the team won the Cup Winners’ Cup in Athens, beating Lokomotive Leipzig 1-0. On 4 May 1988 he took over at Barcelona. He won the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1989 and the Copa del Rey in 1990. From 1991 he won four consecutive league titles, from 1990-91 to 1993-94. In February 1991 he had a heart attack and underwent bypass surgery. On 20 May 1992 at Wembley, a Ronald Koeman free kick in extra time against Sampdoria gave the club its first European Cup. That side, with Guardiola, Laudrup, Stoichkov and Koeman, became known as the Dream Team. He also won three Spanish Super Cups and the European Super Cup, and left the post in May 1996.

Later years

In 1997 he set up the Cruyff Foundation to promote sport among children and young people. From 2009 to 2013 he coached the Catalonia team, starting with a 4-2 win over Argentina on 22 December 2009. He was diagnosed with lung cancer in October 2015 and died in Barcelona on 24 March 2016, aged 68. In April 2018 Ajax announced that its stadium, the Amsterdam ArenA, would be renamed the Johan Cruyff Arena. The new name took effect for the 2018-19 season.