Background and career
Hendrik Johannes Cruijff (25 April 1947 – 24 March 2016), internationally known as Johan Cruyff was a Dutch professional football player and manager. Regarded as one of the greatest players in history and as the greatest Dutch footballer ever, he won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1971, 1973, and 1974. Cruyff was a proponent of the football philosophy known as Total Football, developed by Rinus Michels, both as a player and a manager. Because of the far-reaching impact of his playing style and his coaching ideas, he is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in modern football, and he is also regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Dutch football rose from a semi-professional and obscure level to become a powerhouse in the sport. The Netherlands qualified for the 1974 FIFA World Cup, their first appearance in the competition in 36 years. With three goals and three assists, Cruyff led the Netherlands to the final, where they lost to West Germany; nonetheless, he received the Golden Ball as player of the tournament. After finishing third in UEFA Euro 1976, Cruyff refused to play in the 1978 FIFA World Cup after a kidnapping attempt targeting him and his family in their Barcelona home led to his retirement from international football.
At club level, Cruyff started his career at Ajax in 1964, where he won six Eredivisie titles, three European Cups, and one Intercontinental Cup. He moved to FC Barcelona in 1973, winning the La Liga title in 1973–74, the club's first in 14 years, and the Copa del Rey once. After stints at the Los Angeles Aztecs and the Washington Diplomats in the United States and at Levante in Spain, Cruyff returned to Ajax in 1981, winning two further Eredivisie titles. As the club refused to extend his contract, Cruyff moved to main rivals Feyenoord in 1983, where he won the double (Eredivisie and KNVB Cup) in his first and only season at the club. After retiring from playing in 1984, Cruyff became a highly successful manager of Ajax and Barcelona, winning the 1987 European Cup Winners' Cup at Ajax, and four La Liga titles and one European Cup at Barcelona. After his dismissal in 1996, he remained an advisor to both Ajax and Barcelona. His son Jordi also played football professionally for Barcelona.
Cruyff founded the Johan Cruyff Foundation in 1997, which is intended to help disadvantaged children and those with special educational needs. In addition, he is the originator of several catchphrases and aphorisms, known as Cruijffiaans, that have entered everyday language, especially in the Netherlands and to some extent in Spain. In 1999, Cruyff was voted European Player of the Century in an election held by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics, and came second behind Pelé in their World Player of the Century poll.
Hendrik Johannes "Johan" Cruyff was born on 25 April 1947 in the Burgerziekenhuis in Amsterdam. He grew up on a street five minutes away from Ajax's stadium, his first football club. Johan was the second son of Hermanus Cornelis Cruijff (1913–1959) and Petronella Bernarda Draaijer (1917–2007), from a humble, working-class background in east Amsterdam. Cruyff grew up at Akkerstraat 32 in the Betondorp ('concrete village') neighbourhood, a district whose architectural style was described as "brutalist". Akkerstraat was five minutes away from De Meer Stadion, where the football club Ajax Amsterdam played its home games. His father Manus was a fan of Ajax. The environment in which the Cruyffs grew up is described by his biographer Auke Kok as business- and market-oriented, which distanced itself from leftist ideas. The young Cruyff was shaped by Calvinism; while he was considered a devout person and often referred to God, he later also experimented with spiritualistic practices to make contact with his deceased father.
