He was one of the major players in Dutch “total football” and one of the pillars of the great Dutch team of the 1970s, alongside Johan Cruyff, of whom he was the most faithful lieutenant, in selection, at Ajax and FC Barcelona: Johan Neeskens died on Sunday October 6, at the age of 73.
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“With Johan Neeskens, the world of Dutch and international football loses a legend”the Dutch federation (KNVB) said in a statement on Monday, adding that the former player had died of an unspecified illness. On X, FC Barcelona evokes “a Blaugrana legend who will remain forever in our memory”. In Catalonia, Neeskens had inherited the nickname “Johan the second”, understood after Johan Cruyff.
Born on September 15, 1951 in Heemstede, a town located halfway between Amsterdam and the sea, Johan Neeskens initially played right-back. Then he was repositioned in the middle of the field with the advent of “total football” advocated by Ajax Amsterdam coach Rinus Michels. In this position, tireless, he surprised with his speed, his endurance and his ability to be present in defense as well as in attack.
“The second best player in the world”
Neeskens scored 17 goals for the national team, including a penalty, in the 2e minute of play, during the 1974 World Cup final, which the “Oranje” lost (2-1) against West Germany. “No one remembers the seconds, except when we are the seconds”he would say later.
If Neeskens never won the World Cup, he made up for it at club level, notably with Ajax Amsterdam, winner of the Champion Clubs’ Cup, the ancestor of the Champions League, in 1971 , 1972 and 1973.
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It was after this prestigious hat-trick that he joined, with Johan Cruyff, FC Barcelona. He became a favorite of local supporters, who nicknamed him “John the Second” (Johan le second). “I don’t mind being the second best player in the world”assured Neeskens, author of 35 goals in six years with the Catalan club.
After Barcelona, he gave in to the sirens of dollars to join the New York Cosmos in 1979. He then played alongside another football legend: the German Franz Beckenbauer.
The Dutchman finished his playing career in 1991, at the age of 40, in Switzerland, at FC Zug, where he later became the coach. And it was as assistant coach that he then returned to Barcelona in 2006, once again following in the footsteps of Cruyff, who had been Barça coach from 1988 to 1996. Neeskens had left the world of football in 2012, after a final experience in South Africa, at the head of Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club, a team from Pretoria.
