Johan Neeskens, one of the architects of “total football” and pillar of the great Dutch team of the 1970s, has died at the age of 73, the Dutch football federation said on Monday. “With Johan Neeskens, the world of Dutch and international football loses a legend”declared the KNVB in a press release, adding that the midfielder, Johan Cruyff’s most loyal lieutenant in the selection, at Ajax and Barcelona, died on Sunday of an unspecified illness.
It is with great sadness that the KNVB has learned of the unexpected death of Johan Neeskens.
Johan was one of our greatest. We are going to miss him enormously.
We wish his wife Marlis, his children Christian, Tamara, Bianca and Armand, his grandchildren Djoy and… pic.twitter.com/z4ErJ7Hqeb
— KNVB (@KNVB) https://twitter.com/KNVB/status/1843287415659905479?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
With Ajax Amsterdam, he won the European Champion Clubs’ Cup (former Champions League) three times, in 1971, 72 and 73 as part of a dream team where total football was created.
With the selection of the Netherlands (49 caps), also led by the legendary Johan Cruyff, Neeskens reached the final in 1974 and 1978, lost each time against the organizing country, West Germany (FRG) and Argentina.
With Barça, he won the Cup of Cups in 1979 and the Spanish Cup in 1978.
He finished his career in the United States, at the New York Cosmos.
