Dutch Football Player and Coach
- Considered the best European player in history.
- Sporting debut : 1964 (Ajax Amsterdam)
- Sports debut : 1984 (Feyenoord Rotterdam)
- Coaching debut : 1985 (Ajax Amsterdam)
- Retired as coach : 2012 (FC Barcelona)
- Parents : Hermanus Cornelius Cruijff and Petronella Bernarda Draaijer
- Spouse : Danny Coster
- Children : Chantal, Susila, Jordi
- Name : Hendrik Johannes Cruijff
- Nicknames : El Salvador, the Flying Dutchman, the Skinny Guy...
- Height : 1.78 m
Johan Cruyff was born on April 25, 1947, in Amsterdam.
The second son of Hermanus Cornelius Cruijff and Petronella Bernarda Draaijer. A humble Dutch family who lived in a working-class neighborhood very close to the Ajax stadium .
His father died when he was twelve years old, and his mother dedicated herself to selling fruits and vegetables.
Gifted with extraordinary quality, technique , dribbling, and change of pace. His mother signed him up for the lower divisions of Ajax Amsterdam at the age of twelve, and at just 17, he was already making his debut with the first team . His debut in an international match was in 1966, and for twelve years, he always remained among the most important players in the world.
He won the Ballon d'Or in 1971, 1973, and 1974. He played for the Dutch national team on 48 occasions and was captain of the team that finished runners-up in the 1974 World Cup . He retired from international football very early and did not play in the 1978 World Cup. As an Ajax player, he won six league titles , two cup titles , three European Cups (1971, 1972, and 1973), and the Intercontinental Cup in 1972.
In 1973, he signed for Barcelona , who paid an exorbitant fee of 100 million pesetas for him and won a league and a cup with the team. In 1978, he went to the United States championship . He played for the Los Angeles Aztecas and the Washington Diplomats . In 1981, he returned to Holland. He won two more league titles with Ajax and one with Feyenoord in 1984. He also had a brief stint with Spanish side Levante , which did not bring him much glory.
He then joined the coaching staff at Ajax. As a coach , he won two cup titles (1986 and 1987) and the 1987 European Cup Winners' Cup. He signed as coach of Barcelona in 1988 and with the Catalan club he won two Cup titles (1988 and 1990); a Cup Winners' Cup (1989); a European Super Cup (1993), four Leagues (1991, 1992, 1993 and 1994) and Barcelona's first European Cup (at Wembley , against Sampdoria on 20 May 1992).
On 25 April 2007, the Ajax board retired the number 14 shirt, in tribute to Cruyff , on the occasion of his 60th birthday. In April 2010, he was named honorary president of FC Barcelona.
In early December 2012, Chivas de Guadalajara ended its relationship with coach Johan Cruyff because the work objectives that had been established since the beginning of the contractual relationship were not achieved. The Dutchman was presented in February as a kind of savior of Chivas, but the team failed to lift its head: it finished 15th in the Clausura tournament, reached the playoffs at the last minute and was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Apertura 2012.
In October 2015, he was diagnosed with lung cancer. In 1991, he had to undergo open heart surgery after suffering acute coronary failure, after which he decided to stop smoking and even starred in an anti-smoking advertising campaign.
Married to Danny Coster. They were parents of: Chantal, Susila, and Jordi.
Johan Cruyff died on March 24, 2016, in Barcelona at the age of 68, victim of lung cancer.