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Johan Cruyff - the Dutchman who reinvented football
No other player is as associated with the number 14 as Johan Cruyff. The Dutchman shaped and changed football, both as a player and as a coach. First with the Ajax youth club, then with FC Barcelona. In total, the 'football king' won 34 titles - 23 as a player and 11 as a coach. In addition, he won 10 individual awards, including 3 Ballon d'Ors between 1971 and 1974.

Son of a fruit and vegetable merchant, Cruyff grew up in poor conditions in the district of Betondorp in Amsterdam. His home was just a few minutes away from Ajax's old stadium - De Meer. As a boy, the Dutchman relied on his technique, but above all on his mind. Later, Cruyff could be found everywhere on the field: he always left his mark on his team's game, whether as a playmaker, finisher, or winger.

With Cruyff as the team's leader, no other team in Europe shaped the sixties and early seventies more than Ajax Amsterdam. In addition to six league titles and four cup victories, Ajax won the European Cup three times. The focus was on the concept of 'Voetbal Totaal' football, which he helped develop. Cruyff himself once said, 'I stand for a time when it was proven that football can be attractive and successful at the same time, and that it can also be a lot of fun.'

Later, the Dutchman followed his coach and teammate Michels to FC Barcelona and secured the club's first title in 14 years. His greatest influence with the Catalans, however, was as a coach. With now successful coach Pep Guardiola as the team's brain, Johan Cruyff introduced possession-oriented football and won the European Cup for the first time with the club. He justified his approach to the game with the words 'If we have the ball, they can't score a goal'.

In 2016, the Dutch legend died of lung cancer. But his philosophy lives on in Amsterdam and Barcelona to this day.