Cruyff, Johan (1947-2016), was a Dutch soccer player and manager. He was a center-forward and supremely gifted striker. In 1971, Cruyff became the first Dutch player to be voted European Footballer of the Year. He won the honor again in 1973 and 1974, becoming the first player to receive the award three times. For a discussion of soccer positions and formations, see Soccer (Players and officials) .
Cruyff was born on April 25, 1947, in Amsterdam , the Netherlands. Cruyff joined Ajax Amsterdam ‘s youth club at the age of 10 and moved up to the first team in 1964. With Ajax, he won several Dutch league championships and three European Cups—an annual tournament now called the Champions League . In 1973, he joined Spain’s FC Barcelona , one of soccer’s top teams. FC stands for football club. Barcelona went on to win La Liga, Spain’s top league, that same year. In 1974, Cruyff captained the Netherlands team that was runner-up to West Germany in the FIFA World Cup . FIFA stands for Fédération Internationale de Football Association (International Federation of Association Football). FIFA is soccer’s world governing body.
After leaving FC Barcelona in 1978, Cruyff played in the United States , Spain, and the Netherlands. He was manager of Ajax from 1986 to 1988 and of Barcelona from 1988 to 1996. In 1992, he led Barcelona to its first Champions League title. Cruyff managed the Catalonian national team from 2009 to 2013. Cruyff died on March 24, 2016.
