Johan Neeskens, the legendary name of Ajax and Barcelona, died at the age of 73.
Neeskens, who scored 17 goals in 49 appearances for the Dutch national team, enjoyed a 23-year football career and later distinguished himself in prominent coaching and managerial roles.
Neeskens – along with Johan Cruyff – was one of the greatest footballers of the twentieth century – part of the unbeatable Ajax team that won three Champions Cups in the early 1970s.
He was also a key member of the Dutch national team that played in back-to-back World Cup finals in 1974 and 1978, joining fellow giants Ajax and Oranje with the legends of the Flying Dutchmen.
Neeskens won a total of 14 titles in his long career, including the Copa del Rey and the Cup Winners’ Cup with Barcelona, as well as two US championships with the New York Cosmos.
He then held managerial roles at Zug in Switzerland, Nijmegen (Netherlands) and Mamelodi Sandows in South Africa, while working as an assistant at the Dutch and Australian national teams, Barcelona and Galatasaray.