Johan Cruyff Passes Away

Johan Cruyff, one of the greatest players in the history of world football who was suffering from cancer, passed away at the age of 68. The news of Cruyff's illness was announced last year and received widespread reactions around the world. Football legends urged Cruyff to fight cancer with all his strength and not to give up. In his first statement after starting chemotherapy, he said: "I will win this battle. At this moment, I see myself stronger than ever. An excellent medical team is helping me and assuring me that everything will go well. When someone is told they have cancer, there is no turning back. One must fight it in the best way possible." Cruyff, who had smoked for years, underwent surgery in 1991 after a heart attack. After that, he quit smoking and started consuming candy, becoming an interesting subject for photographers. He said: "Football gave me everything, but smoking took it all back." After the death of Tito Vilanova due to cancer, the Blaugrana are now mourning the symbol of their club. Alfredo Di Stefano, the legend of Real Madrid, also passed away in 2014. Cruyff played a significant role in leading the Netherlands to the World Cup final in 1974. A deserving and historic team in terms of tactics, they did not win the cup after losing to West Germany. He played 48 international matches and scored 33 goals for the Oranje. He was chosen as European Player of the Year three times. He is a symbol of the "Total Football" philosophy established by Rinus Michels. In one of the polls by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics, he was selected as the second player of the century after Pelé. In a France Football survey, he was also chosen as the third-best player in history. Cruyff won the title of best player of the 1974 World Cup and was named European Player of the Year for the third time that same year. After a successful and dreamlike ten years at Ajax, he moved to Barcelona and won the La Liga title in his first season. Johan won 23 different trophies as a player with Ajax, Barcelona, and Feyenoord. At the age of 37, he played for Feyenoord and scored 11 goals in 33 matches. He also finished third with the Netherlands in the 1976 European Championship. In his coaching career, he led Ajax to win the European Cup Winners' Cup. With Barcelona, he experienced four La Liga championships, along with one Copa del Rey and three Spanish Super Cups. In 1992, Barcelona, with Johan Cruyff, won the European Cup for the first time by defeating Sampdoria. The star-studded team included Andoni Zubizarreta, Ronald Koeman, Pep Guardiola, Hristo Stoichkov, and Michael Laudrup. That same year, they won the European Super Cup by defeating Werder Bremen. Cruyff's list of coaching honors is as long as his playing achievements. His son, Jordi, was also his student at Barcelona for a time. The Barcelona club issued a statement regarding Cruyff's passing, stating: "He passed away peacefully while surrounded by his family."