Johan Cruyff

 Hendrik Johannes Cruijff (listen) Internationally recognized as Johan Cruyff; 25 April 1947 - 24 March 2016) was a Dutch professional football player and manager. As as a player, he took home the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1971, 1973 and 1974. 4 Cruyff was a proponent of the philosophy referred to as Total Football explored by Rinus Michels. The world considers him to be one of the greatest footballers of all time and also one of football's most influential managers. The 1960s and 1970s Dutch football advanced from a semi-professional level to the level of a major player. [10][11] Cruyff played the Netherlands to victory in the 1974 FIFA World Cup and received the Golden Ball as player of the tournament. Cruyff was third in UEFA Euro 1976. He was unable to take part in the 1978 FIFA World Cup because of an attempt to kidnap him and his family members at their Barcelona home. In the club level, Cruyff started his career at Ajax and won eight Eredivisie titles as well as three European Cups and one Intercontinental Cup. In 1973, he moved to Barcelona for a world record transfer fee, which helped the team achieve La Liga in his first season, and also winning the Ballon d'Or. Cruyff retired from playing football in 1984 and became a highly successful manager at Ajax as well as Barcelona. He remained an important advisor to both clubs throughout his coaching stints. His son Jordi also played football professionally with Barcelona.In 1999, Cruyff was voted European Player of the Century in an election conducted by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics, and came second behind Pele in their World Player of the Century poll. He finished third in a vote organised by the French magazine France Football consulting their former Ballon d'Or winners to elect their Football Player of the Century. He was part of the FIFA World Cup Dream Team 2002 in 1998 and the World Team of the 20th Century 2003 in 1998. In 2004, he was on the FIFA 100 list of the most influential players of the present.