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Cruyff joined the youth development squad of Amsterdam’s Ajax soccer club when he was 10 years old. He was 17 when he made his debut with the senior team. After helping Ajax win six league titles, four national cups, and three European Champion Clubs’ Cups (now known as the UEFA [Union of European Football Associations] Champions League), he was transferred to FC Barcelona in 1973. Captained by Cruyff, Barcelona won the Spanish League championship in 1974 and was runner-up in 1976 and 1977.

The temperamental Cruyff, along with Franz Beckenbauer of West Germany, was regarded as the world’s finest player in an era when the European game was dominated by “total football,” a style of play developed by Dutch coach Rinus Michels that emphasized all-around skill, versatility, and creativity. Cruyff debuted with the Dutch national team when he was 19 and went on to score 33 goals in 48 international matches. In the 1974 World Cup tournament, the Dutch team, led by Cruyff and including Johan Neeskens and Ruud Krol, put on a memorable display of total football that earned them the nickname “Clockwork Orange” (a name borrowed from the novel but inspired by the team’s orange jerseys). Although the Netherlands lost to West Germany in the championship match, Cruyff’s individual brilliance won him the tournament’s Golden Ball (Most Valuable Player) award.

From 1979 to 1980 Cruyff played with several American teams, including the Los Angeles Aztecs and the Washington Diplomats, and he was named the North American Soccer League’s Most Valuable Player in 1979. He returned to Ajax in 1981, but two years later he joined rival team Feyenoord after a contract dispute. There he won his ninth Dutch championship and fifth national cup. After retiring as a player in 1984, Cruyff coached both Ajax (1987) and Barcelona (1989) to the European Cup Winners’ Cup. In 1992 he guided Barcelona to both the European Champion Clubs’ Cup and the UEFA Super Cup, but he was fired in 1996. He returned to the sidelines in 2009 to manage the Catalonian national team, a position he held until 2013.

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Cruyff was also involved in philanthropy. He founded both a nonprofit organization to encourage children to participate in sports and the Johan Cruyff Institute, which provides an education in sports management.

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