Dutch Football Legend Johan Cruyff Dies at 68
Johan Cruyff, the Dutch soccer legend, has died at the age of 68. As a heavy smoker, Cruyff suffered from lung cancer, which he made public last year. Johan Cruyff was not only one of the best footballers of his time but also a great coach.
Cruyff changed football during the first years of his career with Ajax Amsterdam, making it more modern, athletic and fast. He was an extremely talented player who was not only skilled with the ball but could also score winning goals.
Johan Cruyff personified Holland's system of total football , where players do not stick to their position on the field but can play everywhere. All of them defend and all of them attack. Players would constantly change their positions.
Cruyff joined Ajax Amsterdam as a teenager. Between 1971 and 1973 he led the team to three European Cups in a row. He was nominated the best player at the 1974 World Cup. In the final match against Germany he brought the Netherlands in front by scoring after a few minutes, however in the end lost to the German side.
After playing in Holland, Barcelona became his second home. He not only played for one of the best teams in European club football but also became its coach for 8 years. Together with Barcelona Cruyff won four Spanish championship titles and the club's first European trophy.
At the end of his European career, Cruyff played in America with the Los Angeles Aztecs and eventually came back to Holland to win two more titles with Ajax.
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Words
- athletic = here: using your body more than your technical skills
- attack = move up front to score a goal
- cancer = illness in which some cells in your body grow in an uncontrolled way
- coach = someone who trains and organizes a sports team
- constantly = always
- defend = stop the other team from scoring a goal
- eventually = in the end, after some time
- however = but
- in a row = without a pause
- make public = announce to the media
- nominate = choose for a prize
- personify = to be a perfect example of something
- score = to make a goal
- skilled = talented, good at something
- soccer = European football
- stick = stay
- suffer = to be in physical pain
- talented = very good at somehting
- trophy = prize, like a cup, that you get after winning an event