The footballing world is mourning the passing of Netherlands legend Johan Neeskens, who passed away at the age of 73.
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The KNVB confirmed on Monday the passing of the legendary midfielder, who played for the Netherlands, Ajax and Barcelona in an excellent career.
Neeskens made a name for himself at Ajax, where he conquered Europe by winning three European Cups. along with a number of domestic trophies. He starred at the 1974 World Cup, scoring five times including the penalty in the lost final against West Germany.
Neeskens then followed Johan Cruijff to Barcelona, where he was adored in a five year spell. He also helped the Netherlands to reach the 1978 World Cup and in total earned 49 caps, scoring 17 goals.
Towards the end of his career, Neeskens played for New York Cosmos and Groningen before representing a number of smaller clubs. He then became a coach and was assistant to Guus Hiddink and Frank Rijkaard with the Netherlands. He also was a head coach with NEC Nijmegen.
Neeskens had four children with his wife Marlis von Reding.
Speaking at his press conference on Monday, Netherlands boss Ronald Koeman said, “As a little boy, he was my big idol. I wanted to be him on the street.
“Later, I played against him, we did the coaching course together. We did an internship with the Ajax youth every Tuesday. After that, we always kept in touch. At the 1998 World Cup, I was still assistant to Guus Hiddink together with him. That makes it even more difficult, of course.”
The Netherlands squad held a minute silence ahead of their training session on Monday.
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