Johan Neeskens died aged 73

Johan Neeskens died unexpectedly.

Neeskens was unwell on Sunday during an event in Algeria, where he was present on behalf of the Football Association. The former Ajax and Barcelona player turned 73.

This means that the Dutch football world once again loses an icon of the generation that reached the World Cup final in 1974. Neeskens was a starter at the Orange that conquered the hearts of the football world fifty years ago and scored five times at that tournament, including his penalty in the lost World Cup final against West Germany.

Neeskens, then only 22, had already become a starter at Ajax and moved to Barcelona that summer in the wake of Johan Cruijff, where he was soon nicknamed Johan Segundo. After his spell in Spain, the midfielder ended his career in the USA and Switzerland, in 1984 he returned to FC Groningen.

One of the biggest team ever

Neeskens was extremely successful as a player with three European Cup I wins at Ajax and two league titles, plus one World Cup and two KNVB Cups. In Barcelona, there was also a Spanish Cup and a national championship. On behalf of Oranje, the 49-time international also came out at the European Championships in 1976 and the World Championships in 1978, where the Netherlands also reached the final.

After his playing career, Neeskens spent many years in professional football as a manager. In the late 1990s he was assistant coach of Guus Hiddink and Frank Rijkaard, then he became manager of NEC. After his time in Nijmegen he assisted Hiddink again with Australia and was still the right hand of Rijkaard with Barcelona and Galatasaray.