Photo: Rob Mieremet / Anefo / CC0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
Johan Cruyff, born on April 25, 1947 in Betondorp, North Holland, Netherlands, was an association football player and association football coach. Johan Cruyff died on March 24, 2016, aged 68. Listed accolades include Saint George's Cross (2006), Ballon d'Or (1971), Gold Medal of the City of Barcelona for Cultural, Scientific, Civic or Sports Merit (2016) and 5 more. The listed height was 178 cm.
My Take
Honestly, talking about Johan Cruyff feels like talking about someone who didn't just play football — he reinvented how the whole world thought about it. Three Ballon d'Or wins tell part of the story, but the real thing was Total Football: this fluid, position-swapping, suffocating style he embodied at Ajax and then carried to Barcelona, where he later built the Dream Team as manager and basically laid the philosophical groundwork for everything that club became over the next three decades. The Cruyff Turn alone is a piece of artistry that still gets taught to kids everywhere. And those quotes — he had this almost zen-master quality where he'd say something that sounded simple and then you'd be thinking about it for a week. Gone in 2016 at 68, but the game still runs on his ideas.
This take was written by generative AI, one per person, from publicly reported facts (editorial policy). It is a reading of the record, not reporting.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Johan Cruyff
- Name (Japanese)
- ヨハン・クライフ
- Reading
- よはん・くらいふ
- Born
- April 25, 1947 – March 24, 2016
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Taurus / Boar
- Origin
- Betondorp, North Holland, Netherlands
- Height
- 178 cm
- Occupation
- association football player / association football coach / coach
2. Background
Awards & achievements
- 2006 Saint George's Cross
- 1971 Ballon d'Or
- 2016 Gold Medal of the City of Barcelona for Cultural, Scientific, Civic or Sports Merit
- 1968 Dutch Footballer of the Year
- 1973 Dutch Sportsman of the year
- 1977 Don Balón Award
- Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau
- 2013 UEFA President's Award
3. Links
- Official sitehttp://www.johancruyff.com/
- Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/johancruyff/
- Wikipedia (English)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johan%20Cruyff
- Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%A8%E3%83%8F%E3%83%B3%E3%83%BB%E3%82%AF%E3%83%A9%E3%82%A4%E3%83%95
- Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q17163
4. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.
Frequently asked questions
When was Johan Cruyff born?
Born April 25, 1947.
When did Johan Cruyff die?
Died March 24, 2016, aged 68.
Where was Johan Cruyff from?
Johan Cruyff was from Betondorp, North Holland, Netherlands.
What did Johan Cruyff do?
Johan Cruyff worked as association football player, association football coach, coach.
How tall was Johan Cruyff?
Johan Cruyff was 178 cm.
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