The death of Johan Neeskens (1951-2024) at 73 years old has left a great void among the oldest football fans, including those FC Barcelona. legend of the great Ajax is a three-time European champion of the 70s, of the ‘clockwork orange’ who was world runner-up in 1974 and 1978 and a much-loved player at Barça in the same decade, his name was mentioned by the Camp Nou stands many years after he left the club, usually when the fans asked the team for more fighters and as a protest against some decision of the institution.
His tears on the balcony of the Generalitat, in the middle of the celebration of the 1979 Cup Winners’ Cup title in Basel, when he already knew that he would not continue in the squad, is living history of the Barça club. The entire Plaça de Sant Jaume, full of culés, chanted the name “Neeskens! Neeskens!”, prompting the emotional reaction of an all-round midfielder who came to the club after winning the 1974 League, only to return on the play side as in Ajax and the Dutch national team Johan Cruyff. At a time when the regulations only allowed the lineup of two foreign football players, the arrival of Neskens prompted a contract change for another idol of the culé fans, the Peruvian Hugo ‘Cholo’ Sotil, who won the League 0-5 in Madrid with Cruyff and that he waited too long for proving his record as a worthy player, which caused him to fall.
Neeskens, who was capped by the Netherlands 49 times, scored the only goal for the Dutch team in the legendary Munich final against Germany. Franz Beckenbauer and Gerd Müllerwhich ended up winning the World Cup remembered for the great football of the ‘Clockwork Orange’, coached by Rinus Michels. at the same time he was also his coach in Barcelona. Neeskens scored a penalty made by Berti Vogts in Johan Cruyff that Neeskens changed that midfielder with low socks and generous sideburns with his famous dry, hard shot in the middle, beating another legend of the era,, Sepp Maier.
A Barça player between 1974 and 1979, he won the 1978 Copa del Rey and the 1979 Cup Winners’ Cup, but his mark goes beyond his titles. Neeskens He started in the legendary Basel final against Dusseldorf Fortune which Barça won in extra time.
After his time in Spain, the midfielder continued his career with the Cosmos in the United States and in Switzerland, and returned to FC Groningen in 1984. As a coach, he served as a temporary assistant to Frank Rijkaard on the Barça bench.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
