The world runner-up in 1974 and 1978 died unexpectedly, his country’s soccer federation reported
The former Dutch footballer Johan Neeskens has died at the age of 73, as reported this Monday by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB), which did not specify the circumstances of the death of the coach, who was participating in a program in Algeria in recent days. training of young coaches.
The KNVB assured that it has received “with great regret” the news of the “unexpected death” of Johan Neeskens, whom it described as “one of the greatest (Dutch soccer players).”
“We are going to miss him enormously,” added the association, which wished “a lot of strength” to the coach’s family “to cope with this great loss.”
The former player of the Netherlands National Team, Ajax and Barcelona died at the age of 73. ESPN
Johan Neeskens was 73 years old and died this Sunday in Algeria, where he was as part of the KNVB’s WorldCoaches project, a program that trains young people from around the world to become football coaches in their own community.
“There are no words to describe this enormous and sudden loss. The world not only says goodbye to a talented athlete, but above all to a committed, passionate and wonderful person,” the association stressed.
Johan Neeskens played 49 international matches for the orange team and his great role is remembered in numerous matches, such as the 1974 World Cup final against West Germany, when, as a midfielder, he opened the scoring in the second minute by taking a penalty, although Countries Bajos lost 2-1 in that match.
He also played in the final against Argentina in the World Cup four years later, with the same result.
As a club footballer, Johan Neeskens shone for Ajax (1968-1973) and was one of the favorite players of the culé fans as a starter for Barcelona (1974-1979), where he arrived under the guidance of coach Johan Cruyff and where he lived a golden era, becoming known, remembers public television NOS, as “Johan Segundo”.
He then embarked on an adventure in the United States, to finish his career in Switzerland, where he continued to live while taking part in international projects.
“He fought to the maximum in every game, never gave up, covered the entire field, frequently appeared in the opponent’s area and scored regularly. He was loved in Amsterdam, Barcelona, New York and in the rest of the world. And, above all, he was proud to have worn the Oranje jersey for 11 years,” said the KNVB.
As a coach, he was assistant coach of the Dutch team for several years, working alongside stars such as Guus Hiddink and Frank Rijkaard, and in 2000 he made the leap as head coach at local team NEC Nijmegen.
The former soccer player dedicated the last years of his life to traveling around the world, training young coaches in low-income countries, a project that allowed him to use “football as a tool to improve life, was perfect for him: being in the field with other football lovers, with the idea of achieving something beautiful together, was Johan Neeskens in his essence”, according to the Dutch association, which dedicated an obituary to him with images of his career.
In a first reaction, the current Dutch coach Ronald Koeman, who was also Hiddink’s assistant – along with Johan Neeskens – in the 1998 World Cup in France, said he was “shocked” by the news of the death.
“I have a past with Johan, when I was a little boy, he was my great idol. We played against each other, we did the coaching course together,” he lamented.
For his part, former Dutch footballer Sjaak Swart stressed his surprise at the news of Neeksen’s death, and explained that he had spoken with him “a few days ago, I was going to see him on October 16, in a meeting with Guus Hiddink” because the three had “a date with other former soccer players.”
