Johan Neeskens has passed away at the age of 73.
Former Ajax, Barcelona and Netherlands national team midfielder Johan Neeskens has died at the age of 73.
The sad news was reported by the official website of the Amsterdam club.
Neskens is one of the most outstanding footballers in the history of the Netherlands. At club level, he played for Ajax (1970-1974), Barcelona (1974-1979), New York Cosmos (1979-1984) and Groningen (1984-1985).
With Ajax, he won 10 trophies: 2 victories in the Dutch championship, 2 national cups, 3 victories in the European Champions Cup, 2 victories in the UEFA Super Cup, as well as the Intercontinental Cup.
With Barcelona, the midfielder won the Spanish Cup and the Cup Winners' Cup, and with the New York Cosmos he won the North American Soccer League twice.
As part of the national team, Neeskens twice became the silver medalist of the World Cup (1974, 1978), and also won bronze at the 1976 European Championship. In total, he played 49 matches for the Netherlands national team and scored 17 goals.
After finishing his playing career, Neeskens worked as an assistant coach for the Netherlands and Australia national teams, Barcelona, and Galatasaray.
Earlier it was reported that former football player and coach, ex-FFU president Anatoly Konkov died.