On the death of Johan Neeskens: Stylish man of tackles and tackles

Two lost World Cup finals, a world-famous penalty and endless fighting spirit: alongside Cruyff, Johan Neeskens was the face of Dutch football in the 70s – for German fans he was also part of their childhood paradise.

In the 1970s, when the Dutch national team was experiencing its most legendary phase, it was marked by two footballers who were called Johan. Hendrik Johannes “Johan” Cruyff was the king, one of the most breathtaking ball tamers of his time and of all time. Johannes Jacobus “Johan” Neeskens, also a world-class player, had to live with being the slightly smaller player among two big players. The fans of FC Barcelona called him “Johan Segundo” (Johan the Second), where the two played together for a while. Occasionally Neeskens was asked how it felt to live in the shadow of legend. A difficult question. But Neeskens made himself and Cruyff and all of Dutch football a little bigger when he replied: “I don’t mind being the second best player in the world.”