It takes a lot to become a football icon at two of Europe’s biggest clubs, Ajax and Barcelona. However, Dutch master Johan Neeskens achieved that feat. On October 6th 2024, sadly, Neeskens passed away at the age of 73.
An Ajax legend
While Johan Cruyff may well be the best-known player to have featured for Ajax and Barcelona, the other Johan, Neeskens will also go down as a legend at Ajax and a popular figure at Barcelona.
Neeskens joined the club from the Dutch capital in 1970, having started his playing career at RCH in 1968.
Although Neeskens is now known for being a midfielder, he initially played for Ajax at right-back, even appearing in the position in the 1971 European Cup final win over Panathinaikos.
However, in the 1971/72 season, Neeskens moved into a central midfield position, combining superbly with the excellent Cruyff. He also showed his attacking ability by scoring and creating goals for the Amsterdammers.
In fact, in his 171 appearances for the club from the Dutch capital, Neeskens scored 39 goals and produced 28 assists.
During his time with Ajax, Neeskens helped Ajax score two further European Cups, having claimed three straight titles in European football’s biggest elite competition between 1971 and 1973.
In his Ajax career, he also ended up with two Eredivisie titles and two Super Cups, among other trophies in Amsterdam.
Highly popular at Barcelona
In the summer of 1974, the midfielder joined Catalan giants Barcelona, reuniting with former boss Rinus Michels and ex-midfield teammate Cruyff. He was with the Blaugrana for five years, scoring 44 goals in 183 appearances in all competitions while also producing five assists.
Although he became a hero among the Nou Camp faithful, his time in Catalonia wasn’t as successful as it was in the Dutch capital. The only trophies that Neeskens won as a player were the Copa del Rey in season 1977/78 and the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1979.
In season 1975/76, Neeskens scored 19 goals in all competitions, earning the Dutchman the Don Balon Award, La Liga’s award for foreign player of the year.
FC Barcelona deeply regrets the passing of Johan Neeskens.
A blaugrana legend who will forever be in our memory. Rest in peace. pic.twitter.com/O0Eu9tPk2P
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) October 7, 2024
Neeskens also played for the likes of New York Cosmos, Groningen and Kansas City Comets before hanging up his boots in 1991.
He moved into coaching after his playing career ended. The Dutchman was assistant manager for the Netherlands from 1995 until 2000, Australia from 2005 until 2006, and fulfilled the same role at his former club Barcelona from 2006 until 2008.
Two World Cup heartbreaks with the Netherlands
The midfielder made his Netherlands debut in 1970 against West Germany. Neeskens was a regular at international level, making 49 appearances for the Oranje, having scored a respectable 17 goals.
Just like many of the Netherlands players of his generation, he was extremely unfortunate not to have won a piece of international silverware.
The midfielder reached two World Cup finals with the Netherlands in 1974 and 1978. In the first final, Neeskens scored the opening goal from the penalty spot after just two minutes against West Germany.
However, their opponents came back, recording a 2-1 win through first-half goals from Paul Breitner and Gerd Muller.
In the 1978 World Cup final, Neeskens was again on the losing team, as the Oranje went down to a 3-1 extra-time defeat against Argentina.
He deserves credit in his own right
When people talk about the great Dutch team of the 1970s, playing the ‘Total Football’ style of play, Johan Cruyff is often the first player you think of.
However, without Neeskens, the Netherlands team would not have been the same. If Cruyff provided the skill, his teammate provided the steel, with a bit of finesse thrown in.
Neeskens was so good that former Ajax teammate Sjaak Swart is quoted as saying, “He was worth two men in midfield,”.
He also had the respect of the more modern generation of players, as current Oranje head coach Ronald Koeman said, “When I was a little boy, he was my big idol. As a young boy, you played football on the street, and you asked: ‘Who wants to be Cruyff? Who wants to be [Willem] van Hanegem?’ I wanted to be Johan Neeskens.”
The fact that he is so well respected in his home country, in Barcelona and around the world is a sign that Johan Neeskens is a sign of the man and the footballer.
He may not have star billing at times in his career at Ajax or Barcelona, even with the Oranje. Still, in his own way, he played a crucial role in some of Ajax and the Netherlands’ most historical moments, and for that, he deserves to be remembered for a long time to come.