Dutch soccer great Johan Cryuff won three European Player of the Year awards and led FC Barcelona to multiple titles as a manager.Johan Cruyff was born on April 25, 1947, in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The centerpiece of the Dutch "Total Football" strategy, Cruyff was the first three-time European Player of the Year winner in a career that brought him from the Netherlands to Spain to the United States. A successful manager after his playing career ended, he was named European player of the 20th century in a prestigious poll.
Cruyff made his senior debut in 1964 for an Ajax team on the rise. At the time, manager Rinus Michels was preaching his "Total Football" strategy, in which players seamlessly rotated between positions on the field. The multitalented Cryuff proved perfect for this method; nominally a center-forward, he had the speed and intelligence to thrive wherever positioned. Between 1966 and 1973, Ajax won six Dutch championships, three European Cups and two UEFA Super Cups. In 1971, Cryuff became the first Dutch player to win the Ballon d'Or Award as European Footballer of the Year.
Cruyff transferred to FC Barcelona after the start of the 1973-'74 season and quickly made new fans by leading his team to a 5-0 thrashing of archrival Real Madrid en route to a league title. He won another Ballon d'Or Award halfway through his first season in Spain, and became the first three-time winner the following year.
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