The Death of Football's Van Gogh

Today, another one of my childhood heroes died. Like many young people around the world I came to love football because of Johan Cruyff. He was more than a footballer player. He was a great athlete who played football like an artist. He was a great captain who led his teams like a great strategist and a military leader on the pitch. I remember being mesmerised by Kirk Douglas playing Cruyff’s compatriot Van Gogh in Lust for Life. Watching Cruyff playing football was like watching Van Gogh painting. He played football as if his life depended on every single dribble and every single pass. He was a great leader who inspired his teammates in Ajax, Barcelona and the Dutch national team to give all they had to the team. 
 

Funny anecdote: in the 1970s Iran started to import chicken from Holland among many countries. I was so obsessed by the Dutch national team that I told my mother that I refuse to eat chicken if it’s not from Holland. From then on only Dutch chicken was served in the Bahari household. 
 

RIP Johan Cruyff. You will be missed.