'Farewell Cruyff is Sunday better'

Generations have grown up with Cruyff, young and old come then to Amsterdam to say goodbye to their hero. This Tuesday, the fourth and last day of condolence has been opened, it can still.

FROM EVERYONE

More than 1,500 kilometers south son Jordi Cruyff has just issued a statement. Also in Barcelona is extensively goodbye to the man who reinvented football. "My father wanted everything to keep it private, but Johan is not only ours, but of everyone," says Jordi. "We hope that his message lives on."

Johan belongs to everyone, it turns out. In Barcelona, ​​more than 45,000 people in three days signed the book of condolence, in Amsterdam, the count is about 27,000 men. The 78-year-old Theo Draaijer is one of them, he turns out to be a cousin of Cruyff. "His mother was the youngest sister of my father." Sometimes it becomes too much for him and he apologizes for his tears. "It reminds me a lot that so many people make the effort to say goodbye to John."

Trembling HANDS

With trembling hands, he grabs a letter from his pocket. "I'll pass today, also has to do with the fact that I wanted to properly prepare my final word of thanks to Johan. Look, this is it.But if you stand in the hand with the pen, it's weird. I think I have just what else written. "

"Johan, my cousin, a brilliant footballer and family man," reads the preamble. "We all went to Johan watching the cubs and my father drove to Groningen for his debut," Draaijer says as he stops in his pocket the piece of paper again. "I've seen almost all of his matches for Ajax. With my father and brother, I had a season under the scoreboard at the Lake. "

CLEAN CHANGING ROOMS

When Cruyff moved to Barcelona, ​​diluted the contact. "I'm there sometimes being watch a game from him, but at home I've never been with Johan. He was terribly lived at that time, do I still come again? When he came to see his mother in the Netherlands, he sometimes came along. John was a good man, as a boy already. His mother cleaned the locker rooms.That little could make himself very busy when rubbish was made ​​and that was not cleaned up. "

"Here I come rarely," Draaijer says as he looks around the ArenA. He'd like it if the stadium is named after his nephew. That also find Menko. Together with his wife Shela he lives in Amsterdam. "I've never seen so quiet here. This does have some with me. It would be nice if they just prior announce the start of the match against PEC next Sunday that henceforth the Johan Cruijff Arena Stadium will be called. It can immediately programs are taken at night on ESPN. It is in any case a nice farewell and not like last Friday in the Dutch team. Those people who are coming upon no real club supporters and that you noticed. In that respect I found it more impressive what happened the day before at Feyenoord. "

HORST IN BREMEN

Cruyff has a global impact, is also evident from the fact that not only Dutch walk along the row of pictures in the ArenA. "I come from Bremen," said a bearded man. Horst is his name and he has a white rose in his hands. "Cruyff was the best ever. Of course there were or Pele, Beckenbauer, Maradona and Messi good players, but none of them had such a huge impact on football as Cruyff. He's gone, every football fan does therefore terrible pain. "

http://www.metronieuws.nl/ by Jeroen Haverkort Photo: Metro News