Johan Neeskens was one of the stars of the Dutch national team that finished as runners-up in the 1974 and 1978 FIFA World Cups and is considered to be one of the greatest midfielders of all time. With teammates like Cruyff, Krol and Haan, he won everything with Ajax during the first half of the seventies. He then played for Barcelona where he won the 1979 Cup Winners’ Cup. In 2004, he was named one of the 125 Greatest Living Footballers at a FIFA Awards Ceremony, while in 2017 he has been included in the FourFourTwo list of the 100 all-time greatest players, at the 64th position.
NAME: Johannes Jacobus Neeskens
BIRTHDATE: 15/09/1951
BIRTHPLACE: Heemstede
NATIONALITY: Netherlands
HEIGHT: 178 cm
POSITION: Midfielder
Nickname: Johan II, El Toro
LEAGUE STATS:
RCH (68/1)
1968/69 Eerste Divisie (34/0) 11th
1969/70 Eerste Divisie (34/1) 17th
Ajax (124/33)
1970/71 Eredivisie (33/0) 2nd
1971/72 Eredivisie (28/10) 1st
1972/73 Eredivisie (32/7) 1st
1973/74 Eredivisie (31/14) 3rd
Barcelona (140/35)
1974/75 La Liga (27/7) 3rd
1975/76 La Liga (32/12) 2nd
1976/77 La Liga (33/8) 2nd
1977/78 La Liga (18/2) 2nd
1978/79 La Liga (30/6) 5th
New York Cosmos (94/17)
1979 NASL (13/4) SF
1980 NASL (17/4) W
1981 NASL (6/2) RU
1982 NASL (17/0) W
1983 NASL (23/2) QF
1984 NASL (18/5) GS
Groningen
1984/85 Eredivisie (7/0) 5th
South Florida Sun
1985 USL (1/1) W
1987/90 Baar
1990/91 Zug
INTERNATIONAL CUPS:
Ajax
1970/71 European Cup (9/2) W
1971/72 European Cup (8/0) W
1972/73 Intercontinental Cup (2/1) W
1972/73 UEFA Super Cup (1/0)
1972/73 European Cup (7/0) W
1973/74 UEFA Super Cup (2/0) W
1973/74 European Cup (2/0) R2
Barcelona
1974/75 European Cup (7/1) SF
1975/76 UEFA Cup (9/6) SF
1976/77 UEFA Cup (8/1) QF
1977/78 UEFA Cup (7/1) SF
1978/79 Cup Winners’ Cup (9/0) W
NATIONAL TEAM: NETHERLANDS (49/17)
1974 FIFA World Cup (7/5) RU
1976 UEFA European Champ. (1/0) 3rd
1978 FIFA World Cup (5/0) RU
HONOURS:
Ajax
1970/71 Eredivisie runner-up
1970/71 KNVB Beker
1970/71 European Cup
1971/72 Eredivisie
1971/72 KNVB Beker
1971/72 European Cup
1972/73 Intercontinental Cup
1972/73 UEFA Super Cup
1972/73 Eredivisie
1972/73 European Cup
1973/74 UEFA Super Cup
Barcelona
1975/76 La Liga runner-up
1976/77 La Liga runner-up
1977/78 La Liga runner-up
1977/78 Copa del Rey
1978/79 Cup Winners’ Cup
New York Cosmos
1980 NASL
1981 NASL runner-up
1982 NASL
South Florida Sun
1985 United Soccer League
Netherlands
1974 FIFA World Cup runner-up
1978 FIFA World Cup runner-up
INDIVIDUAL:
1971/72 IOC European Footballer of the Season
1974 FIFA World Cup Silver Boot
1974 FIFA World Cup All-Star Team
1975/76 Don Balón Award (Foreign Player)
1979 NASL All-Stars First Team
1980 NASL All-Stars Second Team
1982 NASL All-Stars Second Team
1984 NASL All-Stars First Team
2020 Ballon d’Or Dream Team (Bronze)
FIFA 100
MOST MEMORABLE MATCHES:
1971 European Cup: Ajax 2-0 Panathinaikos
1972 European Cup: Ajax 2-0 Inter
1972 Intercontinental Cup: Ajax 3-0 Independiente
1973 European Cup: Ajax 1-0 Juventus
1973 UEFA Super Cup: Ajax 6-0 Milan
1979 Cup Winners’ Cup final: Barcelona 4-3 (aet) Fortuna D.
