Former Ajax and Barcelona star Johan Cruyff has died of lung cancer aged 68. Cruyff was the first player to win the Ballon d’Or three times, and the first manager to lead Barcelona to European glory in 1992.

Tonight, when I take charge of my son’s U16 football training, I will sit them down and talk about Johan Cruyff. Fortunately, thanks to the role the FIFA franchise plays in our children’s lives they will know who he is. What they won’t know is how great he was, the foundation he laid to allow the likes of Lionel Messi to flourish at Barcelona, or the role that cigarettes had in his life. Today, Johan Cruyff died of lung cancer. He was only 68-years of age.

The words will go in one ear and out of the other. The impact I hope to make in their young lives will vanish. Then I will stand on the touchline and watch as they perform Cruyff turns like they are turning on a tap, and I will understand the real legacy of an impact from one of the true legends of the game.

Cruyff was one of the greatest footballers ever to lace up a pair of boots. He played for seven clubs throughout a career spanning two decades. The first two were his home. He played for Ajax 240 times scoring 190 goals. He won three consecutive European Cups with the Dutch side from 1971.