NOS Voetbal•gisteren, 23:20
Football celebrities commemorate Neeskens in Zeist: ‘A wonderful person’
A hedge of football shirts from clubs where Johan Neeskens played or trained during his career illuminated the KNVB training center in Zeist. Many football celebrities, some of whom are still in a bad mood, reported on Monday evening for a memorial meeting for the former midfielder of Ajax and Oranje, who died at the beginning of this month.
At the feet of the statue of ‘De Nees’ in the garden in Zeist are flowers and wreaths from his old clubs. His death has been commemorated everywhere for two weeks. Completely justified, according to the guests in Zeist.
“A tribute to Johan Neeskens,” says Frank Rijkaard. “I think it’s great that it’s happening. He deserves this like no other.”
ANP Frank Rijkaard at the commemoration of Johan Neeskens in Zeist
Friends, acquaintances and other guests from the football world, about 160 in total, had traveled to Zeist. Not just Willem van Hanegem, Sjaak Swart and Jan Mulder. A delegation from Barcelona, where Neeskens was called ‘Johan Segundo’, had also come to the Netherlands.
“A wonderful person,” says Guus Hiddink, who was also present, who met Neeskens as an assistant coach at the Oranje at the 1998 World Cup.
Former football player Johan Neeskens (73) passed away
“He was an example for everyone. A very nice boy,” says Bert van Marwijk, who drove to the KNVB campus “with a very sad feeling”. Van Marwijk knew Neeskens from a long time ago.
“I can still see us coming here together. We were both sixteen, we came here together for the UEFA team. From that moment on we played all the teams together up to the Dutch national team. A great player on the field. We were all attracted to him. When things got nasty, he led the way. He was one of the greatest we had in the Netherlands.”
ANP shirts from clubs where Neeskens trained or played during his career
Neeskens was the great connecting player in the midfield of the Ajax and Orange teams that brought Dutch football to the status it has today in the 1970s.
Sjaak Swart, who considered Neeskens his son, is saddened by the number of players from that golden era who have died in recent years. “I’m a bit nervous because I’ve played with all those guys for years, and it hurts me a lot that a lot of them are missing.”
Grew up with Neeskens
Rijkaard, who was asked to say something during the commemoration, worked closely at FC Barcelona with Neeskens, who was in the dug-out as Rijkaard’s assistant in 2006. What do you say on an evening like this? That Neeskens could work well in a team, that he transferred his football knowledge to the group of players without any apologies.
And: “How I used to look up to him as a player of the golden generation. It was a privilege to work with him,” says Rijkaard. “We grew up with the golden generation. These were our heroes. Dutch football was put on the map by those people. And one of them was Johan Neeskens.”
A Tribute to Johan Neeskens: The Man, The Myth, The Legend
In the dank whispers of a chilly Zeist evening, friends, foes, and fans alike gathered not just to grieve but to celebrate a true bastion of Dutch football, Johan Neeskens. I mean, could you really think of a more fitting tribute than a hedge of football shirts illuminating the training center where the Netherlands’ best have honed their skills? It’s *so* Dutch—practical, heartfelt, and topped off with a good dose of nostalgia.
Neeskens, the man who graced the field like a ballet dancer with a hint of a bulldozer, passed away earlier this month at the age of 73. And if the number of flowers and wreaths at the ceremony was any indication, his legacy was certainly not wilting in the shadows. In attendance? A staggering 160 football celebrities, some of whom still had that ‘bad mood’ hairstyle, brought together not just by their love for the game but by their adoration for Neeskens—the midfielder who made ‘connecting player’ sound far cooler than it actually is.
‘A Wonderful Person’
Frank Rijkaard, no stranger to accolades himself, stated, “A tribute to Johan Neeskens… He deserves this like no other.” High praise indeed! And as if the hair-gel-soaked praises wouldn’t end there, Guus Hiddink entered the stage with the line, “He was an example for everyone. A very nice boy.” Well, it’s nice to see someone in football being described that way. Usually, it’s more of a “brilliant, but has a questionable taste in tattoos” vibe.
Bert van Marwijk couldn’t help but flashback to simpler times—the kind where you walked hand-in-hand with your mates towards greatness and there were no smartphones to distract you. He recalled coming to the KNVB campus at age sixteen, sharing dreams and, well, probably sharing a lot of hair gel too. Somehow, it feels like Neeskens led them through bad times and good, cementing not just the Netherlands’ status in football but friendship bonds stronger than your average coach’s scolding.
Celebrating the Legacy
Throughout a career that ignited Ajax and the Oranje during the golden years of the 1970s, Neeskens was the yarn binding this legendary fabric of Dutch football. It was Sjaak Swart—the father figure he never had—who poignantly remarked on the somber reality of losing so many peers from that illustrious era. Let’s face it, folks; every time one of these legends leaves us, football gets just a bit lighter. And with Neeskens gone, it’s almost as if we’re playing with a handicap now.
As Rijkaard emotionally recounted the privilege of working with Neeskens at FC Barcelona, you could almost hear the collective sigh of nostalgia from the crowd. “We grew up with the golden generation,” he mused, a sentiment that resonates louder than a referee’s whistle after a blatant dive. Neeskens wasn’t merely a player; he was a torchbearer, illuminating the football world with a glow unmistakably rooted in passion and skill.
Final Thoughts
So, let’s pull up a chair and toast to Johan Neeskens. An indelible mark on football, a luminous legacy that goes beyond the turf. After all, it’s not every day you get to say goodbye to a footballing giant surrounded by those who understood the heart of the game he loved. And remember: once a legend, always a legend.
