5 legendary Dutch players who found success back in the Netherlands

#1 Johan Cruyff (Ajax and Feyenoord)

Cruyff in action for Feyenoord

The undisputed greatest Dutch player of all time, Cruyff is perhaps only behind Lionel Messi, Pele, and Diego Maradona on the list of the best footballers ever to play the sport. An incredible player and a great coach too, Cruyff's mark is all over modern football (Pep Guardiola counts him as his inspiration).

Focusing on his playing career, Cruyff began his career at Ajax and helped to transform the Amsterdam outfit into European powerhouses. He won 6 Eredivisie titles during his first spell at the club but it was the team's achievements in European club competition that really put them on the map: Cruyff and Ajax would win the European Cup 3 seasons in a row from 1971 to 1973, and he and coach Rinus Michels were hailed for their invention of Total Football as their team played some of the most fluid and pleasing attacking football ever to grace a football pitch.

Cruyff scored 190 league goals during this time, despite not playing as the main forward, and was sold in 1973 for a world record transfer fee to Barcelona. His star propelled the club to win their first La Liga since 1960 but Cruyff would only add a Copa del Rey title in 1978 to this, a startlingly poor return for a player of his talents.

At 31, Cruyff shockingly considered retirement but instead travelled to the United States to play, increasing the image of the unheralded sport in the country massively. He played 2 seasons there, for Los Angeles Aztecs and Washington Diplomats respectively, then suffered a bad spell in the Segunda Division with Levante, before journeying home to his beloved Ajax.

Cruyff soon put the years in the wilderness behind him, scoring a decent 7 goals in both campaigns as Ajax won the league title in 1982 and 1983. What happened next is legendary in Dutch football: having been angered at not being offered a new contract by Ajax, Cruyff responded by joining their arch-rivals Feyenoord, where he duly helped them to wrestle the league title from their foes.

Cruyff scored 11 league goals and won the Dutch footballer of the year award for the 5th time, all done at the incredible age of 36. There are few players who could be remembered fondly by both Ajax and Feyenoord, but Cruyff was a special talent, one embraced by all those involved in Dutch football.