Johan Neeskens – Central Midfielder
The Netherlands team from 1974 to 1978 was considered to be one of the greatest teams of all time and they were the pioneers of ‘total football’.
His first name was Johan, but his last name wasn’t Cryuff, rather Neeskens. Johan Neeskens was Holland’s one-man engine room, the man without whom Total football might have just been a dream. While there have been players who played the role he did before, it was Neeskens who gave birth to the modern box-to-box midfielder.
A tireless runner and an aggressive presser, he was the heartbeat of the Total football that Ajax and Holland became famous for. Tackling, intercepting, passing, dribbling or finishing, you name it, Neeskens could do it. Neeskens was one of the key reasons for Cruyff’s success.
Neeskens and this legendary Netherlands team suffered heartbreak throughout in their international career when they finished runner-up in the 1974 and 1978 World Cups and only came third in the 1976 Euros. This Netherlands squad was probably the greatest team ever to never win a major trophy.