Ajax unveil statue of club legend Johan Cruyff outside Johan Cruyff Arena, fans delighted

The late Johan Cruyff was central to Ajax’s domination of European football in the 1970s and is, in every sense of the word, a club legend. The iconic Dutchman played an integral role as he brought Dutch football to the forefront and made Ajax a powerhouse in Europe. In his honour, a statue of Johan Cruyff was inaugurated outside Ajax’s stadium, the Johan Cruyff Arena on Friday afternoon.

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Ajax news: Johan Cruyff statue unveiled

The Johan Cruyff statute was unveiled by another Ajax legend, Frank Rijkaard, and a delegation of Ajax supporters. The life-sized bronze statue has been placed right outside the main entrance of the Johan Cruyff Arena. The Johan Cruyff statue was made possible via a fundraising campaign run on behalf of the Ajax Supporters Delegation, with artist Hans Jouta designing the likeness.

Jouta is also credited with creating the statue of Bobby Haarms which is placed outside the Johan Cruyff Arena. In a lightning-quick fundraising campaign, Ajax supporters managed to raise €75,000 within 3 months for the Johan Cruyff statue. The Johan Cruyff statue has been designed in such a way that it sees Johan Cruyff travelling with the ball at his feet, with the iconic number 14 on his back visible as well. In honour of Johan Cruyff, Ajax had earlier retired the number 14 shirt.

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Fans and footballers react to the Johan Cruyff statue unveiling

After the inauguration of the statue, Ajax took to social media to share pictures of the bronze likeness outside the Johan Cruyff Arena. The club also shared a video of Frank Rijkaard speaking at the inauguration ceremony. Following the reveal, several members of the football fraternity paid their tribute to the legendary Dutchman's statue.

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Edwin van der Sar took to Twitter to share his excitement at seeing the statue outside the Johan Cruyff Arena. The former goalkeeper thanked all the fans who made the creation of the statue possible, concluding that the statue now makes the Johan Cruyff Arena an even more special place to be. Johan Cruyff’s son Jordi also shared a video with the sculptor of the statue, thanking all the fans on behalf of the Cruyff family for the lovely gesture. Even Barcelona took to social media to praise Ajax for the Johan Cruyff Statue. Notably, Barcelona had unveiled a Johan Cruyff statue of their own outside Camp Nou last year.

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Several fans also expressed their delight at seeing the iconic statue. Fans compared the club legend to god, saying that it was about time Ajax made a statute for Johan Cruyff. Others also reacted to the statue’s resemblance to the player, praising it for its design.

Image Courtesy: Twitter/afcajax