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Barca coach Luis Enrique hails Cruyff legacy at memorial

March 30, 2016 11:00 IST

FC Barcelona's manager Luis Enrique along with players Andres Iniesta, Jordi Alba, Gerard Pique and Sergio Busquets attend a memorial service for Dutch soccer player late Johan Cruyff at Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, on Tuesday

IMAGE: FC Barcelona's manager Luis Enrique along with players Andres Iniesta, Jordi Alba, Gerard Pique and Sergio Busquets attend a memorial service for Dutch soccer player late Johan Cruyff at Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, on Tuesday. Photograph: Albert Gea/Getty Images

Barcelona coach Luis Enrique led tributes to the late Johan Cruyff in a memorial organised by the club on Tuesday and vowed to "continue copying and improving his style of attacking football".

The legend of 'Flying Dutchman' Johan Cruyff

Former Barcelona player and coach Cruyff passed away in the city last week aged 68, five months after being diagnosed with lung cancer.

The club also announced that players and supporters will honour Cruyff by unveiling the message "Thanks Johan" during Saturday's La Liga Clasico against Real Madrid.

A statement said: "Supporters will hold up a mosaic comprised of 90,000 paper cards occupying the entire stadium with the message 'Gràcies Johan', and the same message will be displayed on the shirt of the Barcelona players, as a one-off, in place of the world champions badge (for winning the 2015 Club World Cup)."

Dutchman Cruyff joined Barcelona from Ajax in 1973 and inspired the Catalan club to their first La Liga title in 14 years in his first season.

He had an even bigger impact on Barcelona after becoming coach in 1988, leading them to four consecutive league titles and engineering their first European Cup triumph in 1992.

A ragged football with a message saying 'Thanks Johan' in Catalan is left by football fans is seen amongst gifts and flowers as a tribute to late Dutch football star Johan Cruyff at a memorial service on Tuesday

IMAGE: A ragged football with a message saying 'Thanks Johan' in Catalan is left by football fans is seen amongst gifts and flowers as a tribute to late Dutch football star Johan Cruyff at a memorial service on Tuesday. Photograph: Alex Caparros/Getty Images

Surrounded by members of the current Barcelona side in the presidential box at the Nou Camp, and addressing the memorial in front of a portrait of Cruyff, Luis Enrique said: "To speak of Cruyff is to speak of football in its purest expression.

"He was someone who commanded respect. He became one of the best footballers of all time and as a coach he saw football in a different way, related it to a spectacle, and also won titles. It is a huge loss for the football world.

"He leaves a huge and important legacy and Barca will continue with his philosophy and try to continue copying and improving his style of attacking football. Now we have to support his family. We will always remember him."

In addition to the honours he amassed as a player and coach, Cruyff is remembered for imprinting a certain style of football on Barcelona and for the development of their La Masia academy, which has produced current players Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba.

Visitors and fans queue to pay tribute to late Dutch football star Johan Cruyff in a special condolence area set up at Camp Nou stadium

IMAGE: Visitors and fans queue to pay tribute to late Dutch football star Johan Cruyff in a special condolence area set up at Camp Nou stadium. Photograph: Alex Caparros/Getty Images

Barcelona's squad held a minute's silence before their first training session since the international break in memory of Cruyff, and then accompanied their coach to the Nou Camp for the final day of the memorial, which began on Saturday.

According to Barcelona's official Twitter feed, more than 50,000 people have visited the memorial.

Cruyff's son, Jordi, a former Barcelona midfielder, said: "It's incredible to see that he was such an inspiration for so many people. Not just for what he did in football but for who he was, with his special aura, his closeness, his warmth."

The seven surviving club presidents will attend Barcelona's game against Real at the Nou Camp on Saturday. 

Source: REUTERS
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