By Victor Kanayo
Netherlands international Johan Neeskens who scored the fastest FIFA World Cup final goal is no more.
Aged 73, Neeskens passage on Monday was confirmed by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) in a statement.
Part of the statement reads, “The world not only says goodbye to a gifted sportsman but above all, to a compassionate, driven and wonderful person.”
It said Neeskens fell ill while working with the KNVB’s World Coaches project, for which he was an ambassador, in Algeria, though the cause of his death has not yet been revealed.
Deluge Of Achievements
He achieved the feat in the 1974 final match when he converted a penalty kick for The Netherlands against West Germany after 90 seconds of kick-off.
At the time, no West German player had even touched the ball! Neeskens was a midfielder and was considered as one of the bests of his generation.
He was part of the Dutch sides that lost the 1974 and 1978 World Cup finals and in 2004 was named one of the 125 Greatest Living Footballers by FIFA.
He won 49 caps for his country.
A former box-to-box midfielder who was renowned for his stamina, grit and skill, Neeskens spent majority of his playing career at Ajax Amsterdam, where he won the European Cup three seasons in a row between 1971-73, and at Barcelona, at both clubs alongside compatriot Johan Cruyff.
After retirement he was an assistant coach for the Dutch national team at the 1998 World Cup as they finished fourth, and later worked under Frank Rijkaard at Barcelona, before he managed South African club Mamelodi Sundowns, till 2012.
From 2012 till he died, nothing much was heard of him.
