Johan Cruyff touched by support after cancer diagnosis

Dutch great Johan Cruyff said the world of football had displayed its good side with the support shown to him since he revealed last week that he had been diagnosed with lung cancer

The Hague: Dutch great Johan Cruyff said the world of football had displayed its good side with the support shown to him since he revealed last week that he had been diagnosed with lung cancer.


Johan Cruyff. Pic/Getty Images 

Heartwarming feeling
"I am enormously proud of the appreciation shown in all the responses," Cruyff wrote in his column for the leading Dutch daily De Telegraaf.

The former Ajax and Barcelona star added that the affection that had been shown to him was "moving and heartwarming".

On Sunday, Barcelona players wore T-shirts bearing a message of support for Cruyff before their 3-1 win against Eibar at the Camp Nou.

The T-shirts were orange, the colour of the Dutch shirt that Cruyff wore with distinction in his playing days, including when he captained the Netherlands to the 1974 World Cup final.

In the Netherlands, a minute's silence was held in support of Cruyff and all cancer victims in the 14th minute — in reference to Cruyff's shirt number — of several matches.

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