Football fans share emotional tributes to legend Johan Cruyff

The football world was stunned today by the news that legendary Dutch footballer Johan Cruyff had passed away.

Dutch publications reported that Cruyff had died following a battle with cancer. He was 68 years of age. Cruyff is regarded by many to be one of the most influential figures in footballing history. A three-time Ballon D'Or winner, he won three consecutive European Cups with Ajax as a player, before managing Barcelona to their first European Cup in 1992. Cruyff, along with mentor Rinus Michels, pioneered the "Total Football" theory of football, where a team would boast a balanced side of players capable of easily swapping position at will. He is called by many a footballing philosopher, behind much of Ajax's and Barcelona current play. He also gave us the Cruyff turn - an excellent way to get out of a tricky bind, not to mention make a defender look silly. via GIPHY Football fans from around the world have started to mourn the great man on social media. https://twitter.com/Hari_Sethi/status/712982428885843968 https://twitter.com/Okwonga/status/712980856361652224 https://twitter.com/stan_chow/status/712980712127913985 https://twitter.com/samuelluckhurst/status/712980839009816576 https://twitter.com/CPFC/status/712987719643893760 Cruyff's son Jordi posted this lovely tribute to his dad last weekend. https://twitter.com/JordiCruyff/status/711222649381326849 RIP Johan.