(CNN) Johan Cruyff, the man credited with helping reinvent modern soccer, has died aged 68.
The former player and manager of Spanish giants Barcelona and the Netherlands’ most successful club Ajax, had been battling lung cancer.
One of the world’s greatest ever footballers, Cruyff’s Dutch team finished runners up in the 1974 World Cup playing a revolutionary style of soccer that was dubbed “total football.”
A statement on his official website read: “On March 24 2016 Johan Cruyff died peacefully in Barcelona, surrounded by his family after a hard fought battle with cancer.
“It’s with great sadness that we ask you to respect the family’s privacy during their time of grief.”