Four thousand kids in Catalonia take part in Cruyff Foundation programs that use football to promote communal harmony.
Children celebrate the social legacy of FC Barcelona star Johan Cruyff beside his wife, Dani Cruyff, and FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta.
Children celebrate the social legacy of the Barça icon beside Joan Laporta, president of FC Barcelona, and Johan Cruyff’s wife, Dani Cruyff / Lorcan Doherty
There is no denying Johan Cruyff’s impact on the pitch as a Barça icon. The success and fashion of the men’s and women’s teams in recent years and decades bears witness to his footballing philosophy.
However, the Cruyff Foundation and FC Barcelona Foundation honoured Cruyff’s social impact on Wednesday during an event held at a special school in Barcelona, ahead of the eighth anniversary of his death on March 24.
The two foundations are collaborating to promote social integration through football, with a focus on the most disadvantaged children. They have worked together on initiatives in Catalonia for twenty years.
At the La Segrera special school, hundreds of eager youngsters gathered to honour the Dutch star, hear his voice again over loudspeakers, and play football alongside club president Joan Laporta, the foundation directors, and Johan’s wife Dani.
The football game was played on the school’s Cruyff Court, a little artificial grass field that was created as a result of the school and the Cruyff Foundation’s 2011 partnership.
A 6 vs 6 competition for kids in the neighbourhood takes place on the Cruyff Court as part of the ‘Salid y disfrutad’ initiative. The program is named after Cruyff’s renowned advice to the Barça players as manager as they took to the Wembley pitch in anticipation of winning their first-ever European Cup in 1992: “Go out there and enjoy yourselves.”
“The most fitting way to honour him”
The “best way to remember” Cruyff, according to Laporta, was the football game held in a school that specialises in assisting kids who are falling behind their classmates.
“He is still with us. He is very much with us in our memories, in our conversations about him, and in our get-togethers on days like this one.”
“Sport as a tool of solidarity” was Cruyff’s belief, the president of FC Barcelona continued.
Cruyff’s social impact, according to Pati Roura, head of the Cruyff Foundation, is that “boys and girls can continue to enjoy sport, as is their right.”
Cruyff “believed in the value of sport” to benefit all youngsters, regardless of their financial condition or any disability, according to Marta Segú, director of the FC Barcelona Foundation.
Segú stated that initiatives such as Cruyff Courts and ‘Salid y disfrutad’ in schools with diverse social compositions demonstrated this clearly.
Cruyff’s remarks reverberate
Despite the fact that all three presenters mentioned Cruyff’s preference for deeds over words, there was a recording of him at the occasion stating that football may be an integration tool.
“Young people should be allowed to enjoy their youth. Since there is a lot of immigration and adaption in today’s world, playing football makes integrating much simpler.”
Due to his adoption of Total Football, Cruyff—a legend for Ajax, the Netherlands, and Barça—is recognised as one of the greatest football players of all time as well as one of the game’s most important managers.
As a player, he is credited with leading Barça to their first league win in 14 years. Later, as manager, he led the squad to four consecutive league titles and its first European Cup. He passed away in Barcelona on March 24, 2016.