He Smoked 80 Cigarettes a Day — Then Died at 68 | Johan Cruyff’s Final Battle

On February 21st, 1991, a 44-year-old man collapsed in the streets of Barcelona. He was rushed to the hospital, given emergency double bypass surgery, and told by his doctor: if you ever smoke another cigarette, you will die. His father had died of the same thing at 45. So he quit. Completely. He lived another 25 clean, careful years, built a foundation for children, and shaped the entire future of Spanish football. And then, one quiet October morning in 2015, at the age of 68, his doctors told him he had lung cancer anyway. His name was Johan Cruyff. He was the greatest European footballer of his generation. The father of Total Football. The prophet of Betondorp. Number 14. The man who invented the modern Barcelona. And this is the story of the two things that shaped his whole life — the father he lost at twelve, and the cigarette he could never quite get rid of, even after he stopped smoking it. ⚽ Watch to the end. Drop one word — "Cruyff" — in the comments if you remember. I read every single one. #JohanCruyff #Cruyff #TotalFootball #Ajax #Barcelona #Netherlands #LaMasia #Number14 #DreamTeam #DutchFootball #WorldCup1974 #Betondorp #FootballLegends #SoccerHistory #ElSalvador