📍Akkerstraat 32, Amsterdam, Netherlands
1947 – 1959“I was born in Amsterdam in April 1947, the second son of Hermanus Cruijff and Petronella Draaijer, and I grew up in a ground-floor flat at Akkerstraat 32 in Betondorp, the Concrete Village, a garden suburb of workers' houses in Watergraafsmeer, on the eastern edge of the city. My parents ran a small greengrocer's shop from the house, and my father was a passionate Ajax supporter. The Ajax stadium, De Meer, was just five minutes' walk away, and it became my second home. I played football in the streets of Betondorp every day with my brother Henny and the other boys, using the kerbs and walls to bounce the ball, which taught me to control it in tight spaces. I was a thin, small, cheeky boy, and I spent hours at De Meer, helping the groundsmen and running errands, and I joined Ajax's youth ranks at ten in 1957. Then, in 1959, when I was twelve, my father died suddenly of a heart attack. It was a terrible blow; I often went to his grave and talked to him. My mother took a job cleaning at the Ajax club to support us, and later married Henk Angel, one of the groundsmen there, who became like a second father to me. I left school early to concentrate on football and made my debut for Ajax at seventeen. Together with Rinus Michels, I helped create Total Football, winning three European Cups with Ajax, and then a new style of play at Barcelona. My childhood home on Akkerstraat is still a family home, and a Cruyff Court for children now stands in Betondorp.”
🗺️ Approximate location today
📍 Street view today