{"id":1090109,"date":"2023-04-17T19:20:14","date_gmt":"2023-04-17T18:20:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?p=1090109"},"modified":"2023-04-17T19:27:13","modified_gmt":"2023-04-17T18:27:13","slug":"johan-cruyff-trophy-winners","status":"publish","type":"cult-corner","link":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/cult-corner\/johan-cruyff-trophy-winners\/","title":{"rendered":"Every Johan Cruyff Award winner, and what happened next"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Netherlands went to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar with 12 players aged 25 or under from their 26-man squad.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Indeed, Oranje<\/em> have always been good at producing young talent, so their choice to favour youth on the Persian Gulf didn’t come as a surprise to anyone. But, what is interesting is that six of their squad had also won the prestigious Johan Cruyff Award since its rebranding in 2003.<\/p>\n

For those who don’t know, the Johan Cruyff Award is given to the talent of the year in the Eredivisie as recognition of their performance across a season. But that isn’t all, as the winner also has the opportunity to build a “Cruyff Court” in an area of their choosing to make exercise and sport more easily accessible for youngsters.<\/p>\n

Now, there are no nationality requirements for the Johan Cruyff Award which means that it is open to more than just Dutchman and we have seen a number of foreign winners over the years. But the list is dominated by Dutch stars.<\/p>\n

Jurrien Timber is the most recent recipient of the Award, collecting it for his 2021\/22 campaign with Ajax, and the centre-back was a near ever-present for his nation at the World Cup, appearing in all but one game as Oranje<\/em> reached the quarter-finals.<\/p>\n

Across the years, some Johan Cruyff Award winners have gone on to great heights, while others have faltered under the weight of expectation.<\/p>\n

With that in mind, what happened to every winner of the Johan Cruyff Trophy?<\/p>\n

Arjen Robben (2003)<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Club:<\/strong> PSV Eindhoven<\/p>\n

After his meteoric rise to prominence with\u00a0Groningen and later PSV – which brought about an\u00a0Eredivisie title – Robben relocated to west London in 2004, where two\u00a0Premier League titles followed him with Chelsea, before Real Madrid prised him to the Bernabeu three years later.<\/p>\n

Bayern Munich followed next, completing his immaculate CV, and he’d go on to form one of the continent’s most devastating wing-partnerships with Franck Ribery.<\/p>\n

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Servus & Danke! ?\u26aa\ufe0f\u00a0@ArjenRobben<\/a> @FranckRibery<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/s1HBRF57xo<\/a><\/p>\n

— FC Bayern M\u00fcnchen (@FCBayern) May 18, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n