Johan Cruyff Oranje nr 14 Art Print

Realistic acrylic painting of The Legendary Dutch former soccer player and trainer Johan Cruyff, painted by the Dutch fine artist Paul Meijering - The Original painting is 120 x 90 cm and for sale

Johan Cruyff, is a former Dutch professional footballer and manager, who most recently managed the Catalonia football team. As a player he won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1971, 1973 and 1974, a record jointly held with French playmaker Michel Platini and Dutch striker Marco van Basten.

Cruyff was one of the most famous exponents of the football philosophy known as Total Football explored by Rinus Michels, and is widely regarded to be one of the greatest players in football history. In the 1970s, Dutch football rose from near obscurity to become a powerhouse in the sport. Cruyff led the Netherlands to the final of the 1974 FIFA World Cup and received the Golden Ball as player of the tournament.

For almost 33 years now, Paul Meijering has been active with the paint brushes. As a 17- year old inspired youngster he joined the Academy of Arts in Enschede (Holland) in order to receive a native training in drawing- and painting technique. At that time (1980) the tendency of the abstract was running riot, and to his dismay and disappointment Paul found that the trade of the ancient masters was merely 'old hat', the realistic art being disregarded and looked down upon. After two years of useless botchery, there was only one conclusion to draw: "get autodidact, be a self-taught person!" Paul then left the academy to work for a living, but at the back of his mind there always loomed the passion of his life: to paint. At his spare time...