Johan Cruyff, some other notable sports icons that fell to Cancer

Wilfred Agbonavbare
Agbonavbare played for New Nigeria Bank F.C. and BCC Lions FC. In 1990 he moved to Spain where he would spend the rest of his career, starting with Rayo Vallecano in Segunda División.
The former Nigeria goalkeeper, Wilfred Agbonavbare, passed away at a Spanish hospital, following a protracted battle with cancer. He was a member of Nigeria’s U-21 Mexico 1983 Flying Eagles, 1984 AFCON silver medalist and 1994 AFCON gold medalist.

Felix Okugbe
Former head of Sports, DAAR Communications and RAY Power, Felix Okugbe, was said to have died after battling with protracted cancer. He kicked the bucket on the 10th of October, 2015 at the Lagos State Teaching Hospital. The veteran sports journalist was the CEO of Mundial Sport International.
According to reports, Felix was hospitalized for a long time, although he was supported by close friends and family, he sadly gave up the battle and chose to rest peacefully. He was one of the top sports analysts to ever come out of Nigeria.

Sam Ojebode
Shooting Stars legend Sam Ojebode died at 68. The former board chairman of Shooting Stars gave up the ghost on Wednesday morning as a result of ‘Lung Cancer’ at the University College Hospital (UCH) Ibadan. He starred for Shooting Stars FC of Ibadan for several years and also captained the Ibadan team. Asides playing for Nigeria at the 1976 African Cup of Nations in Ethiopia, he was deputy skipper of the squad in Ethiopia but led the team on some occasions whenever substantive skipper Christian Chukwu was not on the field.

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Tito Vilanova
This former Barcelona coach died from throat cancer aged 45. Tito Vilanova, the coach who succeeded Pep Guardiola at Barcelona and won the Spanish league title in his only season in charge, died on a Friday after a long battle with throat cancer. Vilanova, who battled a recurring tumour in a saliva gland, first became ill in November 2011, while an assistant to Guardiola, and took a leave of absence after undergoing surgery. The soft-spoken Vilanova returned and took over from Guardiola the next season, when he led Barcelona to the Spanish league title with a record-equaling 100 points.
Vilanova had a second tumour removed in December 2012 and travelled to New York several times during the season to receive further treatment before returning to the sidelines. In April 2013 Vilanova said he felt fine and “had never thought about quitting”. He finished the season before suddenly being forced to resign following a relapse.

Johan Cruyff
The Netherlands footballing great died of cancer at the age of 68. Cruyff, who made his name as a forward with Ajax and Barcelona, was European footballer of the year three times. He was often refered to as the father of modern day football.
He won three consecutive European Cups with Ajax from 1971, coached Barcelona to their first European Cup triumph in 1992 and helped the Dutch reach the 1974 World Cup final, where they lost 2-1 to West Germany.

Notable Quotes from Johan Cruyff
Cruyff on himself:
“In a way, I’m probably immortal.”
“If I wanted you to understand it all, I would have explained it better.”
“Actually, I never make a mistake, because it takes a huge effort for me to make a mistake.”
“I don’t believe in God. In Spain, all 22 players cross themselves. If it works, the game is always going to be a tie.”

On football and his philosophy:
“Playing football is very simple, but playing simple football is the hardest thing there is.”
“Italians can’t win the game against you, but you can lose the game against the Italians.”
“Quality without results is pointless. Results without quality is boring.”
“It’s better to go down with your own vision than with someone else’s.”
“In my teams, the goalie is the first attacker and the striker the first defender.”
“There is only one ball, so you need to have it.”
“Why couldn’t you beat a richer club? I’ve never seen a bag of money score a goal.