Barcelona city awards Johan Cruyff its gold medal

Barcelona city awards Johan Cruyff its gold medal

The Barcelona city hall agreed this Friday to posthumously award the gold medal for sporting merit to the former FC Barcelona player and manager, Johan Cruyff.

Cruyff, who passed away on March 24, 2016, was honoured for being "a symbol of world football", committed to Barcelona and Catalunya, and for using sport as a tool for social inclusion.

Deputy Mayor Jaume Asens stated that the former Dutch international influenced the mentality of various generations of footballers through his style of play with Barça and recalled that over 70,000 people attended the memorial installed at Camp Nou in the days following his passing.

Asens pointed out that the arrival of Cruyff to Barcelona in 1973 provided "a breath of fresh air" amidst the "darkness of Francoism" and highlighted his commitment to democratic values.

Former Barcelona Mayor, Xavier Trias, said that awards such as the one to honour Cruyff served to recognise those people who are "reference points" for the city.

Trias described the Barça legend as "the maximum exponent of total football", and recalled that his arrival to the city generated a new enthusiasm and national pride in Catalunya.