Barça to name Miniestadi after Johan Cruyff
Barcelona President Bartomeu also announced that the club asked to change the name of a street to Calle Johan Cruyff. The family have given Barça his 1974 Balon D'Or.
Josep Maria Bartomeu, President of FC Barcelona, announced on Saturday that the new Miniestadi, home of Barcelona B, will be named after Johan Cruyff.
B Team stadium will honour Dutch icon
“It is the best way to engage ourselves with his legend”, Bartomeu said in a short announcement. Cruyff passed away just over a year ago. The club hope that the ‘Estadi Johan Cruyff’, which will have a capacity of 6000 seats, will be completed by the end of 2018. In Amsterdam, Cruyff's home city, there is hope that those in charge of the Ajax stadium will change it's name to remember one of its favourite sons.
This is not the only forthcoming commemoration of the superlative Dutchman. Bartomeu also announced that as part of the improvements to Barça’s facilities, the club will erect a statue of Cruyff, “the man that made us think everything was possible”.
Additionally, Vice-President Jordi Cardoner revealed that the club have made a request to the Barcelona city authorities to rename the street on which the club is headquartered, to Calle Johan Cruyff. Currently, Barça’s address is Calle Arístides Maillol. Cardoner also announced that the club museum, one of the most visited museums in the country, will open a special space dedicated to the former player and manager.
Difficult day for Cruyff family
Jordi Cruyff announced that the family will allow Barça to display the Balon D’Or that Cruyff won in 1974, as well as a Barcelona shirt from that same year.
“Yesterday was a difficult day for the family because of all the emotions that came together one year on from my father’s death, but the reaction of the people changed a day of sadness to a day of happiness.”
