Ajax to name home stadium Amsterdam Arena after Johan Cruyff

On the day Johan Cruyff would have turned 70, his home city has agreed to name Ajax's stadium after the Dutch football great.

AMSTERDAM (AP) – On the day Johan Cruyff would have turned 70, his home city has agreed to name Ajax's stadium after the Dutch football great.

Amsterdam Municipality says it has agreed with the stadium and Ajax to change the name of the Amsterdam Arena to the Johan Cruijff Arena–using the Dutch spelling of the Ajax and Barcelona star, who died last year.

Ajax, the stadium's board and Amsterdam say they ''want to pay a worthy tribute to the best footballer Amsterdam and the Netherlands have ever known.''

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The agreement announced Tuesday is expected to be finalized within six months.

Born in Amsterdam, Cruyff was the mercurial driving force behind Ajax and Dutch ''total football'' in the early 1970s. He went on to become a highly successful player and coach at Barcelona.