Johan Neeskens, who scored the first-minute penalty to put the Netherlands ahead in the 1974 World Cup final against West Germany, has died at the age of 73.

Neeskens was taken ill while working for the Dutch football association’s WorldCoaches programme in Algeria. The KNVB said in a statement that he died on October 6 after medical intervention was unable to save him.

A midfielder with Ajax and Barcelona, Neeskens was renowned for his ferocious shooting and equally ferocious tackling, as well as his stamina and versatility. Ajax team-mate Sjaak Swart once said he was “worth two men in midfield”.

He moved to Barcelona in 1974 after winning three European Cups with Ajax, shadowing Johan Cruyff and earning himself the nickname Johan Segundo (Johan the second).

But he was far from a second fiddle, playing in two World Cup finals for the Netherlands and scoring 17 international goals in 49 appearances.

Early penalty

His penalty in the first minute of the 1974 final in Munich was famously scored before a single German player had touched the ball, but Oranje eventually lost the match 2-1. Neeskens was also in the team that lost the 1978 final 3-1 to another host nation, Argentina.

After five years at Barcelona Neeskens followed in Cruyff’s footsteps again, this time to the United States where he spent five seasons with the New York Cosmos. He finished his career in Switzerland, which became his home for the rest of his life.

He spent the second part of his career as a coach, working as Guus Hiddink’s assistant in the Dutch team that reached the semi-finals of the 1998 World Cup.

Two years later he took charge of NEC Nijmegen, leading them to their first European appearances in 20 years in 2003, but the following year he was sacked for poor results.

Neeskens looked back at the 1974 World Cup with pride when he and other surviving members of the squad attended a friendly international against Germany in March this year.

“Even if you finish second, you can still win over the world with the way you play,” he said. “That was our legacy, the fact that people still talk about it today. We should be proud of that.”