Barcelona pay tribute to former player and manager Johan Cruyff

By PA Sport

Image: A Barcelona football team logo marked with a black sash is pictured at Camp Nou stadium

Thousands of fans mourning the death of Johan Cruyff have paid their respects to the former player and coach at a temporary memorial in Barcelona's Camp Nou Stadium.

The Spanish club said that over 5,000 fans passed through the memorial by 1:30 pm local time on Saturday. It will remain open through Tuesday, when Barcelona's players will attend after returning from international competition.

Dutch legend Cruyff dies

Dutch legend Johan Cruyff has died after a long battle with lung cancer at the age of 68

Attendees could sign a book of condolences and file past a large photo of the Dutch great inside the stadium lobby. The photo was flanked by club and Catalonia flags and rose bouquets.

Image: A FC Barcelona's football fan pays tribute to late Dutch football star Johan Cruyff in a special condolence area set up at Camp Nou stadium

Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu inaugurated the memorial Saturday morning for the "maestro" who "changed our club."

"These are sad, very sad days for the world of Barcelona and also for the world of football," Bartomeu said.

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Image: Real Madrid's president Florentino Perez (R) and FC Barcelona's president Josep Maria Bartomeu (L) arrive

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez and Catalonia's regional president Carles Puigdemont paid their respects along with fans.

Some fans left scarves, flowers and lollipops which Cruyff ate as a manager after stopping smoking following heart surgery in 1991.

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Image: Flowers, scarves, flags, a book, lollipops and messages displayed by fans lay where they tribute to the late Dutch football star

Bartomeu said that the book of condolences will be given to Cruyff's family.

After winning three consecutive European Cups with Ajax, Cruyff joined Barcelona mid-season in 1973 and led the middle-of-the-table team to its first national title in a decade.

Image: Football fans queue to pay tribute to late Dutch football star Johan Cruyff in a special condolence area set up at Camp Nou stadium

He later returned as a coach and guided Barcelona to four consecutive Spanish leagues from 1991-94 and the club's first European Cup in 1992.

Barcelona considers Cruyff the mastermind of its signature passing-based attack that has made it the world's dominant team for the past decade.

Bartomeu and seven former presidents wrote in a public letter that the "professional and personal footprint he left at our club is enormous."

Cruyff died Thursday of lung cancer.

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