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Ajax win tribute match for Cruijff to keep the lead

Xinhua, April 4, 2016 Adjust font size:

After tributes by the Dutch national team and FC Barcelona Dutch league leaders Ajax said farewell to the late club legend Johan Cruijff on Sunday with a 3-0 win over PEC Zwolle in Amsterdam.

Before the match thousands fans held a commemoration march for Cruijff, who passed away at the age of 68 on March 24 in Barcelona. The memorial trip went from the location of former Ajax stadium De Meer in Amsterdam East, past Cruijff's birthplace in the Betondorp neighborhood, near the former stadium, to the new stadium, the Amsterdam Arena, already renamed Johan Cruijff stadium by many fans.

The Ajax players wore black armbands and a special Johan Cruijff badge on their shirt. In the center circle of the field a major Ajax shirt with number 14 was rolled out, besides large shirts of FC Barcelona and the Dutch national team. Just like before all other matches in Dutch professional football this weekend one minute of silence was held to commemorate the national icon.

All 50,000 fans in Amsterdam were involved in a special choreography to create the text Johan Cruijff, 1947-2016. In addition, on the big screens and boarding the death of Cruijff was the only theme. Jordi Cruijff, his only son, was present at the Arena in memory of his father, after his attendance at Barcelona's Camp Nou stadium on Saturday.

Unlike the Dutch national team, which lost 3-2 to France on March 25, and FC Barcelona, which were beaten 2-1 by Real Madrid on Saturday, Ajax won the tribute match against PEC Zwolle. Lasse Schone headed in after just two minutes and after a standing ovation for Cruijff in the 14th minute, Arek Milik added two more goals to make it 3-0 before half-time. In the second half both teams failed to score.

The win meant Ajax stayed in pole-position to capture the Dutch title. With five match rounds remaining the Amsterdam based giants are two points ahead of PSV, which beat AZ 4-2 on Saturday. Feyenoord, which defeated Excelsior 3-0 on Saturday, are third, 19 points behind the league leaders. Endi