Spalletti: Cruyff taught us a lot

“It's tremendously sad, but even though I never met him in person you can immediately tell that he was a legend in life as well as in sport. I think it's easy to speak about him in the sense that he truly was a modern footballer for his era.

“You just need to watch how quickly he did things and at what quality. That's what put him years ahead of his peers from the moment he began to attract attention for his ability.

“I remember one of his famous phrases: 'Anyone can play football if you give them five metres of space'. That gave you an insight into his approach – to find pockets of space even in tight areas and move the ball.

“Cruyff was the beating heart of that Dutch team. He was also a superb coach, since he won the Champions League. Nowadays, we like to play around with the idea of the 'false nine'. You could say he had all the necessary qualities for that position. Cruyff was a false nine because he'd play up front, then he'd pop up on the left wing and he'd also drop beneath the halfway line to pick up the ball and start moves.

“He taught us a lot and we should be grateful to him for the rest of our lives, and not only for what he achieved in his.”