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Barcelona's Nou Camp could be renamed as Catalan giants mull over how to mark Dutch icon's passing

29 March 2016 [11:40] - TODAY.AZ

Barcelona's board of directors will meet on Tuesday to discuss the initiatives that could take place by the club to pay posthumous tribute to the great Johan Cruyff, who died last week, according to Daily Mail.


According to Catalan sport daily, Sport, a 'thundering cry' from the Blaugrana faithful is for the famous Nou Camp to be renamed after the Dutch icon who lit it up the stadium as both a player and manager.


Cruyff died of cancer at the age of 68 on Thursday, having won La Liga and Copa del Rey on the pitch with Barca, before collecting a series of titles as boss, including the European Cup in 1992.


Barcelona are conscious that they need to propose an action which pays suitable homage to the lifetime commitment Cruyff gave to the club, and president Josep Maria Bartomeu and his fellow directors will meet with the legend's family to decide the acts of tribute.


Cruyff's son, Jordi, who - like his father - played for Barca and Holland, met with the club's vice president Jordi Cardoner to begin to assess the situation on Sunday.


And a strong ratio of Barca's fans have backed the renaming of their stadium, with 65 percent, about 8,000 participants, advocating the move in a survey on Sport's website.


That suggestion to honour Cruyff fell well above other initiatives such as erecting a statue at the entrance of the Nou Camp, retiring his famous No 14 shirt number, chanting his name in the 14th minute of every game and merely putting his name on the No 14 door at the ground - all viewed as disproportionate tributes to the legacy he leaves.


Indeed, in a second Sport survey, 'yes' was also the majority vote to the direct question of whether the Nou Camp should be renamed Johan Cruyff Stadium, with almost 60 percent of Catalans believing that would be the best way to pay homage to the Dutchman.


The ultimate decision is sure to be the most momentous that Barca's directive will have to take in the near future, especially for Bartomeu, who assumed his presidency office in January 2014.


/By Azertac/

URL: http://www.today.az/news/sports/149132.html

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