Johan Cruyff: Minute's applause held for Dutch football icon during Netherlands vs France

The friendly between the Netherlands and France on 25 March was halted for a minute's applause in the 14th minute as tribute to Johan Cruyff, the legendary Dutch footballer who had died the previous day.

The rare mid-game stoppage occurred in the 14th minute to symbolise Dutch legend Cruyff's shirt number throughout his career with Ajax, Barcelona and the Netherlands national team. The friendly match saw France emerge 3-2 winners.

The teams also observed a minute's silence before kick-off in respect to the victims of the Brussels attacks, in which 31 people were killed and over 300 injured in suicide bomb blasts at Zaventem airport and Maelbeek metro station on 22 March.

Cruyff died on March 24 aged 68 after a five-month battle with lung cancer. He was widely considered to be among the finest players to have graced the game and is often compared with Pele and Diego Maradona.

He was voted three times winner of the prestigious Ballon d'Or award and inspired his first club Ajax Amsterdam to win three successive European Cups between 1971-73. He would go on to have a successful career at Barcelona as both player and manager, leading the club to a first ever European Cup while head coach in 1992.

Primarily a forward, his ability to move all over the pitch to where he could be most effective led to him embodying the Total Football style of fluid positional play adopted by the Netherlands national team throughout the 1970s. The success of this system saw the Netherlands reach the final of both the 1974 and 1978 World Cups, losing to West Germany and Argentina respectively.