Cruyff broke the hearts of the Dutch nation when he opted not to play in the 1978 world cup which Holland lost in the final. To this day, people believe that had Cruyff played, the Dutch would have won the world cup.
For many years it was rumoured that he refused to play due to money issues, some say he refused to play because he was against the brutal Argentine dictatorship that was hosting the world cup and using it for propaganda purposes. A few years back he finally told the story saying that after his house was broken into and his family tied with ropes, he was not in the right frame of mind to play football.
Shame it is. I think the Dutch would have won the WC had he played. They have never come close to winning again.
Aside from winning many titles as a player, Cruyff also won the European cup with Ajax and then with Barcelona. It was he who discovered and groomed Marco Van Basten whose style was very similar to Cruyff.