Auke Kok is a historian, writer, journalist and columnist. He has written several bestsellers in the Netherlands and has been nominated for and won a number of prizes, with his most recent book, 1936. We went to Berlin, named Sports Book of the Year 2017. Like the ‘total football’ of the heroes of Dutch team who reached the World Cup final in 1974, he is often called a ‘total writer’, regarded by Kok as the best possible compliment.

'This terrific biography... Since his death, [Cruyff's] status had grown to that of a demi-god in both Amsterdam and Barcelona, but as Auke Kok’s well-researched, well-written book reveals, he was troubled and sulphurous, too. Kok is one of the Netherlands’ most respected journalists, and his Cruyff emerges as a vulnerable, isolated and often tragic figure... Kok provides any number of revealing insights into his original thinking and methods.'

Auke Kok is a historian, writer, journalist and columnist. He has written several bestsellers in the Netherlands and has been nominated for and won a number of prizes, with his most recent book, 1936. We went to Berlin, named Sports Book of the Year 2017. Like the ‘total football’ of the heroes of Dutch team who reached the World Cup final in 1974, he is often called a ‘total writer’, regarded by Kok as the best possible compliment.

'This terrific biography... Since his death, [Cruyff's] status had grown to that of a demi-god in both Amsterdam and Barcelona, but as Auke Kok’s well-researched, well-written book reveals, he was troubled and sulphurous, too. Kok is one of the Netherlands’ most respected journalists, and his Cruyff emerges as a vulnerable, isolated and often tragic figure... Kok provides any number of revealing insights into his original thinking and methods.'