A Dutch soccer legend who made World Cup history played in KC in the 1980s
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Johan Neeskens scored the first penalty and fastest goal in a World Cup final in 1974.
- Neeskens played for Ajax, Barcelona, the New York Cosmos and then the Kansas City Comets.
- Neeskens joined the Comets at age 33 and appeared in just two dozen games.
One minute into the 1974 World Cup final in West Germany, Holland legend Johan Cruyff was fouled in the penalty area and history was about to be made.
Johan Neeskens stepped up and converted, setting two World Cup championship game records. It remains the fastest goal in a title game and the first penalty-kick goal.
Holland lost that final to West Germany, and then fell to host Argentina in the 1978 World Cup, a match also started by Neeskens.
Seven years later, Neeskens was playing in Kansas City for the Comets after six seasons with the legendary New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League. Soccer was still a fringe sport in 1985 following the demise of the NASL.
“I had never played indoor, and I wanted the challenge,” Neeskens told the Kansas City Times in 1985 about why he came to KC. “When I started with the Cosmos, the league was beginning, and was not as popular as it is now. Some other teams showed interest (Chicago and Dallas), but I decided on this club. A lot of fans go to see them. Promoting the game with kids is very important, and they work more with the community than others.”
Neeskens, who died in 2024, is still a legend in the annals of Netherlands soccer. Any list of the Best XI Dutch players in World Cup history includes Neeskens, who was a central midfielder for Holland’s “Total Football” teams.
In addition to starring for Holland’s national team, Neeskens played for Dutch side Ajax and won three European Championships. He later went to iconic Spainish Barcelona before coming to America.
“He was one of the world’s best players,” said Rick Benben, who was the Comets coach at the time. “He and (Johan) Cruyff were the two superstars of the Dutch at the time.”
The Neeskens signing was a feather in the cap for the Comets, who had never had a World Cup star on their roster. Ask Dutch fans of a certain age who are in Kansas City for Thursday’s 2026 World Cup match about Neeskens, and they are sure to rave about him.
“I can tell you, I was like a hero,” Neeskens told The Star in 1986. “When I go back to the streets, I get asked for autographs. People say, why don’t you stay in Spain? They have about 88,000 season ticket holders. The experience of walking in that stadium is like playing the final in the world championship.”
Unfortunately for Neeskens, who was 33 when joining Kansas City, he had trouble staying on the Kemper Arena field. He dealt with a back strain, calf injury, groin pull and right hamstring injury. He appeared in just two dozen games.
“He was older, and I made the mistake of really just kind of treating him like he was 18, and including him and everything, he got hurt quite a bit,” Benben said. “So we would have been much better to use him in a more limited way. But he was still a pretty good player.
“He was a great guy. He really kept in touch back home, he would always be sharing about the big European teams and what was going on and who won, who lost, and so he was just a really, really good guy.”
