Nation reeling over death of legend who took it to great heights on the world stage

Flags were flying half-mast across the Netherlands on Thursday as it mourned the death of arguably its greatest sporting icon, Johan Cruyff, called the 'Rembrandt' of Dutch soccer who lost his long battle with lung cancer.

"We've lost our best-ever footballer, our No 14, our greatest football friend," Royal Dutch Football Federation chairman Michael van Praag said.