The 44-year-old replaces Paulo Bento at the helm after the former Portugal coach was fired last month following a dismal run of form that saw Chongqing drop towards the relegation zone.
Cruyff takes over a team that is in 14th place in the 16-team league and is just two points above 15th placed Dalian Yifang. The bottom two teams are demoted at the end of the season.
The former Netherlands international, who is the son of the legendary Johan Cruyff, was sporting director at Maccabi Tel Aviv for four years and took over as head coach for a short stint during his spell with the Israeli club.
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(Reporting by Michael Church; editing by Sudipto Ganguly)
