World cup Legends

WORLD CUP LEGENDS
“BOBBY MOORE WAS ONE OF THE GREATEST
DEFENDERS THERE HAS BEEN … HE DIDN’T
HAVE PACE BUT HIS SOCCER BRAIN WAS
SECOND TO NONE”
Terry Paine, 1966 World Cup winner
minute and Peters shot from close range,
having initially hit Horst-Dieter Höttges from a
Hurst attempt.
With ive minutes to go, the players who
hadn’t been selected to play in the team
that day had assembled on the touchline on
the orders of Ramsey and they were fully
anticipating a win. They were all part of the
team, Ramsey had told them, and so they
must be supportive of those on the pitch.
They waited for the referee to blow his whistle
and then – drama.
In the 89th minute, moments after a
narrowly wide shot by Charlton had England
fans groaning, Wolfgang Weber shot towards
the England goal. It crossed the line and
the crowd went completely silent. “What a
gut-wrencher at the stroke of full time,” says
James. It was 2-2 and that meant only one
thing: an agonising extra 30 minutes. “No way
did we think the team would win in extra
time. The team was dejected but Alf came out,
waved his inger and gave them a lecture.” It
seemed to do the trick.
The rest of the squad remained in situ for
the duration of that half and, unlike James,
Paine was conident. “I still believe Gordon
Banks was the greatest goalkeeper the world
has seen, he was a superstar,” he says. “Bobby
Moore was one of the best defenders there
has ever been – he didn’t have pace but his
soccer brain was second to none. Ray Wilson
could match Brazil’s Garrincha for pace and
Nobby Stiles was of the old school and did
a great job. Martin Peters was an intelligent
guy coming in from the left-hand side. Bobby
Charlton speaks for himself. And young Alan
Ball, the best one-touch player in the world.
Then we had Geof Hurst alongside the hardworking
Roger Hunt.”
Ball crossed to Hurst in the 101st minute
and Hurst smashed the ball on the underside
of the crossbar, causing it to bounce down
on to the line and be cleared. But did it go
in? Referee Gottfried Dienst consulted his
linesman Toiq Bahramov. “I remember him
running over to this day,” says Paine. “The
Russian linesman said something which
sounded like it would be ‘yes’. The goal was
given and from our point of view it was in.”
The West Germans tried to rally but
England were on a high. Some supporters ran
on to the pitch and at home, viewers listened
to a distracted Lancastrian BBC commentator
named Kenneth Wolstenholme utter the
infamous words: “Some people are on the
pitch! They think it’s all over!” Hurst blasted
into the net and the crowd went wild. “It is
now!” England had won the World Cup.
All across the country, people jumped in
celebration. “I was only ten and watched it in
our front room on our old battered black-andwhite
set while my mum went shopping,” says
Manchester United fan John Horne. “After the
game, I went outside and repeatedly smashed
TOP 6 GOALSCORERS
EUSÉBIO
(PORTUGAL)
HELMUT HALLER
(WEST GERMANY)
GEOFF HURST
(ENGLAND)
FERENC BENE
(HUNGARY)
VALERIY PORKUJAN
(SOVIET UNION)
FRANZ BECKENBAUER
(WEST GERMANY)
GOALS SCORED
DURING TOURNAMENT
11
89
OWN
GOALS
GOALS SCORED
BY ENGLAND
ENGLAND
GAME
DRAWN
2
5
ENGLAND
GAMES WON
1 0
TOURNAMENT
47 GOALSCORERS
3
GOALS
CONCEDED
BY ENGLAND
ENGLAND
GAMES
LOST
ENGLAND’S STADIA
WEMBLEY
CAPACITY
98,600
WHITE CITY STADIUM
(LONDON) –
76,567
VILLA PARK
(BIRMINGHAM) – 52,000
GOODISON PARK
(LIVERPOOL) – 50,151
OLD TRAFFORD
(MANCHESTER) – 58,000
HILLSBOROUGH
(SHEFFIELD) – 42,730
ROKER PARK
(SUNDERLAND) – 40,310
AYESOME PARK
(MIDDLESBROUGH) – 40,000
42