Yes out of the starting 11, however squad players Ian Callaghan, George Eastham and Terry Paine are still with us.
I knew a few of them had gone but didn't realise it was down to the last two. It was ages ago that Moore died, nearly 30 years, then Alan Ball in the mid '00s, but it's a flurry of them over the last 5 year it seems.
Very sad news. Much liked by all. Apologies if it's already been said but only one or two pieces of film of GC as he didn't play for a fashionable club. Plus ca change!
Pele has died . https://www.independent.co.uk/sport...ad-brazil-football-obituary-b2236520.html?amp RIP to one of the greatest .
This almost deserves a thread on it's own. One of the first players that really got me into football from a young age, I used to be mesmorized by his skill and ability on and off the ball. In my view the greatest footballer than ever lived. There will be nobody like him ever again, not even Maradona comes close. 82 years he graced the earth and football was his life. RIP to a total legend of the English game. Forever missed. Condolences to family and close friends. xx
Legend is a vastly overused word. Pele was and will remain so. RIP. Sitting down in the living room for breakfast with Mexico '70 on will be an abiding memory and that outstanding team. Gerson, Tostao, Carlos Alberto, Rivelino and of course Pele or "Pelay" as I think David Coleman pronounced it. Timeless.
Maradona is and just as good even at times better even for some Brazilians in terms of his natural ability. He was a truly great player ( and he could have played to devastating effect today with modern nutrition and the current laws) despite being a mouthpiece for FIFA and inflating some of his achievements over those of his fellow players who let's face it are not exactly journeymen. Dida, Tostao, Jairzinho , Garrincha who is Messi's predecessor uncannily alike in their dribbling ability and low centres of gravity and many many others. He only played a minor part in the 1962 triumph due to an injury and then in 1966 which all the South American sides see as a conspiracy and I agree with them his Brazilian side were fouled out of the World Cup. Pele was hacked at time and again by the Bulgarians thus missing the next match. He was brought back against the Portuguese in a do and die encounter but was again fouled left right and centre along with the other Brazilians while the referee a George McCabe did nothing in what has been described as one of the worst refereeing performances in a World Cup. And then there is the great team of 1970 that dismantled a top defensive side in Italy 4-1. As befits two of the greatest five players to ever play the game when Pele and Garrincha played together Brazil never ever lost. Never. Like Maradona he was the victim of regular assaults and this nonsense of him not really proving himself by not playing in Europe is just that. Piffle. His club side regularly beat the best clubs in Europe. And of course like the best he did not take it for granted. Regular practice always makes perfect even for those at the top of the game. There's a very good reason why the 10 is so revered in South America and now indeed across the world.
FAO: Watford FC Players Stick this on your training ground walls or cement it within your mind. Great words from a great man. Thanks @Smudger, brilliant quote.
Many people on this forum will probably be too young to remember the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, but Pele's contribution should not be forgotten, "Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better known as Pele, became a global star when, aged 17, he helped Brazil win the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, forcing his way into the starting line-up by the knockout stages. He scored the only goal in a 1-0 victory over Wales in the quarter-finals, a hat-trick against France in the semi-final and two in a 5-2 triumph over the hosts in the final." (BBC Sport) Pele never played in Europe (although most top clubs wanted to sign him) because Santos did not want to sell him after his exploits in the 1958 World Cup and the Brazilian government declared that he was a "national treasure" in 1961 to prevent him from being transferred abroad. He had retired from Brazilian club football one year before he joined New York Cosmos in 1975. Maradona made his international debut at age 16, but he was not chosen for the Argentinian World Cup squad (which won the World Cup on home soil in 1978) when he was 17 years old because he was considered still too young by Menotti.
I saw him play for Santos in a friendly against Fulham at Craven Cottage. Not a very intense match, but good to have a memory of the greatest footballer ever. Some of his most spectacular World Cup efforts were near-misses, but nobody else would have thought of trying them in those days.
Yes indeed! THE save from Banks,the shot from the half way line,the dummy on the keeper. All iconic moments from one man. Listening to Danny Kelly's tribute on TS. I knew he didn't play much in Chile and was hacked to oblivion in '66 but was surprised to learn it was only one game in '62. RIP Vivienne Westwood too. Another trailblazer and innovator. Apologies couldn't find mention elsewhere.
I'm sure I could find out, if I wasn't too lazy to read anything on the internet other than this forum, but why did he only play one game in 62 in Chile ? Injured ? Gone off the boil ? Better options ? Tactics ? Bust up with the coach ?
He played in the first two games, getting in injured v Czechoslovakia and missing the rest of the tournament, which Brazil won. It was in in ‘66 when he was really kicked out of it by, I think, the Bulgarians.
The Bulgarians fouled him a lot, but it was the Portuguese who kicked him out of the competition. You could get away with a lot of really dangerous fouls in those days.
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Watched this for the first time in many many years and the array of football talent on show still takes my breath away.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/64163755 not a fan but always sad to see people die even at 86. I wonder what will happen to Sullivan now
That's quite shocking. Even though he wasn't our favourite, I hope the club marks his passing at the next home game. A pity it's already designated as the GT game.
Survival rates have not changed at all compared to other forms of cancer. A lovely person. Obviously it did not work out here but it's someone's life that has gone and this is just a game after all. RIP. Took Sampdoria with his best pal and strike partner Mancini to their only scudetto. And celebrated when Italy won their European Championship the other summer. Gianluca Vialli: football has lost some of the twinkle in its eye | Football | The Guardian
Many tales from people who knew him or in this case a Chelsea fan. Saw him in a hotel dining room and as this gentleman visited the lavatory he stopped at GV's table and said " Apologies for interrupting your meal,I want to thank you for all you did at Chelsea." GV thanked him. When the gentleman went to pay his bill GV had done so. Time for everyone,a fabulous quality.
Legendary commentator John Motson has died aged 77. Sure so many of us watched the game for so long with his voice on the BBC. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/64742833
RIP Motty. Yet another piece of the jigsaw of our lives is lost. Seemingly endless obituaries at present.
Loved listening to John Motson and he was also a regular visitor to Vicarage Road. RIP The Voice of Football