With the 2014 World Cup just a month away, it would be remiss of me to not do a nostalgia piece on how our club won the World Cup for England nearly 48 years ago. Last night I watched a TV program on the 1966 tournament and certain scenes reminded me of how important the local “bobby” was to the game back in those days. One player was being stretchered off and two of the six stretcher attendants were policeman, and then another scene where the Argentinian captain Rattin was sent off and here were the police again, making sure he went! The matches were broadcast in black and white as colour TV was still a year or so away. I do remember our local youth hall getting hold of a colour tape of the Final a few months after the event. The venue was packed to the rafters with young kids viewing our first ever game of football in colour.
I think it fair to say that prior to the World Cup in 1966 hardly anyone thought we could win it? The England manager Alf Ramsey, kept telling everyone that would listen that we would, but to be honest we thought it was just a front for the players. In fact England lost the World Cup in 1966 before they won it! The Jules Rimet trophy went missing prior to the start of the tournament before a dog called “Pickles” found it in someone’s hedge! Pickles was not the only furry celebrity at the time. The FIFA World Cup had its first mascot also, a lion named World Cup Willie.
Just sixteen countries played in the finals. Four groups of four and the top two from each group went into the quarter finals of what was then to become a knockout tournament. England were drawn in a group that included Uruguay, France and Mexico. The opening game against Uruguay ended up as a goalless draw and spirits were not exactly high. Bobby Moore was the only Hammer in the side that day. Brazil had won the previous two finals and they had the best player in the World – Pele. They won their first game against Bulgaria but were then ushered out at the Group stage at the hands of Hungary and Portugal. The Bulgarians and Portuguese were blamed for “kicking Pele out of the game.” The sight of the great man trudging off the pitch with an overcoat thrown around him is still one that is etched in the memory. England, with Moore and Peters in the side then went on to beat both France and Mexico by two goals to nil which set up a quarter final against Argentina. In other major games the unknown North Korean side ousted Italy 1-0 in one of the shocks of the tournament. It is often forgotten that the Italian captain went off injured with an hour to play and they played the majority of game with ten men. No substitutes back in those days. However, it did not stop the unforgiving Italian fans from hurling rotten tomatoes at their players when they arrived back home at Genoa airport!
The quarter final between England and Argentina was a bad tempered affair, but it was where West Ham started to make an impact. Jimmy Greaves had been injured and Geoff Hurst got his chance in the England side and for the first time in the tournament we had three Hammers in the England line up. Tensions were rising and early in the second half the Argentine captain, Antonio Rattin, was sent off by the German referee but refused to go. It took ten minutes of turmoil before the game finally restarted. England won the game by the only goal. A near post cross from Martin Peters for Geoff Hurst to head home was a trademark move at West Ham. Such was the animosity of the game that Alf Ramsey famously stopped his players from the traditional swapping of shirts after the game. “Our best football will come against the team which comes out to play football, and not to act as animals” he would say after the game. Most back pages the following day just screamed “animals.” It was this day that led to today’s fierce rivalry between the two Nations where England is only second to Brazil in Argentina’s football hate relationships.
As England moved into the semi-final stage the West Ham trio of captain Bobby Moore, Martin Peters and Geoff Hurst had all but cemented their places in the team. Pele was expected to be the star of the World Cup but it was Eusabio of Portugal who had become the most feared striker in the competition. Portugal had survived a massive shock in the quarter final against North Korea. The Koreans had raced into a three goal lead within 25 minutes only to concede the next five goals in a thriller. Eusabio scored four of the goals and almost singlehandedly won the game for Portugal. On the other side of the draw West Germany were in the last four against the Soviet Union who had the much revered Lev Yashin in goal for them. At the time, Yashin was considered by many to be the best goalkeeper in the history of the game. The Germans with the outstanding youngster Franz Beckenbauer in their side won by two goals to one.
Manchester United’s diminutive Nobby Stiles was given the job of shackling Eusabio in the semi-final and he did a fine job. His Old Trafford team mate Bobby Charlton scored twice before a Eusabio penalty made life very interesting in the final ten minutes. But England did triumph and a team containing three West Ham players were destined for a World Cup final against West Germany at Wembley Stadium. Little did we know then that West Ham were about to make football history.