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Nostalgia

The Night I Shared The Wembley Stage With The Hammers World Cup Winners.

Guest Post by John Bayfield

For the 1972 European Championship Quarter Final first leg at Wembley between England and West Germany, Cambridgeshire schoolboys under -15’s were chosen for the match as ball boys for the big game on Saturday April 29th. And I was one of the lucky chosen nine for an unforgettable day. We got there a few hours beforehand visiting the dressing rooms, walking up the steps to the Royal Box and seeing the warm ups in the tunnel before the teams went out. Sepp Maier, the German goalkeeper, looked like he was a contortionist whilst doing exercises in the tunnel yards from me. A high degree of flexibility needed being an international keeper.

England; Gordon Banks, Norman Hunter, Bobby Moore, Emlyn Hughes, Paul Madeley, Alan Ball, Colin Bell, Martin Peters, Martin Chivers, Geoff Hurst and Francis Lee.

West Germany; Sepp Maier, Franz Beckenbauer; Paul Breitner, Horst- Dieter Hottges, Georg Schwarzenbeck, Uli Hoeness, Gunter Netzer, Jurgen Grabowski, Sigi Held, Gerd Muller and Herbert Wimmer.

Gerd Muller and Franz Beckenbauer were the obvious stand out names for West Germany but it was Gunter Netzer in midfield who ran the show for the visitors. Being a few feet from the pitch that close to the action was special and being in front of the crowd of 100,000 instead of being part of it was an experience I will never forget. It’s easy to get caught up in the moment, watching the game and being ready to collect the ball quickly in your designated area. During any stoppages I would look to see where my fellow ball boys were and have a look around the stadium. Late in the second half, Alan Mullery, then at Tottenham, was warming up near my touchline. He asked me ‘Do you know how much time is left’ to which I replied ‘I haven’t got a watch on’. Mullery didn’t get on anyway and his final cap was six months earlier in 1971.

Hurst and Peters in attack. Young Bayfield circled, pitch side, trying not to get carried away.

At half time we were told that on the final whistle we were all go to the centre circle on the halfway line and wait until the teams had cleared the pitch. During player’s handshakes and hugs at the final whistle, we went to the centre circle and faced the Royal Box side. So (technically) at that point I shared the Wembley pitch with two of West Ham United’s 1966 heroes, Geoff Hurst having been substituted earlier for Rodney Marsh.

Once the players had gone down the tunnel, we then made our way back to a small changing area, having each been given an England training kit and grey tracksuits to wear for the match. Alas we had no photos taken of us that day which in hindsight was a shame but the game is on YouTube and my good self is covering the left side area from the half way line to the corner flag on the same side as the team’s benches thus the opposite side from the TV cameras for both halves.

England drew the return leg 0-0 so lost 3-1 on aggregate. The German ball boys must have been fitter than us as it was played in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium with vast areas around that pitch.

Finally I hope all WHTID’ers are fit, healthy, looking around for each other and still enjoying the site during this quiet period. It’s certainly helped me keep going these past weeks. COYI!

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