LONDON: Former England goalkeeper Gordon Banks, who led England to the World Cup in 1966, has died at the age of 81, Stoke said in a statement on Tuesday.
Banks played 73 caps for England between 1963 and 1972 and played nearly 200 games with Stoke before he retired after a car accident cost him a blind eye.
Banks is widely considered to be the best goalkeeper in the game, and perhaps the most guarded people will remember when he stumbled on a serious attempt to deny legend Pele from scoring for Brazil at the 1970 World Cup, later described as "saving the century".
"We regret to announce with great sadness Gordon's death last night," Stoke said on his website, "We are saddened but we will not forget many of the wonderful memories that made us proud of him."
He took part in England's 1966 World Cup, including a 4-2 victory over West Germany in the final at Wembley to crown England with their only World Cup title.
Once a champion, always a champion |
During the 1970 Mexico World Cup, Banks saved one of the most dangerous opportunities in the history of the World Cup in a group match that ended with a 1-0 victory over Brazil.
Pele went up for a pass and hit it hard with his head but the giant goalkeeper saved it spectacularly.
Pele traveled to Stoke 38 years later to unveil a statue of the guard Banks.
"At the moment I hit the ball I was sure she would hit the net.
"After I played the ball with my head, I began to jump with joy to celebrate the goal and when I looked with my eyes to the keeper I could not believe what happened, I scored more than a thousand goals in my career, but people only talked about the goal I did not score."
But Banks responded to him modestly, saying that luck served him in this game. "When I put my hand in the direction of the ball I thought it would bounce back, but after seeing it go behind the net, I said to myself, 'Lucky.'"
He began his career at Chesterfield in 1958 and moved to Leicester City the following year. He made his first international appearance in England in 1963, four years before joining Stoke City.
He retired in 1973 after a car accident at the age of 33, but four years later returned to play in North America with Fort Lauderdale Strekers.
After the announcement of the death of Banks, football fans and others began to flock to his statue of the full size of life outside Stoke City to put flowers and scarves. Some touched the statue and cried.
Across the city, where Banks is highly respected and has been seen on many charity and sports events, flags have been flattened in public buildings. Some regret the fact that Banks did not get the title of Sir.
Banks was chosen as FIFA's best goalkeeper six times.