Colors of London by Ackroyd Peter;

Author:Ackroyd, Peter;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Quarto Publishing Group UK
Published: 2022-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

The jersey worn by Cliff Bastin of Arsenal during the 1930 FA Cup Final against Huddersfield Town at Wembley Stadium on April 26, 1930.

England’s captain Bobby Moore holds aloft the Jules Rimet World Cup, July 30, 1966.

The crowd at the 1966 World Cup Final between England and Germany at Wembley Stadium.

From the start it was a hard-fought contest with Germany scoring the first goal after twelve minutes of play, but then four minutes later England equalized. So it remained at 1–1 until the whistle blew for halftime. The atmosphere was now reaching fever pitch, not dispelled by the massed bands that marched during the interval. During the match itself people were throwing streamers, screaming at the referee and crying or roaring with the English and German goals.

The English team knew that they had to score at the start of the second half, but their inspired advances were stopped by a solid German defence. Their efforts finally paid off with a second goal, but the Germans managed an equalizer just seconds before the final whistle. The score was 2–2 as the teams entered extra time, leaving everyone who watched the play in a state of extreme tension. But then there came the break. The English players were almost despairing, but Ramsey recalled them to their duty. “You’ve won the World Cup once,” he told them. “Now go out and win it again.” What followed proved one of the most controversial goals in football history. The ball ricocheted between the German goal posts and at last was given, to huge German protests. There was no debate about the next goal, however; with seconds to go, Geoff Hurst lashed the ball into the German net. The final score was 4–2. England had won the World Cup.

The players collapsed, wept, and embraced. The sun blazed the brighter, fans roared, and Bobby Moore, having wiped his hands before greeting the Queen, held aloft the small gold World Cup. The austere Alf Ramsey, the team’s manager, delighting in his players’ happiness, doffed his usual reserve, and kissed the trophy. It was a famous and memorable victory that has not yet left the national consciousness, even if it has not been replicated.

The crowds celebrated the victory with a passion they had not known for twenty-one years. It had been a day as dramatically changeable as the game itself, a day of driving rain, of dazzling sunshine, and the team had survived a setback, which must have demoralized a lesser team to come through triumphantly on their merits. It was the first World Cup final to go into extra time since 1934, when Italy beat Czechoslovakia in Rome. But if it was not the only final to exceed the statutory ninety minutes, it was surely the most dramatic in the history of the competition.

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