Farewell to a goal scoring legend
7HE F250E5 7277E1HA0, CHE/6EA and England striker -immy Greaves, one of the game’s greatest goalscorers and characters, died last 6unday 6ept 19 aged 81.
His strike rate was phenomenal as he scored 357 goals in England’s top flight, a record which still stands. He scored a total of 366 goals in Europe's top five leagues, a record that was only eclipsed by Cristiano 5onaldo in 2016-17.
A member of England’s 1966 World Cup-winning squad, Greaves scored 44 goals in his 57 appearances for England.
He began his career in 1957 with Chelsea and his 41-goal haul in 1960 61 still stands as the club’s record for a single season.
A brief spell at AC 0ilan followed before he Moined 7ottenham where the charismatic /ondoner, renowned for his cheeky wit, scored 266 goals in 379 appearances between 1961 and 1970.
He scored the opener in 7ottenham’s 3-1 win over Burnley in the FA Cup final in 1962 and a brace the following season in the European Cup Winners’ Cup Final as the club demolished Atletico 0adrid 5-1. He also played in 7ottenham’s 1967 FA Cup final win against his old club Chelsea.
Greaves played in all four of England’s games at the 1962 World Cup but famously did not feature in the 1966 World Cup final victory over West Germany. A shin inMury had seen him replaced in the side by Geoff Hurst at the quarter-final stage.
After retiring, Greaves starred as a football pundit alongside former /iverpool striker Ian 6t -ohn in the hugely popular I79 programme µ6aint and Greavsie’ between 1985 and 1992.
He endured a debilitating fight with alcoholism and suffered a stroke in 2015 which left him wheelchair-bound and with severely impaired speech.
0artin Chivers, who was Greaves’ fellow forward at 7ottenham, said the only modern-day player he would compare his friend to was /ionel 0essi.
³ ³2ne of the truly great goalscorers, terrific guy with an absolutely brilliant sense of humour, the best. It has been a difficult time for him, he can now rest in peace,´ Hurst tweeted.