‘A man with bucketfuls of humility who treated every person the same’
JACK Charlton was so down to earth, he kept his World Cup winner’s medal in a coal bucket.
John Anderson, who played under Charlton for Newcastle and the Republic of Ireland, was astonished to discover one of the 11 men who wrote himself into English football history on July 30, 1966 did not have his memento of a famous day in pride of place on a visit to his Northumberland home.
Speaking as he paid tribute to his former manager following his death at the age of 85, Anderson said: “I remember myself and Kenny
Wharton going up to see him and, remember the World Cup coins which you used to collect with the players’ faces on?
“He had a gold set of them and they were in a coal bucket and beside them in the coal bucket was his
World Cup winner’s medal.
“He didn’t blink an eye. ‘They are in there,’ he said, nodding at the coal bucket beside the fire.”
Charlton’s humility was a character trait which underpinned his management style as he made himself a household name in Ireland, where he became the national team’s first overseas boss. Anderson was part of the Ireland team which reached the finals of a major tournament for the first time when they qualified for the 1988 European Championships two years before making it to the World Cup quarterfinals in Italy.
He said: “Getting to the European Championships in ‘88 was unbelievable, beating England in Stuttgart, being six minutes away from getting a result against the Dutch as well, and then the World Cup in 1990.
“The whole country came to a standstill. It was a remarkable time.