OBITUARIES
Tomas BOY (1951-2022)
A hugely significant figure in the history of Mexican football, having captained the national team on home soil at the 1986 World Cup. Known as “ElJefe”
(The Boss), Boy was known for his dribbling and vision, as well as his ability to score from long range, and spent the vast majority of his career at Tigres with whom he won two league titles and a Mexican Cup. After retiring in 1988 he managed a number of clubs, leaving his last job in May 2021.
Egidius BRAUN (1925-2022)
A long-serving German football administrator, Braun was the eighth president of the German Football Association (DFB) from 1992 to 2001, overseeing the early years of reunification and Germany’s famous victory at Euro ’96 in England. During the same period he also served as vice-president of UEFA.
Titus BUBERNIK (1933-2022)
Former defender and a member of the Czechoslovakian squad that reached the final of the 1962 World Cup.
Justice CHRISTOPHER (1981-2022)
A former Nigeria midfielder who played in all three of his country’s games at the 2002 World Cup. Enjoyed a nomadic club career with spells in Benin, Russia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark and Nigeria.
Raimon CARRASCO (1924-2022)
Carrasco is in the Barcelona history books as the club’s last president before the introduction of democratic elections. The businessman took charge for an interim period in the 1977-78 campaign, before being replaced by Josep Lluis Nunez, who served as president for 22 years. During his brief tenure, Barca won the 1978 Copa del Rey, with a team managed by Rinus Michels and inspired by Johan Cruyff.
Naci ERDEM (1931-2022)
Former Fenerbahce and Galatasaray centre-back, who also won 31 caps for Turkey between 1954 and 1965.
Tony MARCHI (1933-2022)
A member of the Tottenham Hotspur team that won the 1960-61 league title and European Cup Winners’ Cup two years later. Having started his career at the North London club, those two trophies came after a two-year spell in Italy, where he played for Vicenza and Torino on loan from Juventus. After retiring, he managed Cambridge City and Northampton Town.
Gordon LEE (1934-2022)
After a playing career that featured an 11-year spell at Aston Villa, Lee embarked on a 23-year managerial career. He reached two League Cup finals in back-to-back seasons, first with Newcastle United in 1976 and then with Everton a year later, albeit without getting his hands on the trophy. He spent four years in charge of the Toffees, before being replaced by Howard Kendall in 1981.
Andy LOCHHEAD (1941-2022)
Only three players have scored more goals for Burnley in the club’s history than Lochhead. The Scottish striker joined the Clarets in 1960, before later playing for Leicester City, Aston Villa and Oldham Athletic.
Aime MIGNOT (1932-2022)
After a playing career featuring more than 400 games for Lyon, placing him fifth on the club’s all-time list of appearance makers, the former defender went into management. He coached his former club for eight years before taking charge of Angers, and later spent a decade in charge of the French women’s national team. In 1997 he took the team to their first major tournament, the European Championship in Norway and Sweden.
Frank O’FARRELL (1927-2022)
Perhaps the inheritor of football’s original poisoned chalice, O’Farrell succeeded Sir Matt Busby as Manchester United manager in 1971. Despite signing a five-year contract upon his arrival, and guiding the club to top of the table by Christmas of his first season, O’Farrell only lasted 18 months at Old Trafford.
He was appointed at United, under Busby’s recommendation, following successful spells at Torquay United and Leicester City. After leaving, he joined Cardiff City, but quit the Welsh club to take charge of Iran, winning the 1974 Asian Games.
O’Farrell arrived in England in 1948, joining West Ham United from Cork. A wing-half, he played 197 league games for the Hammers and 118 for Preston North End, while also winning nine caps for the Republic of Ireland.
Giuseppe WILSON (1945-2022)
Born in Darlington to an Italian mother and an English father, Wilson grew up in Naples. His professional career began at the now defunct Internapoli, playing 138 Serie A games, before joining Lazio in 1969. He spent 11 years at the Rome-based club, winning the league title in the 1973-74 campaign. His performances that year earned him an Italy call-up for the 1974 World Cup, where he made two appearances.
Miguel VAN DAMME (1993-2022)
The Cercle Brugge goalkeeper tragically passed away at the age of just 28 after a five-year battle with leukaemia. Jurgen GRABOWSKI (1944-2022)
A one-club man who spent his entire career at Eintracht Frankfurt, Grabowski features prominently in the team’s record books – when he retired in 1980 he was their all-time appearance record holder with 536 games, while only three players have scored more goals than his 140.
He also holds the record for most international caps won while playing for Frankfurt, having played 44 times for West Germany. He was in the squad for the victorious Euro 1972 campaign, then started the World Cup final two years later, a 2-1 win over the Netherlands.
Grabowski also won back-to-back German Cups with Frankfurt in 1974 and 1975, as well as the 1980 UEFA Cup. He was unable to take part in the final however, having been injured earlier in the season by a tackle from a young Lothar Matthaus. The injury would prove to be fatal for his career – much to the outrage of Frankfurt’s loyal fans. In 2001, Matthaus’ application for the Eintracht manager’s job was derailed by supporter protests, who had not forgotten that tackle some 20 years earlier.