name	Tommy Gemmell
fullname	Tommy Gemmell
birth date	October 16, 1943
birth place	Motherwell, Scotland
height
position	Full-back
youthyears1	1959–1961
youthclubs1	Coltness United
years1	1961–1971
years2	1971–1973
years3	1973
years4	1973–1977
clubs1	Celtic
clubs2	Nottingham Forest
clubs3	Miami Toros
clubs4	Dundee
caps1	247
caps2	39
caps3	0
caps4	94
totalcaps	380
goals1	37
goals2	6
goals3	0
goals4	8
totalgoals	51
nationalyears1	1966–1971
nationalteam1	Scotland
nationalcaps1	18
nationalgoals1	1
manageryears1	1977–1980
manageryears2	1986–1987
manageryears3	1993–1994
managerclubs1	Dundee
managerclubs2	Albion Rovers
managerclubs3	Albion Rovers }}

Thomas Gemmell (born 16 October 1943) is a former Scottish footballer and manager.

He played as left-sided fullback and had powerful shooting ability. In October 1961, he joined Celtic from Coltness United. He was one of the 'Lisbon Lions' who won the European Cup in 1967. In the final he scored a spectacular goal that was Celtic's equaliser. He also scored in the 1970 European Cup Final against Feyenoord and is currently one of only two British footballers to score in two different European Cup Finals – the other being Phil Neal of Liverpool. He made 418 appearances for Celtic and scored 64 goals. This total comprised 247 league (37 goals), 43 cup (5 goals), 74 league cup (10 goals) and 54 European (12 goals) appearances. His record for penalties was 34 goals from 37 attempts.

In December 1971, Gemmell was transferred to Nottingham Forest to cover for Liam O'Kane. After a short stint in America, he returned to Scotland in July 1973, and won the Scottish League Cup against former team, Celtic. He later managed Dundee and Albion Rovers.

He made his international debut for Scotland against England in April 1966. The following year, he played in the famous 3-2 victory over World Champions England at Wembley Stadium. He won 18 caps and scored one goal from the penalty spot against Cyprus in an 8-0 in a 1970 World Cup qualifier.

External links

Newcastle Fans profile

Category:1943 births Category:Living people Category:Scottish footballers Category:Scotland international footballers Category:Scottish football managers Category:Celtic F.C. players Category:Nottingham Forest F.C. players Category:Dundee F.C. players Category:Dundee F.C. managers Category:Albion Rovers F.C. managers Category:Scottish Football League players Category:The Football League players Category:People from Motherwell Category:Scottish Football Hall of Fame inductees Category:Miami Toros players

de:Tommy Gemmell fr:Tommy Gemmell gl:Tommy Gemmell it:Tommy Gemmell pt:Tommy Gemmell

name	The Flames
background	group_or_band
also known as	The Flame
origin	Durban
genre	Baroque popPop rockPsychedelic popPsychedelic rock
years active	1963–1970
past members	Steve Fataar (1963–1970)Brother Fataar (1963–1970)Ricky Fataar (1964-(1970))Baby Duval (1967)Blondie Chaplin (1967-1970)
notable instruments	}}

The Flames was a musical group from Durban in South Africa. The band was originally formed in 1963 by guitarist Steve Fataar, bassist Brother Fataar (real name Edries Fataar), drummer George Faber and guitarist Eugene Champion. However this line-up would only be together to record a couple of songs. Ricky Fataar replaced George Faber as the band's drummer around 1964 and Edries Fredericks replaced Eugene Champion as the guitarist. Baby Duval briefly replaced Edries Fredericks in 1967 although it is unclear whether he was involved in any of the recordings that were released. Blondie Chaplin then replaced Baby Duval in 1967. This was to be the line-up from 1967 until their demise as a group in 1970.

Steve Fataar has confirmed that Baby Duval is featured as a performer on the Flames second album "That's Enough", which was released in early 1967.

Discography

Ummm! Ummm! Oh Yeah!!! (1965)

That's Enough (1967)

Burning Soul! (1967)

Soul Meeting!! (1968)

Soulfire!! (1968)

Ball of Flames (1970)

The Flame (1970)

Burning Soul!/Soulfire (CD 2010)

External links

The-Flames official website

Category:South African rock groups Category:People from Durban Category:Musical groups established in 1963

playername	Jock Stein
fullname	John Stein CBE
dateofbirth	October 05, 1922
cityofbirth	Burnbank, South Lanarkshire
countryofbirth	Scotland
dateofdeath	September 10, 1985
cityofdeath	Cardiff
countryofdeath	Wales
position	Centre half
years1	1942–1950 | caps1 71 | goals1 4 | clubs1 Albion Rovers
years2	1950–1951 | caps2 | goals2 | clubs2 Llanelli Town
years3	1951–1956 | caps3 106 | goals3 2 | clubs3 Celtic
totalcaps	177 | totalgoals 6
manageryears1	1960–1964 | managerclubs1 Dunfermline Athletic
manageryears2	1964–1965 | managerclubs2 Hibernian
manageryears3	1965 | managerclubs3 Scotland
manageryears4	1965–1978 | managerclubs4 Celtic
manageryears5	1978 | managerclubs5 Leeds United
manageryears6	1978–1985 | managerclubs6 Scotland }}

John 'Jock' Stein CBE (5 October 1922 – 10 September 1985) was a Scottish association football player and manager. He became the first manager of a British side to win the European Cup, with Celtic in 1967. Stein also guided Celtic to nine successive Scottish League championships between 1966 and 1974.

During his managerial career he won the European Cup once, ten Scottish League Championships, nine Scottish Cups, and six Scottish League Cups. All but one of these honours (the 1961 Scottish Cup with Dunfermline) were won with Celtic. After a brief stint with Leeds United, Stein managed the Scottish national side from 1978 until his death in 1985. Stein was voted the greatest Scottish football manager in a 2003 poll by the ''Sunday Herald'' newspaper.

Playing career

Born in Burnbank, South Lanarkshire, Stein saw football as his escape from the Lanarkshire coal mines. In 1937 he left Greenfield school in Hamilton and after a short time working in a carpet factory went down the pits to become a miner. The next year he joined Blantyre Victoria junior football club. He started out as a professional player with Albion Rovers in 1942 and continued to work as a miner during the week, while playing as centre-half on Saturday. He made a name for himself as a no nonsense centre-half and went on to make over 200 appearances for the Coatbridge club, which also included a brief loan spell to Dundee United in 1943. Rovers won promotion to the First Division in 1948.

In 1950 Stein signed for non-league Welsh club Llanelli. For the first time in his career, he became a full-time professional footballer on the sum of £12 per week. Llanelli played in the Southern League, but had ambitions to secure election to the Football League which led them to sign several professionals. He was soon desperate to return to Scotland as he had left his wife and young daughter behind and his house had been broken into twice in his absence. In 1951, on the recommendation of Celtic reserve team trainer Jimmy Gribben, Celtic bought him for £1,200.

He was signed as a reserve but injuries incurred by first team players resulted in him being elevated to the first team. In 1952 he was appointed vice-captain and when captain Sean Fallon broke his arm the full captaincy was passed to Stein. He was club captain until his Celtic playing career ended due to injury in 1956.

In 1953 he captained Celtic to Coronation Cup success when they unexpectedly beat 1–0, 2–1 and 2–0 to become unofficial champions of Britain and in 1954, he captained Celtic to their first League championship since 1938 and first League and Scottish Cup double since 1914. As a reward for their achievement the club paid for the players to go Switzerland to watch the World Cup. During Scotland's performances in the 1954 Finals, Stein learned from the shambles of Scotland’s preparations and also about the continentals' tactics, being particularly impressed by the Hungarians.

Stein was forced to retire from football in 1956 after suffering persistent ankle injuries. After playing in a friendly in Coleraine he landed awkwardly and had an operation on his ankle, which became infected, causing him to walk with a permanent limp. He had played 148 league games for Celtic and scored two goals. He was given the job of coaching the reserve and youth players and was responsible for persuading the board to purchase Barrowfield as a training ground. In 1958, he led the reserves to the second XI Cup with an 8–2 aggregate triumph over . This was Stein’s first success as a manager. His squad included a number of young players who would later play under him in the first team.

Managerial career

Dunfermline

On 14 March 1960 he accepted the job of manager at Dunfermline. After only six weeks in charge, Stein led them clear of relegation. He built Dunfermline into a powerful force and guided them to their first Scottish Cup in 1961, via a 2–0 replay victory over Celtic. In 1962 they defeated in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup and only lost to Valencia in a third game play-off after retrieving a four goal first leg deficit.

Hibernian

Stein was appointed manager of Hibernian in 1964, and within months of becoming manager he led them to victory in the Summer Cup. The testimony of his contemporaries was that he was already “miles” ahead of everyone else in his understanding of the game, and in studying how the investment of energy could be tailored to maximum effect. Stein was immersing himself in the structure of the game while the rest simply went out and played. He invited Real Madrid for a friendly game in Edinburgh, which Hibernian won 2-0 in front of a crowd of 32,000, further boosting his prestige.

During his time at Easter Road, he was able to get excellent performances out of Willie Hamilton which helped take Hibernian to the top of the league. His success with the club led to an approach from Wolves, who wanted him to replace Stan Cullis as manager. Stein approached Celtic chairman Bob Kelly, obstensibly to ask his advice about the Wolves job, but in the hope that he would be offered the Celtic manager's post.

Statistically Stein is to date the best ever manager of Hibs, with a win rate of 62%.

Celtic

Kelly was prepared initially to offer Stein the position of assistant manager to Sean Fallon, and then offered him a position as joint manager. Stein rejected both suggestions, insisting on full control, and stating he would take the Wolves job instead if he was not offered it. Eventually Kelly agreed to make Stein manager with full powers over team selection. Billy McNeill has observed that the reluctance to make him sole manager was due his being a Protestant.

He returned to Celtic in March 1965, becoming the club's first Protestant manager and the fourth manager in club history. Following a barren period of eight years without a trophy for Celtic, he revitalised the team. Just six weeks after becoming manager, he led Celtic to Scottish Cup success in a 3–2 victory over his old club Dunfermline. The next year Celtic were crowned Scottish champions for the first time since 1954. They also reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, only to be knocked out on the away goals rule by Liverpool.

In the following season, Stein managed Celtic to a domestic treble for the first time in the club's history. His greatest triumph, however, was in guiding Celtic to victory in the 1967 European Cup Final against previous champions, Italian giants Inter Milan. Despite initially falling behind to an Italian penalty, his team triumphed 2–1, winning much admiration for the positive attacking quality of their football.

In winning club football's most prestigious trophy, Stein became the first man not only to guide a Scottish club to champions of Europe, but also the first to achieve this honour with a British club. He also became the first manager in history to win all competitions entered. The feat was done with a team all born within 30 miles of Glasgow. In a conversation with Bill Shankly shortly afterwards, Shankly famously told him "John, you're immortal now".

The following season, Celtic won the League and League Cup for the third season in a row. In 1969 they won another domestic treble, their second in three years. In 1970, Stein led Celtic to a League and League Cup double; they also finished runners-up in the Scottish Cup. He also guided them to their second European Cup Final, but they lost to Dutch side Feijenoord in Milan.

He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1970. Stein would have been knighted instead if not for an infamous Intercontinental Cup final match against Racing Club where four Celtic players were sent off.

The 1970s brought continued success on the domestic front. During this time Stein's Celtic completed a record of nine consecutive Scottish Championships - it was not matched until Rangers won a ninth successive league title in 1997. Stein was badly injured in a car crash in 1975; he nearly died but eventually recovered. For most of season 1975–76, Sean Fallon assumed control as manager. Stein returned to his position at the start of the following season.

Celtic's fortunes at this point went into decline and Stein was persuaded to stand down to make way for a younger man. Billy McNeill was appointed as manager in 1978, but Stein was not offered a seat on the Celtic board. He was instead offered a position with responsibility for the Celtic Pools. Stein rejected this offer as he felt he still had something to offer football and left Celtic in less than amicable circumstances.

Leeds United

Shortly afterwards he became manager of Leeds United for the 1978-79 season. It was not the first time he had been approached about a managerial job in England, having been offered the Manchester United job in 1971 and again at the end of 1972, but rejected it both times.

After just 45 days in charge at Elland Road, Stein resigned, accepting the position of Scotland manager.

Scotland

Stein, who had been Scotland manager on a part-time basis in 1965, took the job on a full-time basis in 1978. He led Scotland to the 1982 FIFA World Cup, where they were eliminated in the group stage on goal difference by the Soviet Union. Scotland had beaten New Zealand, lost to Brazil and then drew 2–2 with the Soviet Union in a must-win match.

On 10 September 1985, Scotland drew 1–1 with Wales at Ninian Park in Cardiff, securing a play-off against Australia which would lead to qualification for the 1986 FIFA World Cup. Triumph turned to tragedy, however, as Stein suffered a heart attack at the end of the game. Stein, who was 62 years old, died shortly afterwards in the stadium's medical room. He was cremated at Linn Crematorium in Glasgow, at a private ceremony at which many past and present football figures were in attendance.

His death had a profound effect on Stein's assistant, and Aberdeen manager, Alex Ferguson. Ferguson regarded Stein as a mentor and was horrified by his sudden death. Ferguson led the team to the 1986 World Cup, but they were unable to progress from the group stage.

Tributes

Since his death, Stein has been inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame and the Scottish Football Hall of Fame. He has been voted the greatest ever Scottish manager, and in 2002 he was voted the greatest ever Celtic manager by the club's fans. When Celtic Park was rebuilt in the 1990s, the traditional Celtic fans' end of the stadium was named the Jock Stein Stand. A bust of Stein was presented to Celtic by a supporters' group and now sits in the foyer of the stadium. On 5 March 2011 a statue of Stein was unveiled outside Celtic Park. Celtic chairman John Reid said;

''Jock will undoubtedly be remembered as one of world football's greatest ever managers - a man of immense stature and someone who gave so much to Celtic, Scotland and the game of football in general.''

Honours

Scottish Cup (1) 1961

European Cup (1) 1967

Scottish League Championships (10) 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1977 Scottish Cup (8) 1965, 1967, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1977 Scottish League Cup (6) 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1975

Bibliography

Holt, Oliver. ''If You're Second You Are Nothing: Ferguson and Shankly''. Pan Books, 2007

MacPherson, Archie. ''Jock Stein: The Definitive Biography''. Highdown, 2005.

Notes

External links

Full Managerial Stats for Leeds United from WAFLL

Jock Stein, Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Database

{{s-bef|before=First time Celtic|years=1966-1967}} István Kovács Ajax Amsterdam}}}}

Category:1922 births Category:1982 FIFA World Cup managers Category:1985 deaths Category:Albion Rovers F.C. players Category:Blantyre Victoria F.C. players Category:Celtic F.C. managers Category:Celtic F.C. players Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Category:Deaths from myocardial infarction Category:Dunfermline Athletic F.C. managers Category:Hibernian F.C. managers Category:Leeds United A.F.C. managers Category:Llanelli A.F.C. players Category:Scotland national football team managers Category:Scottish Football League players Category:Scottish football managers Category:Scottish footballers Category:Scottish Sports Hall of Fame inductees Category:People from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire Category:Scottish Football Hall of Fame inductees

ar:جوك ستين de:Jock Stein es:Jock Stein fr:Jock Stein ga:Jock Stein it:Jock Stein nl:Jock Stein ja:ジョック・ステイン no:Jock Stein pl:Jock Stein pt:Jock Stein ru:Стейн, Джок sco:Jock Stein fi:Jock Stein tr:Jock Stein zh:乔克·斯泰恩

playername	Billy McNeill
fullname	William McNeill
dateofbirth	March 02, 1940
cityofbirth	Bellshill
countryofbirth	Scotland
height
position	Defender
youthyears1	–1957
youthclubs1	Blantyre Victoria
years1	1957–1975
clubs1	Celtic
caps1	486
goals1	22
nationalyears1	1961–1972
nationalteam1	Scotland
nationalcaps1	29
nationalgoals1	3
manageryears1	1977
manageryears2	1977–1978
manageryears3	1978–1983
manageryears4	1983–1986
manageryears5	1986–1987
manageryears6	1987–1991
manageryears7	1998
managerclubs1	Clyde
managerclubs2	Aberdeen
managerclubs3	Celtic
managerclubs4	Manchester City
managerclubs5	Aston Villa
managerclubs6	Celtic
managerclubs7	Hibernian (caretaker) }}

William "Billy" McNeill MBE DUniv (born 2 March 1940) is a former Scottish footballer and manager. He is best known for captaining Celtic to the European Cup triumph in 1967 and he later went on to manage the club. He is now the official Club Ambassador at Celtic.

Football

Playing career

McNeill, nicknamed Cesar, was voted the greatest ever captain of Celtic by the club's fans in 2002. He was signed by Celtic from nearby junior team, Blantyre Victoria, in 1957 as a defender. As captain he won nine Scottish League Championships, seven Scottish Cups, and six Scottish League Cups. He also led the team to victory in the European Cup in 1967, as part of the "Lisbon Lions", and was the first British footballer to hold aloft the European Cup. He retired as a player in 1975 after 790 appearances for Celtic, in which he played every minute, never having been substituted. He won 29 caps for Scotland.

Management career

He began his management career at Clyde in April 1977 before moving to Aberdeen in June. However, in 1978 he returned to manage Celtic. His five years in charge saw Celtic win three League Championships, one Scottish Cup and one League cup.

On 30 June 1983 he moved to England to manage Manchester City. He secured promotion for City after two seasons in charge, and oversaw survival in their first season back. Two years before being appointed by City, he had been strongly linked with the manager's job at their cross city rivals Manchester United, but the job had gone to Ron Atkinson instead.

In 1986–87, he became one of the few managers to manage two relegated teams in the same season. He started the season as manager of Manchester City but quit in September 1986 to take charge of fellow strugglers Aston Villa. When Villa were relegated after finishing bottom of the First Division in May 1987, he stood down to make way for Graham Taylor and returned to Celtic.

In his first season Celtic won the double of the League Championship and Scottish Cup in the clubs' centenary year. 1987–88, was renowned for late goals for Celtic and in both the semi final and final, Celtic scored late goals to emerge victorious 2–1 in both games. He won the Scottish Cup the following season, but quit in 1991 after four years as manager. McNeill's second spell as manager was blighted by the reluctance of the Board to spend money in the transfer market.

McNeill had a brief spell as director of football at Hibs in 1998, where he unsuccessfully attempted to arrest a decline in fortunes at the club. He briefly took caretaker charge of the team after Jim Duffy was sacked, even though McNeill had been out of football since leaving Celtic in 1991 and was recovering from heart surgery. He left Hibs at the end of the 1997–98 season.

Political career

McNeill unsuccessfully stood as a candidate for the Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party in the 2003 Scottish Parliament election.

Awards

In 2008, he was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Glasgow in recognition of his outstanding achievement in football and for his distinguished role as an ambassador for the national sport. Celtic's Chief Executive Peter Lawwell said: "Billy McNeill has served Celtic Football Club and Scottish football in general with distinction over many years. He is a man of immense stature and someone who, as a player and manager was the complete professional. Billy was a born leader on and off the field. To captain Celtic and become the first British Club to win the European Cup, the biggest prize in Club football, is a massive achievement and Billy and the other Lisbon Lions will forever be among the most important figures in Celtic's illustrious history. Billy is fully deserving of the tremendous honour which has been bestowed on him. Everyone at the Club congratulates him on receiving the Honorary Degree from the University of Glasgow."

Career statistics

|- |1957–58||rowspan="18"|Celtic||rowspan="18"|Division One||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0 |- |1958–59||17||0||0||0||6||0||0||0||23||0 |- |1959–60||19||0||7||0||6||0||0||0||32||0 |- |1960–61||31||1||8||0||4||0||0||0||43||1 |- |1961–62||29||1||6||0||6||0||0||0||41||1 |- |1962–63||28||1||7||0||6||0||1||0||42||1 |- |1963–64||28||0||4||0||6||0||8||0||46||0 |- |1964–65||22||0||6||1||6||0||2||0||36||1 |- |1965–66||25||0||7||0||10||0||7||1||49||1 |- |1966–67||33||0||6||0||10||2||9||1||58||3 |- |1967–68||34||5||1||0||10||0||2||0||50*||6† |- |1968–69||34||3||7||3||9||0||6||0||56||6 |- |1969–70||31||5||5||0||10||2||9||0||55||7 |- |1970–71||31||1||8||1||10||0||5||1||54||3 |- |1971–72||34||3||6||1||8||0||7||0||55||4 |- |1972–73||30||1||7||1||10||0||4||0||51||2 |- |1973–74||30||0||5||0||11||0||7||0||53||0 |- |1974–75||30||1||4||0||9||0||2||0||45||1 486||22||94||7||137||4||69||3||789*||37† 486||22||94||7||137||4||69||3||789*||37† |} * Includes 3 Appearances in the World Club Championship † Includes 1 Goal in the World Club Championship

''NB these Totals do not include Glasgow Cup appearances, which at the time was a Senior Trophy''

Honours

Player:

Scottish League Champions (9): 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974

Scottish Cup (7): 1965, 1967, 1969, 1966, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975

Scottish League Cup (6): 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1975

European Cup : 1967

Individual:

Scottish Footballer of the Year (1): 1965

Manager:

Scottish League Champions (4): 1979, 1981, 1982, 1988

Scottish Cup (3): 1980, 1988, 1989

Scottish League Cup (1): 1983

References

;General ;Specific

External links

Category:1940 births Category:Living people Category:People from Bellshill Category:Association football defenders Category:Scottish footballers Category:Scotland international footballers Category:Blantyre Victoria F.C. players Category:Celtic F.C. players Category:Scottish Football League players Category:Scottish Junior Football Association players Category:Scottish football managers Category:Clyde F.C. managers Category:Aberdeen F.C. managers Category:Celtic F.C. managers Category:Manchester City F.C. managers Category:Aston Villa F.C. managers Category:Hibernian F.C. non-playing staff Category:Scottish politicians Category:Elder rights activists Category:Members of the Order of the British Empire Category:Scottish people of Lithuanian descent Category:Scottish Sports Hall of Fame inductees Category:Scottish Football Hall of Fame inductees Category:People educated at Our Lady's High School, Motherwell

ar:بيلي مكنيل da:Billy McNeill de:Billy McNeill fr:Billy McNeill gl:Billy McNeill it:Billy McNeill pt:Billy McNeill ru:Макнилл, Билли simple:Billy McNeill tr:Billy McNeill

playername	Nobby Stiles
fullname	Norbert Peter Stiles
dateofbirth	May 18, 1942
cityofbirth	Collyhurst
countryofbirth	England
height
position	Defensive midfielder
youthyears1	1957–1960 |youthclubs1 Manchester United
years1	1960–1971 |clubs1 Manchester United |caps1 311 |goals1 17
years2	1971–1973 |clubs2 Middlesbrough |caps2 57 |goals2 2
years3	1973–1975 |clubs3 Preston North End |caps3 46 |goals3 1
totalcaps	414 |totalgoals 20
nationalyears1	1965–1970 |nationalteam1 England |nationalcaps1 28 |nationalgoals1 1
manageryears1	1977–1981 |managerclubs1 Preston North End
manageryears2	1981–1984 |managerclubs2 Vancouver Whitecaps
manageryears3	1985–1986 |managerclubs3 West Bromwich }}

Norbert "Nobby" Peter Stiles MBE (born 18 May 1942) is a retired English footballer. He was born in Collyhurst, Manchester.

Stiles played for England for five years, winning 28 caps and scoring 1 goal. He played every minute of England's victorious 1966 FIFA World Cup campaign. His best performance in an England shirt was probably the semi-final of that tournament against Portugal, where he was given the job of marking the prolific Eusébio. His tough performance resulted in Eusébio being practically nullified for the entire game. Stiles also played very well in the final, which England won 4–2 against West Germany. His post match celebration has become one of the most famous images in English sport history. The sight of Stiles dancing on the Wembley pitch, holding the World Cup trophy in one hand and his false teeth in the other, has lived for decades.

Stiles played the majority of his club career for Manchester United, spending eleven years at Old Trafford, where he became renowned for his tough tackling and ball winning qualities. With the Red Devils, he won two League titles and one European Cup. Stiles is one of only three Englishmen, alongside Sir Bobby Charlton and Ian Callaghan, to have won both the FIFA World Cup and European Cup; however, only Stiles and Charlton actually played in the finals of both competitions.

He also had short spells with Middlesbrough and Preston North End.

Early days

Stiles grew up in Collyhurst, a working class neighbourhood of north Manchester. He supported Manchester United and his talent was swiftly recognised when he played for England Schoolboys at the age of 15. He achieved a childhood ambition when, in the same year, the club he supported gave him an apprenticeship in September 1959.

He was an unlikely-looking footballer in many ways – he was very small, at a time when teenagers were being rejected by clubs purely because of their lack of height; he was also a wearer of dentures (the removal of which prior to matches gave him a gap-toothed expression which had the potential to scare). Despite claims that Stiles had his real teeth forcibly ripped out during a match, he has stated that he lost his teeth due to poor dental hygine. He became significantly bald at a young age and sported a dramatic comb-over; and he suffered from severe shortsightedness, meaning he needed strong contact lenses when playing and wore thick spectacles off the field.

Nevertheless, Manchester United manager Matt Busby saw something in the tenacious youngster. Stiles was given his debut as a full back in October 1960 against Bolton Wanderers.

Old Trafford life

Stiles' simple passing game and fearless ball-winning skills saw his swift conversion into a "holding" midfield player of a type now a feature of all top teams but still a rarity at a time when forward lines consisted of five players and the midfield was restricted to covering half-backs. Stiles was deployed in the middle of the park to snuff out the flair and peril of creative opponents, and this he did with much success. His ability to gain and retain possession also allowed his more skilled team-mates like Bobby Charlton and, later, George Best more space on the field to utilise.

That said, Busby was not afraid to sacrifice Stiles when required and when United beat Leicester City 3–1 in the 1963 FA Cup final, Stiles was not picked for the game. He began to make more frequent appearance in the seasons ahead, however, and won the First Division title in 1965. The same year, his country came calling.

An England hero

With England hosting the World Cup in 1966, manager Alf Ramsey had no competitive qualifying campaign to prepare, and therefore he spent the prior two years meticulously assessing players in friendly matches and British Home Championship games. With Bobby Charlton the only certainty for his World Cup midfield, he needed to create a trio of players to complement the Manchester United attacker and among those was the requirement for a "spoiler". Stiles was tested out for this role in a 2–2 draw against Scotland at Wembley on 10 April 1965. He kept his place for eight of the next nine internationals, scoring the only goal in a Wembley win against West Germany along the way, and his place in the starting XI for the tournament seemed set in stone by the time Ramsey confirmed his 22.

Stiles won his 15th cap as England kicked off the competition with a goalless draw against Uruguay and maintained his place as the uncompromising hardman playing ahead of the back four and making sure there was space and time for the likes of Charlton ahead of him. With Stiles not missing a minute, England progressed through the group with wins over Mexico and France and then scraped past a violent Argentina side in the last eight.

In the semi-final, Stiles performed an effective man-marking job on the Portuguese playmaker, and prolific goalscorer, Eusébio; to the extent that the immensely skilled player was essentially nullified for the whole match, which England won 2–1. Purists bemoaned the lack of prettiness, but realists congratulated Stiles on his desire to win the battle against a difficult opponent. Ramsey, on being asked by a journalist about the way he had instructed Stiles to "deal with" Eusébio, questioned and objected to the terminology used, though he knew exactly why the reporter had referred to Stiles' display in such a manner. The tactics, despite the criticism they provoked, were effective; Eusébio's only major contribution was a late penalty, and England progressed to the final.

Stiles, winning his 20th cap, had no man-marking brief against West Germany but played a strong, tough match as England saw a 2–1 lead levelled with the last kick of the game before Geoff Hurst completed a famous hat-trick to win the competition in extra time. At the final whistle, Stiles did a spontaneous jig with the Jules Rimet Trophy in his hand while holding his false teeth in the other. Thirty years later this moment would be referred to by Frank Skinner and David Baddiel in the lyrics to "Three Lions", the England theme song written with the Lightning Seeds for Euro 96: in the 1996 version, a list of English football memories ends with "...Nobby dancing", and in the 1998 version, in a reference to the World Cup finals taking place in France, the middle section consists of the line: "We can dance Nobby's dance, we can dance it in France".

European glory

Stiles played in the next four internationals but was deemed to have performed poorly as England lost to Scotland at Wembley in 1967 and was dropped by Ramsey. He won his second League championship medal with Manchester United in the same year, but greater club honours were to come.

United reached the European Cup final in 1968, which was to be staged at Wembley, and Stiles' old nemesis Eusébio was again someone he had to deal with as part of a fearsome attacking potential posed by opponents Benfica. Stiles' played well without keeping Eusébio wholly quiet, and with the score at 1–1 and just a few minutes left, the Portuguese legend got away from the United defence with just goalkeeper Alex Stepney to beat, yet only managed to slam the ball straight into Stepney's midriff. United won 4–1 and became the first English club to lift Europe's main trophy.

Stiles was selected for the England squad which contested the 1968 European Championships but the holding role in midfield had been taken by Tottenham Hotspur's Alan Mullery. England went out to Yugoslavia in the semi finals, during which Mullery became the first ever England player to be sent off. Stiles was recalled for the otherwise meaningless third place play-off game against the USSR, but it was clear that despite his misdemeanour, Mullery was now Ramsey's first choice.

Winding down

Stiles played just once for England in 1969 and twice in 1970. He was selected by Ramsey for the 1970 World Cup in Mexico but only as Mullery's understudy, and not only did he not get a kick during the competition as England surrendered the title in the quarter final, he never played for his country again. He ended with 28 caps – ultimately the least capped member of the 1966 XI – and one goal.

Coaching and management

After 392 matches and 19 goals, Manchester United sold Stiles in 1971 to Middlesbrough for £20,000. Two years later, he became a player-coach at Preston North End when Bobby Charlton was manager. Having been appointed as caretaker manager when Charlton resigned in protest at the transfer of defender John Bird to Newcastle United, Stiles resigned a week later in support of his former Manchester United teammate. Stiles returned to Preston as manager from 1977 to 1981.

Stiles joined the exodus of ageing and semi-retired European players to the NASL in 1981, to become coach of the Vancouver Whitecaps, spending three years at the Canadian club.

On 29 September 1985 Stiles took over as manager of West Bromwich Albion; however, he was sacked the following February after the side managed only three wins under his leadership, and this would prove to be his final stab at management. He later revealed his struggle with depression while in the job, finding it tough to cope with working in the Midlands and the daily commute from Manchester where his family lived.

Between 1989 and 1993 he worked for Manchester United as their youth team coach, developing the considerable skills of teenage prodigies such as David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, and Paul Scholes. Nicky Butt and the Neville brothers, Gary and Phil also came through at this time.

Decorated

In 2000, Stiles was awarded his MBE after a campaign by sections of the media who were surprised that five of the 1966 team had never been officially decorated for their achievements. Stiles duly joined Alan Ball, Roger Hunt, Ray Wilson and George Cohen in collecting his gong.

Stiles released his autobiography, ''After The Ball'', in 2003.

His son John Stiles played for Shamrock Rovers and Leeds United in the early 1980s.

Stiles was elected to the English Football Hall of Fame in 2007.

International goals

Wembley Stadium (1923)

Goal !! Date !! Venue !! Opponent !! Score !! Result !! Competition
1	23 February 1966	Wembley Stadium, London ||		1–0	Win	Exhibition game>Friendly

Honours

Club

;Manchester United

Football League First Division: 1964–65, 1966–67

FA Cup: 1962–63

FA Charity Shield: 1965 (shared), 1967

European Cup: 1967–68

International

FIFA World Cup: 1966

Medals sale 2010

Stiles' FIFA World Cup medal and a European Cup medal were bought by Manchester United for more than £200,000 at an auction on 27 October 2010. The World Cup medal, which Stiles won in the 1966 final against West Germany, sold for £160,000. His European Cup medal, which he won with Manchester United in 1968, was also sold, realising more than £49,000. Stiles sold the medals so that his family could benefit from the proceeds.

Personal life

Stiles has been married to his wife Kay (the same age as him) since 1961. They live in Manchester and have three children.

References

Keeling, Peter (1971). ''Nobby Stiles''. London, Wolfe, ISBN 0-7234-0456-9.

Stiles, Nobby (2003). ''After the Ball: My Autobiography''. London, Hodder & Stoughton, ISBN 0-340-82887-0.

Tyers, Alan (2007). ''The Sixties...Be Sure To Wear False Teeth In Your Hair'', Football365

Category:English footballers Category:England international footballers Category:English football managers Category:Manchester United F.C. players Category:Middlesbrough F.C. players Category:Preston North End F.C. managers Category:Preston North End F.C. players Category:West Bromwich Albion F.C. managers Category:1966 FIFA World Cup players Category:UEFA Euro 1968 players Category:1970 FIFA World Cup players Category:FIFA World Cup-winning players Category:Association football midfielders Category:People from Collyhurst Category:Members of the Order of the British Empire Category:The Football League players Category:English Football Hall of Fame inductees Category:1942 births Category:Living people

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