BANKS OF ENGLAND
Gordon Banks: Relive the greatest save ever that Pele claimed was ‘impossible’
IT was a moment that will live forever. Not a wonder goal. Not a pass of sublime majesty. Not a blunder to damn a player for eternity.
But a save. A stop. A piece of agility that defied physics and belief
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Guadalajara, Mexico, June 7, 1970.
Over-valued? Not on your nelly.
“I have scored more than a thousand goals in my life,” recalled Pele. “And the thing people always talk to me about is the one I didn’t score.”
The man who denied the greatest player on the planet was, of course, Gordon Banks.
Six times Fifa’s choice as the best keeper on the planet.
World Cup winner. Hero of the midlands, from Chesterfield, where he was born, to Leicester and Stoke.
But on that baking hot day, as on so many days, “Banks of England”.
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The image of Banks, wearing that purple shirt that appeared more vivid as this was the first time a World Cup had been televised in colour, flying down to his right as the ball somehow flew up, will never go away.
As Pele agreed: “He came from nowhere.
"One moment he was by the right-hand post as I headed down, the next moment, no, the same moment, he was by the left-hand post and he had saved it.
"He was like a salmon leaping up a waterfall. It was, in my opinion, the most spectacular save of the tournament, an impossible play - but Banks made it."
The sad news of Banks’ death at the age of 81 means that the ranks of the heroes of 1966 are getting smaller.
Try to get hold of the ball, for Christ’s sake!. No silly corners!
Bobby Moore to Banks after his wonder save
Gordon Banks - A Nation's hero
Banks, Ray Wilson, Bobby Moore, Alan Ball and of course Sir Alf Ramsey have now left us, with others in poor health.
But the greatest goalkeeper English football has ever produced knew he had done something that would outlive him, something to make any fan purr.
As he said a year or so ago: “The Pele save against Brazil changed my life far more than the World Cup win did because it was an individual moment.
“When I go, that’s what I will be remembered for.”
I heard him shout “Gol!
Banks on Pele after his header
But such an iconic moment does need to be remembered, and with the same smile that Banks himself retained as he cast his mind back to that Mexican summer.
Just a year ago, when he attended the Football Writers’ Association Tribute dinner to his old friend and rival from Brazil, Banks was still joking about his finest moment.
He said: “When Jairzinho went past Terry Cooper I knew the cross was coming.
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“I moved two feet off my line, expecting him to cross to the penalty spot, only Jairzinho didn’t aim for the penalty spot.
“He whipped the ball across to a point just outside my six-yard box, a yard or so in from my right-hand post.
“I knew Pele was going to get up to it because he could jump really high.
“As he got up to it I came off my line a little to try to narrow the angle but he punched it with his head and it was going very quickly, down into the ground. I heard him shout “Gol!”
“I knew it was going to bounce, because the ground was quite hard, and I had to anticipate that bounce from the surface.
When Banks' career was cut short at age of 34 after car crash nearly blinded him
GORDON BANKS' career was cut short after a car crash nearly blinded the World Cup-winning keeper.
Banks was driving home from Stoke's Victoria Ground in his Ford Consul, after getting treatment on a minor injury in October 1972.
But as he went to overtake another vehicle, the he was involved in a head-on collision with a van.
He woke up in hospital and surgery had been carried out on his eyes.
Shards of glass had perforated his right eye and damaged the retina and he knew then that his playing days were numbered aged just 34.
He was given a 50-50 chance of seeing again in his right eye.
He later recalled: "One day I leaned over to pick up a cup of tea on my bedside table and was shocked to grasp thin air. That’s when the reality of my situation hit home.
"I remember thinking if I can’t even get the angle right to pick up a cup of tea, how will I ever judge the flight and speed of a football again?"
After getting himself back to fitness throughout the rest of the season, Banks chatted to Stoke manager Tony Waddington and told his boss it was over.
Four years later, Banks went on to play in the North American Soccer League, where many of Europe's most famous exports including George Best and Franz Beckenbauer played out the twighlights of their careers.
Banks played 37 games for the Fort Lauderdale Strikers before retiring with 558 club appearances to his name and 73 England caps.
“That day I was wearing the gloves for the first time. They had a dimpled rubber, and it meant didn;t glance off my hand but allowed me to scoop it up.
“I landed crumpled against the inner side netting of the goal and my first reaction was to look out at Pele. I hadn’t a clue where the ball was.
“Then I saw the bouncing ball behind me and I thought ‘Banksy - you lucky t***!’
“As I got to my feet Pele came up to me and patted me on the back. He said ‘I thought that was a goal’ and I replied ‘You and me both’.
“Bobby Moore walked over and patted me on the back as well. ‘Try to get hold of the ball, for Christ’s sake!’ he said. ‘No silly corners!’”
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