If you ask an Englishman who is the best player in your history, his answer is likely to be Bobby Moore, the captain of england in 1966, but if the interviewee is replaced by fans from other parts of the world, his answer will most likely be Bobby Charlton, a name that is still in the hearts of the people today.
Bobby Moore and Bobby Charlton
As a midfielder, Charlton was born with more attention than Moore, who plays as a centre-back (defensive midfielder), and playing for Manchester United for nearly 20 years has made him famous, which is unmatched by Moore who condescended to West Ham. Winning the World Cup in 1966 + the European Ballon d'Or, he became the only superstar in the history of English football to have won these two top honors.
One. After being reborn, Charlton became the soul of the team overnight
From a competitive point of view, the peak of his career, Charlton's attacking midfielder can also be understood as the pivot of the team's offensive end. His responsibilities cover every area that threatens the opponent's defense, whether it's advancing with the ball, breaking through tears or scoring goals, these are all things Charlton is good at, and as the core of the field, his style of play is well known to many fans.
After the Munich air disaster in 1958 Charlton was treated in hospital
But his significance to Manchester United and the England national team went far beyond that, with the 1958 Munich air disaster killing the talented Busby babes overnight. At that time, the central axis of Tommy Taylor, Duncan Edwards and Roger Byrne was both the lifeline of Manchester United and the pillar of the Three Lions.
After the fall of the Red Devils Golden Generation, the surviving Charlton crawled out of the rubble, and the 20-year-old was like a fluke from the smoke-filled trenches, but in an instant he transformed from a boy to a man. He had to pick up the beams on both sides, and the elites were exhausted, but the living had to work hard to be worthy of their unfortunate teammates.
For a long time from 1958 onwards, no one knew how he survived, and in his later years he reminisced about the horrors with another survivor, Bill Fox, revealing that the two stared at each other and gagged for a while.
Fortunately, the Leader of the Red Devils, Matt Busby, came back from the ghost gate, he reshaped the new generation of Red Devils with Bobby Charlton as the core, and with the addition of Dennis Law and the emergence of George Best, the three Saints United rose again, completing the unfinished mission of the deceased.
The England team, after losing the United elite, was also in a slump, and neither of them achieved the desired results in the 1958 and 1962 World Cups, and Winterbertham, who had been in charge of the team for 16 years, also left to lead Ipswich to create a miracle of promotion and victory.
1962 FIFA World Cup Charlton vs Garrincha
After that, England entered a talent boom, and the axis of Greaves-Charlton-Moore Banks first emerged, and they defeated the World Star team led by Di Stefano at the 1963 FA Centennial All-Star Game, which has shown the potential of the Three Lions team.
Although England's best result since the World Cup in 1950 was the quarter-finals, The Team under Ramsey overflowed with talent, and a few years later they will participate in the World Cup on their home soil, and winning the championship has naturally become the ultimate dream in the hearts of the players.
Two. Charlton's contribution to the 1966 World Cup
As the attacking core of the England team, Charlton was the number one contributor to the team's home crown in 1966, and his role varied throughout the 7 games, mainly reflected in the following three aspects:
First of all, he is the only stable ball-holding point on the attack line, whether Ramsey uses a 433 formation or a knockout 442 formation, uses a high winger or creates a wingless approach, and must rely on Charlton to hold the ball before attacking.
Jimmy Grifs also had this ability, but he was initially placed in an awkward left winger position, never able to play his own strengths, and did not have room to attack with the ball, and later became a substitute for iron. As for the right winger who has been rotating in the first few games, or the two later full-backs, they do not have the core qualities, so the burden of organization on the offensive end falls on Charlton alone.
Charlton scored instantly
Charlton's long-range shot against Mexico scored
The second is the person who scored the game, facing Mexico in the group stage, he once surprised four people with a stone-breaking long-range shooting technique, and this ball can often be shortlisted for the top 100 goals in the history of the World Cup selected by major institutions. Facing the difficult Portugal in the semi-finals, he also helped the team advance to the final for the second time, which was also the highlight of Charlton's career.
Finally, the contribution of the defensive end, don't look at Charlton is the core of the attack, the comprehensive quality of this superstar is very prominent, facing opponents of the same level, what needs him to do is more complicated and more tricky.
The most typical is the World Cup final, when Beckenbauer, who was still playing in the midfield, the core of this ball is close to Charlton, and the suffocating people stare at the defense several times to block Charlton's potential impact. And the attack power of the Bei Huang can not be underestimated, in the extremely passive situation, Charlton also chose to keep an eye on the Bei Huang, the two are equivalent to a complete match, the decision of the game to the teammates.
1966 FIFA World Cup final Charlton vs. Beckenbauer
Such a confrontation seems that no one has taken advantage, but this can also reflect Charlton's overall ability, as an offensive player can contain The King at the defensive end, you can weigh up what kind of defensive awareness and defensive ability this requires.
In the end, England successfully won the cup, Bobby Charlton also named this god, for the English, the World Cup championship means everything, from more than 50 years later, this Remit Cup is more important.
Three. The Battle of the Ballon d'Or narrowly defeated Eusebio by one point
In 1966, Charlton led Manchester United to the final four of the Champions League for the first time since the Munich air disaster, and helped the Three Lions win the World Cup, and from today's point of view, the European Ballon d'Or must be in his pocket. But the judging process in that era was very delicate, 2 years ago, Suarez sat on the Champions League + European Cup, but lost to Dennis Law, who was empty of the four.
Charlton received the Ballon d'Or
This time Charlton's rival is equally strong, and that is Portugal's Black Panther Eusebio, who became Mr. Ballon d'Or a year ago. In the 1966 World Cup, he personally scored 9 goals and won the Golden Boot, and the game against the North Korean team was even more celebrated, which is also considered to be the most perfect single performance in the history of the World Cup.
So it was a showdown between the core of the team and individual heroism, until the ticket was issued, the insiders did not know who was killed, and finally Charlton scored 81 points, Eusebio scored 80 points; a small advantage, but it became England's second Ballon d'Or winner after 10 years.
Two years later, Charlton led United to the first European Champions Cup in the history of the team, which perfectly comforted the teammates who died in the Munich air disaster. Unfortunately, at the European Championship that year, England was killed by The South Yugoslavia and unfortunately won the third place.
If he wins, he will become the only Grand Slam superstar in England's history to combine the World Cup + European Cup + Champions League + Ballon d'Or. Unfortunately, to this day, his descendants can not match the legend, which also makes Charlton's name timeless, and today it has no less popularity than 50 years ago.