UK: FOOTBALL/SOCCER: Eusebio was one of the greatest players of all time says Gordon Banks, the world cup-winning England goalkeeper who faced him in the 1966 tournament

Record ID: 564837

  • Title: UK: FOOTBALL/SOCCER: Eusebio was one of the greatest players of all time says Gordon Banks, the world cup-winning England goalkeeper who faced him in the 1966 tournament
  • Date: 5th January 2014
  • Summary: FILE (ORIGINALLY 4:3 MATERIAL) (REUTERS) (MONOCHROME) (MUTE) EUSEBIO SCORING A GOAL IN TRAINING
  • Embargoed: 20th January 2014 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: United Kingdom
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVADKU5MKE4ZKJ74KBHKAHKPLCKT
  • Story Text: England's 1966 world cup-winning goalkeeper Gordon Banks said on Sunday (January 5) that Eusebio was one of the greatest players of all time.
    Banks faced the Portuguese star, who died on Sunday, in the 1966 semi-final and said of him: "Well Eusebio was an absolutely fantastic player and for me he, he would get into my all-time great side. So yes, he would be in the top 10 without question."
    Banks compared Eusebio to England's world cup-winning striker Bobby Charlton, saying: "Same things as Bobby Charlton, if he had any, any chance of getting a shot in just outside that penalty area, inside the box, he would have a go, so I made sure that I was off my line, just in case. But it wasn't only that. He could pass a ball brilliantly. The other thing he could do really, really well was, for a size of, of my size which was, he was round about six foot, he was just, just six foot, he could leap up in the air and he could 'punch' the ball with his head and he scored some great goals and that was another thing we had to be a little bit wary of"
    Eusebio died of heart problems at the age of 71.
  • Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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