Former Tottenham and England striker Jimmy Greaves, world champion in 1966, has died at the age of 81, the ‘Spurs’ announced.
“We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of the great Jimmy Greaves. We send our deepest condolences to Jimmy’s family and friends, ”the London club wrote on its Twitter account.
Victim of a stroke that forced him to move in a wheelchair and caused great difficulties in speech, Greaves died at home, the entity said on its website.
Greaves demonstrated his ability to score since he began his career at Chelsea, with which he scored 132 goals between 1957 and 1961, the year in which he signed for Tottenham, registering 266 goals in 379 games, a figure that has not been surpassed.
He is also the top scorer in the history of English football, with a total of 356 scored goals.
“He was a born scorer, always in the right place at the right time (…) but he could also create his own goals, as he often did, eliminating defenses”, with “his impeccable ball control, his great balance and his lucidity in front of the goal, which made that rarely a occasion missed “, detailed the ‘Spurs’.
Jimmy Greaves “was not only Tottenham’s top scorer, but one of the best finishers this country has ever known.”
Azar of the calendar, Tottenham and Chelsea face this Sunday in the 5th day of the Premier League and before the match they will pay tribute to the former player.
With England, he scored 44 goals in 57 appearances, a mark only bettered by Wayne Rooney (53), Bobby Charlton (49) and Gary Lineker (48), but with more appearances (120, 106 and 80 caps, respectively).
A starter at the start of the 1966 World Cup in England, Greaves lost his starting place as a result of a tibia injury that required 14 stitches. His replacement, Bobby Hurst, became the hero of the final against West Germany with a hat-trick (4-2 after overtime).
Only the 11 starting players received a medal, although he ended up receiving his own in 2009, before auctioning it off in 2014.
After his retirement from sports, Greaves became a popular figure in football broadcasting on television, especially between 1985 and 1993 at the helm of the broadcast ‘Saint and Greavesie’ with former Liverpool player Ian Saint-John on the ITV channel. AFP (HN)