Geoffrey Hurst plunged the fourth ball into the gates of the German national team a few seconds before the final whistle. The English at Wembley won the biggest victory in their history by winning the World Cup. The whole bench raised their hands in triumph and rushed to the field. Among them was one football player whose face did not break into a smile. Jimmy Greaves looked with disgust at the joy of his teammates.
After a couple of hours, already during the banquet, Greaves quietly left the holiday and did not say goodbye to anyone. He returned to his room, took a pre-assembled suitcase with things and rushed home. Jimmy felt like a stranger at the party.
I was left without a gold medal
Greaves approached the home world championship in the status of the main English scorer. By the age of 26, he had already shot several hundred goals for Chelsea and Tottenham. Five times Jimmy became the top scorer of the championship of England. To understand his uniqueness, you can voice just one fact — he scored his 100th goal in the top English division when he was only 20 years old. Many of the records have not been broken so far.Shortly before the World Cup, Greaves caught jaundice and became seriously ill. In England, they began to seriously fear that he might miss the tournament. But the hard months of recovery paid off. Jimmy was ready to tear. In a friendly match before the World Cup, the striker even scored poker.
In the first two meetings of the group stage, the British scored only two goals, but scored four points. In the last round I had to butt heads with the French. Needless to say, the match was incredibly important for both teams? A real battle took place on the field, which ended in favor of the England team.
During the match, Jimmy himself began to feel that something was squelching in his boot. It was raining, so he didn't pay attention. Until I got to the locker room. It was not water that sloshed at all, but blood that had filled the bootsu. One of the Frenchmen flew hard into the striker and cut his shin with spikes, which began to swell rapidly.The teams left the group immediately to the quarterfinals, Jimmy had little chance to recover by the final. Although he sincerely believed that everything would work out. If, after the match with the French, Greaves could not even step on his foot, then closer to the final he had already started jogging. Doctors performed a real miracle, putting him on his feet.
Here it is — the main match in life. World Cup final against Germany. Only Greaves failed to play in it. The injured striker was replaced by Hurt, who did an excellent job. The coach did not send a guy who showed himself well in the playoffs to the reserve. Do not forget that it was 1966 in the yard. It was not allowed to make substitutions during the match. Therefore, getting into the starting line-up obliged to play until the final whistle.
After a while, we can say that the English coach did the right thing. Hurt scored a hat-trick, bringing the hosts of the tournament the biggest victory in history. Gold medals then received exactly 11 people — the entire starting lineup. No one else was entitled to awards.
Lost a child
Greaves knew this very well. The injury left him without the main match in his career and without the coveted medal. Therefore, on the day of the final, he gathered all his things and put them in a suitcase. Jimmy knew that at the first opportunity he would leave the team and rush home."There was a moment of triumph for the whole country, but in my heart I was unhappy. After the game, he slipped away from the banquet, grabbed his suitcase and went to the airport. When I got home, I just got drunk alone. At that moment, the World Cup had already become history for me. I honored a monstrous injustice,» Greaves said.
Since then, he has played only three matches for the national team, in which he scored one goal. At the same time, Jimmy remained in chic shape for another three years. The forward scored 96 league goals. However, he could no longer enter the field in matches for the national team with the same emotions.It just cannot be said that missing the World Cup final was the main tragedy in his life. A few years earlier, he and his wife Irene had experienced real grief. In 1961, the couple had their first child, Jimmy Jr. The baby lived only five months and died of pneumonia.
«The doctors told Irene and I to just go home and continue living a normal life. It was impossible» , — Greaves recalled.Jimmy scored almost five hundred goals in his career and became Tottenham's all-time leading scorer, hanging up his boots at 31. Greaves played in the semi-amateur leagues for a little while before finally leaving football in the past. He simply did not know what to do with the freed time and increasingly began to apply to the bottle."Many football players would prefer to be shot as soon as they retired. After all, it is very difficult for them to find a new place in life. Athletes simply cannot replace football and begin to drink too much", Jimmy explained. Greaves and in his youth could afford a couple of glasses after the match, but the end career unleashed his hands. At first he drank all the same two glasses. Over time, the dose increased. At the same time, Jimmy did not work anywhere and just drank away his fortune. It got to the point that he came to the bar to open it and sat there until the evening. The former football player drank 12 pints and walked home, buying a bottle of vodka for his evening along the way.
Very the legendary striker quickly turned into an ordinary alcoholic who began and ended his day with a bottle in his hands. Irene, of course, could not stand it and filed for divorce. It got to the point that Greaves ended up on the street and started selling clothes so that he would have enough for a new bottle of beer."I completely lost the 70s, they passed me by. He was deeply drunk from 1972 to 1977. When Irene filed for divorce, she said that she was not leaving Jimmy Greaves, but the stranger he had become. And she was right. I turned into a terrible drunk who went off the rails of normal life", Greaves recalled.
The former footballer has lost everything. It was at that moment that he realized that this was no longer possible. Jimmy was left without a family, home and money. The only friend was the bottle. Then he came up with an amazing solution — he called a familiar journalist and asked for an interview. A few days later, a photo of Greaves appeared on the front page of the Sunday People with the headline: «Alcohol is killing me.»"More than once, in a moment of deep depression, I took up a sharp razor to commit suicide. But either a propensity for long reflections, or cowardice did not allow me to bring the matter to the end. I was very sick. I had only two ways — to end up in a cemetery or turn everything back", Greaves said in a conversation with a journalist.
>Jimmy drew the attention of the press and old acquaintances to his problem. Many responded to this appeal and helped Greaves go to one of the best English rehabilitation centers. When he left the hospital, the first thing he called Irene: «I promise you, not a drop more.» And he kept his promise. After some time, Greaves was able to return to society and reunite with Irene, with whom he lived happily for many years. And in 2007, he was even awarded the coveted world champion medal after a special decision by FIFA. Jimmy passed away last year at the age of 81 surrounded by a loving family.
Recently, he only recalled with a smile the hard times that he had to go through due to the death of his first son and alcoholism. Already now we can definitely say that his main victory was not trophies and awards, but overcoming his addiction. After all, she could end his life much earlier.