Jimmy Greaves was hailed as “the best goalscorer of all time” after the former Tottenham and England striker died on Sunday at the age of 81. Greaves, Tottenham’s all-time leading scorer, suffered a stroke in 2015, leaving him wheelchair-bound and severely disabled. speech.
One of the game’s great characters, Greaves, who also starred for Chelsea during his distinguished career, died at home on Sunday morning.
“We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of the great Jimmy Greaves, not only Tottenham Hotspur’s record goalscorer but one of the best shooters this country has ever produced,” the club said.
Tottenham will pay a heartfelt tribute to Greaves when they host Chelsea in a fitting Premier League match on Sunday.
Players will wear black armbands, while Greaves’ former teammates Martin Chivers and Steve Perryman are expected to be in attendance.
West Ham, one of Greaves’ old teams, will applaud a minute before Sunday’s match against Manchester United, while players will also wear black bands.
Greaves’ former Tottenham teammate Alan Mulrie led the tribute, saying: “I can picture Jimmy on the field, passing the ball to the keeper. He was an amazing footballer, the best goal ever to play.” were players.
“He scored for fun, you’d be pissed he didn’t touch the ball and then bang it back into the net. He was the best goalscorer I’ve ever seen.”
A member of England’s 1966 World Cup winning team, Greaves scored 44 goals in his 57 appearances for England.
His strike-rate was phenomenal as he scored 357 goals in England’s top flight, a record that still stands.
For Tottenham, the charismatic Londoner, renowned for his cheeky wit, scored 266 goals in 379 appearances between 1961 and 1970.
The 37 league goals he scored in the 1962/63 season have yet to be improved by a Tottenham player in a single season.
“RIP Jimmy Greaves. A true legend and one of the great goalscorers. Thoughts are with his family and friends,” tweeted England captain Harry Kane.
Tottenham striker Kane is second only to Greaves in the club’s all-time list of goalscorers with 223.
Greaves began his career with Chelsea – scoring on debut in 1957 against Spurs – and his 41 goals in the First Division in 1960/61 still stands as Chelsea’s record for one season.
“Everyone at Chelsea Football Club is deeply saddened to hear of the passing of the great Jimmy Greaves,” Chelsea tweeted.
After a brief spell at AC Milan – where he netted nine times in 14 games – he returned to England to join Tottenham.
Within months of arriving at White Hart Lane, Greaves won his first senior medal, scoring the opener in Tottenham’s 3–1 win over Burnley in the FA Cup Final.
The following season, his brace in the European Cup Winners’ Cup final helped Tottenham beat Atlético Madrid 5–1, making them the first British club to win a European trophy.
He also played in Tottenham’s 1967 FA Cup final victory against his old club Chelsea.
Greaves played in all four of England’s games in the 1962 World Cup, but famously didn’t win over West Germany in the final of the 1966 World Cup.
A shin injury saw him replaced in the squad by Geoff Hurst in the quarter-final stage.
Although he was fit for the final, Hearst’s hat-trick at Wembley proved Alf Ramsey’s decision not to change the winning side proved correct.
After leaving Spurs in 1970, he played for West Ham before retiring from the game at the age of 31 at the end of the 1970/71 season.
Greaves scored a total of 366 goals in the top five leagues in Europe.
This stood as the all-time record until it was eclipsed by Cristiano Ronaldo in 2016-17.
In retirement, Greaves endured a debilitating battle with alcoholism.
But he starred as a football pundit between 1985 and 1992 in the popular ITV program ‘Saint and Greaves’ alongside former Liverpool striker Ian St. John.
After a long campaign to recognize his 1966 England achievements, Greaves finally received the World Cup winner’s medal in 2009.
“One of the truly great goalkeepers, fantastic guy with an absolutely fantastic sense of humour, the best. It’s been a tough time for him, now he can rest in peace,” Hurst tweeted.
read all breaking news, breaking news And coronavirus news Here
.