Former England captain Jimmy Armfield mourned
Monday, January 22, 2018
Article summary
English football is paying its respects following the death of Jimmy Armfield, the former England captain who later managed Leeds United in the European Cup final.
Article top media content
Article body
Jimmy Armfield, the former England right-back who later managed Leeds United in the 1975 European Cup final, has died at the age of 82.
Armfield was capped 43 times by England – including 15 times as captain – and formed part of his country's 1966 FIFA World Cup-winning squad. He also played a record 627 matches for his only club, Blackpool, whom he and legendary winger Sir Stanley Matthews helped to a runners-up spot in the English top flight in 1955/56.
His subsequent managerial career with Bolton Wanderers and Leeds United peaked when he took Leeds to the European Cup final of 1975, a 2-0 defeat by Bayern München.
His former England team-mate Sir Bobby Charlton rated Armfield – who performed with particular distinction at the 1962 World Cup – as "the best right-back in Europe in the early 1960s", adding: "As an opponent, team-mate and friend, he was without doubt one of the most honest and genuine gentlemen I had the good fortune to meet."
Armfield, who later become a well-known football writer and radio commentator, passed away after a battle with cancer.