 |
|||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
||
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Supported by Leeds United Supporters Club |
 |
 |
John Charles
| Category: | Male Player |
| Year Inducted: | 2002 |
Profile by Robert Galvin, the author of Football's Greatest Heroes, the official book of the National Football Museum Hall of Fame:
Few reputations in the long history of European football have endured as convincingly over time as that of the great John Charles.
Some five decades on from his heyday, Charles was still being celebrated as a figure of immense stature - literally and descriptively - both here and in Italy.
The giant Welshman was also one of the outstanding players and a talismanic figure for his country during the 1958 World Cup in Sweden.
Before his death in 2004, at the age of 72, Charles was voted the best foreign player ever to kick a ball in Serie A in a nationwide newspaper poll, above Diego Maradona and Michel Platini.
After making his name at Leeds United, Charles transformed the fortunes of Juventus following his transfer, for a world-record fee of £65,000, in 1957.
The Italians were, in effect, buying two players for the price of one, such was Charles’ versatility. There was only one question that the manager had to answer: where to play him. Centre-forward or centre-half?
A strong argument can be made either way, as Denis Law, the Manchester United forward and another British player who spent time in Italian football, knew only too well. Law described Charles as ‘the best number five I have ever seen’, before adding: ‘Mind you, at his peak, he was also one of the top three number nines in the world.’
With the celebrated Charles in their ranks, Juventus rose to a position of dominance in Serie A and challenged for the European Cup. One team-mate, Bruno Garzena, described him as ‘a mythological character and an extraordinary footballer’.
By now, his fame had spread across the Continent, and memories of his performances in domestic and European competition would long linger. Some three decades later, when Ian Rush joined Juventus from Liverpool, he soon appreciated the legacy of his fellow Welshman. ‘In Turin, John is still treated as a god,’ Rush said. ‘I’ve seen men come up to him, and go on their knees, crying.’
In his first season in Italy, Juventus won the championship. Two more titles and two Italian Cups would follow. In that debut season in Serie A, Charles was awarded the Golden Boot, with a tally of 28 goals in 34 games. This statistic, of itself, though, cannot convey his value to the team; oftentimes, especially away from home, after scoring at one end, Charles would be withdrawn into defence in order to protect that narrow lead.
Physically, Charles was a towering figure, who combined immense physical strength with a deft touch. Going forward, few players could match his poise, balance and dribbling ability. In the air, he was imperious. ‘John could head the ball as far as I could kick it,’ recalled defender Norman Hunter, a team-mate at Elland Road in the early 1960s following Charles’ return to west Yorkshire.
At international level, Charles was a talismanic figure for Wales. In 1958, Charles scored a vital equaliser in the group game against Hungary and then helped defeat the same opposition in a play-off. Victory came at a cost, though; such was the threat he posed, Charles was fouled repeatedly and hobbled away at the end. Missing the injured Charles, the unfancied Welsh lost their quarter-final against Brazil, the eventual champions, by a single goal. Only then, were the Brazilians prepared to acknowledge just how much they feared Charles going into the game. Years later, Pele, the goalscorer that day, wrote: ‘It was a very close game and who knows what might have happened if Charles had been fit.’
By now, Charles was known throughout the game by the nickname ‘Gentle Giant’, Il Buon Gigante, on account of his impeccable behaviour and refusal to retaliate, no matter the intimidation. Not once during his career was Charles booked, let alone sent off. ‘He had inhuman strength,’ one Juventus team-mate said, ‘but he would never use that strength unfairly because he was a good man. He was a gentleman.’
Soon before his death, he made the last of his many return visits to Turin. On seeing him, 40,000 fans, many of whom had never seen him play, began chanting his name. ‘John Charles! John Charles!’ they sang. ‘Tears came to my eyes,’ he said afterwards.
When Charles collapsed before a guest appearance on Italian television in early 2004, he was flown home to Leeds in the club’s private jet. He died peacefully shortly afterwards. The gesture by Juventus was as much about the man as the footballer, as one former team-mate, Giampiero Boniperti, testified: ‘John was one of the most loyal and honest persons I have ever met.’