I never tire of reminding my German friends of 1966. I was in the Wembley crowd on that glorious day. I accept that the ball might not have crossed the line for England's third goal! I was behind the goal where Hurst's shot hit the bar and the one thing I am sure of is that the Assistant Referee was not in a position to be certain that the ball had crossed the line! There were also big question marks about two other goals: 1) It was never a free kick that led to Germany's second goal, Wolfgang Weber appeared to handle the ball and he might have been off-side; 2) England's fourth goal should not have been allowed because "Some people are on the pitch, they think it's all over". Incidentally the expression "Wembley Tor" (Wembley goal) has passed into German football vocabulary and is used to describe a situation when the ball strikes the bar and then bounces on or very close to the goal line.
To illustrate my determination not to let my German friends forget 30 July 1966, my car license plate is the area code followed by WM 66. I am sure you will understand that I am doing my best to ensure that every German knows that in this case WM 66 means Weltmeister 1966 (1966 World Champions)!
As we are talking about Wembley Stadium and ancient histry, I have a question for my readers: Who was the last person to save a penalty at the original Wembley Stadium? There's a small prize for the first correct answer by telephone call or email (my contact details are here Contact Details).
R.I.P. the late, lamented 1966 heroes:
Sir Alf RamseyLong live the four surviving members of the 1966 squad:
#10 Sir Geoff Hurst MBER.I.P. my other late heroes:
Ken Buchanan MBE