Footballing legend John Charles signed card.
Some fifty years from his time of playing, John Charles was still being celebrated as a figure of immense stature - literally and descriptively - both here in UK 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cannot convey his value to the team; oftentimes, especially away from home, after scoring at one end, Charles would be withdrawn into defence in order to protect that narrow lead.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. |