Former Chelsea player and World Cup winner with England, passed away at the age of 81

On Sunday it was announced that former Chelsea player and World Cup winner with England, Jimmy Greaves passed away at the age of 81. We speak to some Chelsea fans who paid tribute to the late player

Football clubs paid tribute to Jimmy Greaves after it was announced on Sunday, that he’d passed away at the age of 81. During his career, he played for Chelsea, AC Milan, Tottenham and West Ham United.

For England, he sits in fourth in a list of all-time goalscorers, netting 44 goals in 57 matches – which includes six hattricks.

He made his debut with Chelsea age 17, in the late 1950’s – a part of the group dubbed ‘Drake’s Ducklings’ at the club. In that debut he scored against Tottenham Hotspurs at White Hart Lane – a team, he would later go on to play for.

In his time at Stamford Bridge, he scored 124 league goals, a spell lasting four years in royal blue. Although his exploits at Spurs are fondly remembered the most, where he scored a club record 220 league goals.

At the beginning of Sunday’s fixture between Tottenham and Chelsea, both sides paid tribute to a player who brought so much to both clubs. Poignantly fitting that this fixture took place on the same day of his passing.

England manager, Gareth Southgate honoured the World Cup-winning player in 1966, saying: “Jimmy Greaves was someone who was admired by all who love football, regardless of club allegiances.

“Jimmy certainly deserves inclusion in any list of England’s best players, given his status as one of our greatest goalscorers and his part in our 1966 World Cup success.”

Southgate also announced that the England team will pay tribute to Jimmy Greaves when they play Hungary at Wembley on 12 October.

Here is a snippet of what Stamford Chidge wrote.

My mother-in-law watched him from the Shed End for those four years and would tell me just how good he was, with a twinkle in her eye.

Before the Spurs v Chelsea match, Martin Tyler, the Sky Sports commentator went so far as to say that Jimmy Greaves was “the greatest player Chelsea have ever had.”

Whether we agree with that or not, Chelsea and the football community has lost one of its brightest ever stars and a bona fide legend. But above all of that, Greaves was a great personality, a man of the people and a wonderfully down to earth, human character; flawed in life like so many of us, but God-like in his natural football talent like very few, if any of us are.