Geoff Hurst reveals his top six England goals ever (and THIS isn't one of them)
Published 22:00 15/11/11 By Mike Walters
As Wembley waited to acclaim England’s 2,000th goal, the legend whose hat-trick is iconic among the first 1,999 held his breath too.
Should anyone match Sir Geoff Hurst’s feat in 1966, it is unlikely that they would join their team-mates on a works outing at the cinema to watch Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines the night before the World Cup final.
Nor would they conquer big-match nerves by strolling down the road from their hotel for a shot of espresso in a coffee shop hours before kick-off.
If the world’s media descended on the national treasure’s home the day after the cup was won, eager for his in-depth analysis of the goals which had finally seen off the irrepressibly grinding Germans, it is a racing certainty he would not be mowing his lawn when they arrived.
And when his Three Lions career was over, England’s next superstar would not - in all likelihood - seek alternative employment running the Sheet Anchor pub in Stoke-on-Trent.
Hurst did all those things, transcending celebrity and settling for being a ‘normal’ legend.
This week, as he flicked through the back catalogue of those 1,999 goals to pick out his top six, it was mission impossible to separate Matthews and Mortensen from Lineker and Lofthouse.
The old boy turns 70 next month, but still looks fit enough to steal a march on defenders who nod off for a split second.
And as Hurst rolled back the years, rolled back the newsreels and rolled back the archives, he settled for six of the best to match the swish of any headmaster’s cane.
“A tap-in from six inches is extra-special if it wins the World Cup, so I have tried to factor in the importance of goals as much as their quality,” said the great man, whose 24 goals in 49 caps remains among the best strike-rates for England’s elite.
“Let’s start with Bobby Charlton against Mexico in '66 , because we had made a nervous, edgy start to the tournament and that goal was the one that really got us up and running.
“It epitomised Bobby as a player - running at defences from midfield, and hitting shots with power off left or right foot. That one was, in many ways, like the man’s signature.
“As a goal to make you fall out of your seat, or just stand up and applaud its sheer audacity, John Barnes against Brazil (in 1984 ) takes some beating.
“To produce a solo effort like that, against a great side, in the Maracana, was sensational by anyone’s reckoning.
“How old was Michael Owen when he scored that goal against Argentina at the World Cup - just 18? He was only a young lad, but you can wait a whole lifetime to score a better goal.
“And David Beckham probably scored 20 free-kicks in his career like the one he produced against Greece in 2001 , but that was special because it took us to the World Cup in 2002 and he had been playing them on his own in the second half.”
False modesty or otherwise, Hurst could not discount his own contribution ton English football’s rich heritage - and why should he?
On Tuesday, he was honoured with a commemorative foundation stone on Wembley Way, where fans are being encouraged to buy their own square foot of football’s most famous promenade.
“If I am allowed to include one or two of my own, the winner against Argentina in the 1966 quarter-final was a personal favourite because it came straight from the West Ham training ground at Chadwell Heath - Martin Peters’ delivery dropped on to my head like hundreds before it," he continued.
“And of the hat-trick, many people would be surprised if pick out the first (also made in West Ham, another header from Bobby Moore’s quickly-taken free-kick) because it was the equaliser which put us back in the game.
“It was vital that we responded quickly to going 1-0 down, otherwise who knows... that lawn might not have been cut the following day.”
* Sir Geoff Hurst supports the Wembley Way campaign. Visit www.wembleystadium.com/wembleyway
*
LIONS' PREY: ENGLAND'S TOP 10 GOAL VICTIMS
Wales 245
Scotland 192
Northern Ireland 169
Ireland 154
France 66
Austria 58
Hungary 56
Switzerland 52
Luxembourg 47
Portugal 45
