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Gordon Banks and the 'save of the century'


LONDON (AFP) - Performer of perhaps the most famous save in football history, Gordon Banks forged a reputation for goalkeeping excellence during a lengthy international career with England.
Though exceptional reflexes and startling agility were his hallmarks, Banks owed much of his success to a supernatural knack of being in the right place at the right time when duty called.

And on the odd occasion when he wasn't, he was able to conjure up something miraculous, as he did in the 10th minute of England's classic 1970 World Cup encounter with Brazil.

A cross from Jairzinho was met by Pele, who directed a firm downward header towards the bottom corner of the goal.

Pele, as the legend has it, was already shouting 'Goal!' when Banks somehow flung himself at the ball, tipping it up and over for a corner.

"He came from nowhere," Pele recalled years later. "One moment he was by the right-hand post as I headed down, the next moment, no, the same moment, he was by the left-hand post and he had saved it.

"It was, in my opinion, the most spectacular save of the tournament, an impossible play - but Banks made it."

Born in Sheffield, Banks first played for Chesterfield as a semi-professional before he joined Leicester City in 1959 for 7,000 pounds.

At Filbert Street, Banks' class became immediately apparent, and he was instrumental in helping Leicester reach the 1961 FA Cup final, which they lost to Spurs.

Banks again played a part in Leicester's run to the final of the 1963 FA Cup, pulling off a series of stunning saves to deny Liverpool in the semi-finals.

By then Banks was a fixture in the England set-up, and was a key member of the team which went on to win the 1966 World Cup on home soil.

The victory was the highpoint of Banks' career as a footballer, and England advanced to the final against West Germany having let in only one goal - and that was a penalty.

At the peak of his powers by the time the Mexico 1970 tournament came around, Banks' stunning save against Pele and Brazil contributed to the view that England might well end up meeting Brazil in the final.

Unfortunately for Banks it was not to be. A stomach upset ruled him out of the quarter-final against West Germany, where the inexperienced Peter Bonetti conceded three goals as the English tumbled out.

Having moved to Stoke City because of the emergence of Peter Shilton at Leicester, Banks helped his club win the League Cup in 1972, and was also one of the few goalkeepers to win England's Player of the Year that season.

Yet his career was cut short later that year, when injuries sustained during a serious car crash left him blind in one eye. He took coaching jobs at Port Vale, Telford and Stoke before finishing up in the now defunct North American Soccer League.

Banks record as an international goalkeeper is testimony to his class. In 73 appearances he kept 35 clean sheets and conceded only 57 goals, statistics which rightly rank him as one of the greatest keepers in football history.

http://www.espnstar.com/fworldcup/fworldcup_newsdetail_1676343.html