Bobby Moore

An Essex boy, Bobby Moore was West Ham’s, and England's, gentleman-footballer His modesty belied the inspirational leadership he showed when captaining club and country Famed for his incisive tackling, timing and sureness in defence, he was also one of the most accurate passers of the ball the English game has ever seen.

Moore joined the Hammers in 1958 at the age of 17 and showed tenacious loyalty, playing 545 games for the club. He led them to their first-ever FA Cup Final win, over Preston North End in 1964, and the European Cup Winners’ Cup the following yean in a 2-0 victory over Munich 1860.

England’s youngest-ever captain

His international career was stellar After a record 18 outings for England’s youth team, Moore joined the senior side in 1962. He played in that year’s World Cup in Chile, when England lost to Brazil in the quarter-finals. A year later with Alf Ramsey in charge, Moore became England’s youngest-ever captain, and in 1966 led his team out at Wembley to their historic 4-2 World Cup win against West Germany Four years later he captained the defending champions in Mexico, where in the group-stage game against Brazil he had one of his most memorable games. Moore and Pele’s embrace at the end of the match, which Brazil won I -0, was eloquent - full as it was of genuine mutual respect.

Classically skilful

In the 70s, after a series of disagreements with manager Ron Greenwood, Moore left West Ham to join Fulham and helped the team to reach the 1975 FA Cup Final - ironically against 2-0 winners West Ham. He ended his playing days in the United States, then went into management, but with little success, first at Oxford City and then Southend.

Moore had seemed to have it all in the optimistic era of the 1960s - he was blond, handsome, gracious and classically skilful, with an uncanny ability to read the game. Tragically he died at the age of 51, in 1993, from bowel cancer

Alf Ramsey confers with England skipper, Bobby Moore, Ramsey's experience in building Ipswich was used to good effect as he worked to mould an England side that would play as a team, rather than give individual performances. In 1966 Ramsey called Moore ‘my right-hand man, my lieutenant in the field'