‘Bobby wiped his hands before he shook the Queen’s hands so as not to dirty her gloves. Who does that after winning the World Cup? An immaculate man with an immaculate character’ Sir Geoff Hurst on why he looked up to Bobby Moore
When you watch the 1966 World Cup final now, even through modern eyes, one thing jumps out at you immediately: Bobby Moore was really bloody good.
A lot has changed about the game in the 60 years since England lifted the World Cup, but Moore would be right at home in the modern game.
The centre-back’s grace, composure, and willingness to come forward with the ball and offer a threat in the final third would be just as much an asset to Thomas Tuchel now as it was to Sir Alf Ramsey then…and yet it’s still not the first thing people talk about when discussing Moore.
Sir Geoff Hurst: ‘Bobby Moore was my role model’
Just ask Sir Geoff Hurst, who came through the youth ranks at West Ham alongside Moore before the two of them went on to play well over a thousand games combined for the club, winning the FA Cup and Cup Winners’ Cup along the way…to say nothing of their achievements together on the international stage.
But despite Moore being just eight months older than his centre-forward, Sir Geoff admits that he always saw Moore as a role model.
Sir Geoff told FourFourTwo: “[Bobby] was a fantastic player – the best player I played with – and his reading of the game, and his calmness and his distribution were terrific. He made two goals in the 1966 World Cup Final as a central defender.
“But he was always one I looked up to, although he’s similar age to me.
“The word I often use with Bobby is ‘immaculate’.
“When we went to lift the World Cup trophy at Wembley in ‘66, I was right behind Bobby. He saw the Queen wearing white gloves and he wiped his hands before he shook hers so as not to dirty her gloves
“I mean, who does that after winning a World Cup Final? An immaculate man with an immaculate character.”
Sir Geoff added: “It’s funny because some people are just born with it.
“Without being elected, it’s like they are in parliament, and often without even realising it, they’re just born for greatness – born to lead and inspire.
“You get them in all walks of life, from business to sport, and these people automatically show themselves as leaders.
“Bobby was the captain of West Ham’s youth teams, then the captain of West Ham and then England.
“He didn’t ask for it, he didn’t scream or shout or dominate people, he just inspired. He had that glow about his character you can’t really describe – you just followed.”
