30 December 1937 - 12 February 2019One great
England goalkeeper remembers his World Cup-winning predecessor for his work ethic, his down-to-earth nature – and the save of the century• Clive James remembered by John Simpson• Read the Observer’s obituaries of 2019 in full
Gordon Banks was a rival in some ways, but we were always good friends. There’s what we call “the goalkeepers’ union” – we goalkeepers respect each other because we know you’re there to be shot at. You can make a lot of saves but if you make a mistake people only remember the mistake. So goalkeepers generally are very friendly towards each other.
Growing up in Leicester, Gordon was my hero. I used to stand on the terraces and watch Leicester City from the age of nine or 10. When I signed for the club as an apprentice, aged 15, Gordon was still there and we’d train together. He was always ahead of his time – long before goalkeeping coaches, he would stay late every Tuesday and Thursday to work on his game. And when he practised, he used to try for every shot. Even if it was going a yard wide, he still dived full-length for it. He’d say, “Well, sometimes the ball swerves inwards.” He wanted to stretch himself and he never gave up.