John Charles - Rest in Peace
Rest in Peace
By Chris O'Brien
February 22 2004
British footballing legend John Charles has sadly passed away at the age of 72. The 'Gentle Giant' finished his playing career at Cardiff City, and also played for Wales, leading his country to the 1958 World Cup finals.
| John Charles - Rest in Peace |
| Saturday morning saw the sad death of
British footballing legend John Charles.
The former Cardiff City attacker and Welsh international died in Yorkshire after returning from Italy after being taken ill abroad. He was flown back to Britain in Juventus' private jet, with the gentle giant having spent the best days of his career with the Serie A outfit. Charles is recognised as one of the greatest ever footballing talents, and was nicknamed the 'Gentle Giants'. He holds the honour of being one of only a few players to never get booked or sent-off, and was always praised for playing the game of football fairly at all times. After two spells with Leeds United, including one season where the forward netted 42 goals, and success in Italy where he became a legend, John finished his career at Cardiff City. Managers and players up and down the country have being paying their respects to Charles, and minute silences were held had several games over the weekend. "John was one of the greatest of all Welsh players,
if not one of the world's great players," said FAW general secretary David
Collins. Rest in Peace. |