George Cohen, who lifted the World Cup with England in 1966, has sadly died at the age of 83, his former club Fulham have announced.
"Everyone at Fulham Football Club is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of one of our greatest ever players – and gentlemen – George Cohen MBE," a statement from the Cottagers read.
Cohen, who was born in Kensington in 1939, spent his entire playing career with Fulham, racking up 459 appearances between 1956 and 1969 and scoring six league goals. The pinnacle of his career - and, remarkably, his only major honour - came in 1966, when he started against West Germany in the World Cup final at Wembley Stadium.
Gary Lineker paid tribute to the England hero, writing on Twitter : "Sorry to hear that George Cohen has died. Another of the heroes of the ‘66 World Cup winning team leaves us. He’ll always have footballing immortality. RIP George."
Having played every minute of the tournament for the Three Lions, Cohen helped England to a 4-2 victory to clinch their first World Cup triumph. The right-back formed part of a formidable defence alongside Jack Charlton, captain Bobby Moore and Ray Wilson.
Cohen earned a total of 37 caps for England between 1964 and 1967 and he served as Sir Alf Ramsey's vice-captain for the showdown with West Germany. After hanging up his boots in 1969, Cohen served as a youth coach at Fulham and worked with England's under-23s, while he also spent time as manager of non-league side Tonbridge.
What are your memories of George Cohen? Pay tribute to the England legend in the comments.
He was awarded an MBE in 2000 and a statue of Cohen was unveiled at Craven Cottage 16 years later as a tribute to Fulham's iconic former player and the 50th anniversary of England's World Cup triumph. Cohen attended the ceremony and was also made an honorary freeman of Hammersmith and Fulham.
"This is a richly deserved honour for a sporting hero who is Fulham through and through," councillor Stephen Cowan said at the time. "It not only marks his achievements on the football field, but also his ambassadorial role and his tireless campaigning for research into cancer and dementia, especially to help his fellow players."
Astonishingly, Cohen's nephew, Ben, was part of the England squad which won the Rugby World Cup in 2003 after defeating Australia in the final. The elder Cohen's sad death means that two members of the England starting XI which beat West Germany are still alive - and five members of the squad in total.
Fulham's touching obituary for their legendary former player concludes: "All of our thoughts are with Daphne, his beloved wife of more than 60 years, sons Anthony and Andrew, his grandchildren and extended family, as well as George’s many, many friends."
