Today, 7 June, marks the anniversary of arguably the most iconic performance of the late, great Bobby Moore’s illustrious career.
At the 1970 FIFA World Cup finals in Mexico, the West Ham United captain displayed an imperious performance as England faced Brazil. He produced a series of precisely timed tackles to stop players like Pelé and Jairzinho. The game was won 1-0 by Jairzinho’s goal for the eventual winners, but Moore received the most praise for his calm dominance.
Moore’s masterpiece, shot in vibrant colour, was enthusiastically watched on television by a teenage Ken Dyer, who would go on to become a lifelong Hammers supporter and spend forty years covering the Club for the London Evening Standard.
England and Brazil faced off in a 1970 World Cup group stage encounter. After winning their first games against Romania and Czechoslovakia, respectively, both teams advanced to the knockout stages.
The primary thing I remember about the build-up to the match is that it was believed that England and Brazil were the two strongest teams in the world at the time, and that England had a stronger team than when they won the tournament in 1966.
Even from watching on TV, you could see that the game was played in Guadalajara, where the temperature was in the upper eighties, which most likely favoured Brazil.
But Bobby Moore gave one of his best games of the season, if not THE best, while some of the England players seemed to wither away in the heat. Every time Brazil made progress, led by the legendary Pelé, Rivelino, Jairzinho, and Tostão, he appeared to be the one containing the wave.
Unquestionably, Bobby’s one-on-one matchup with Pelé—who, at the time, was the best player I’ve ever seen—and Jairzinho were the standout moments.
At that time, Bobby Moore was also at the peak of his game. What I remember most about him is how he managed the defence and made tackles that were more akin to interceptions than actual tackles.
The most well-known incident involved Bobby holding off Jairzinho as he advanced down the right side for an extended period of time. Bobby then turned to face sideways and, at nearly the perfect moment, stretched out his leg to steal the ball from him. You will never witness a better tackle, or interception, than that one.
Mooro, as I remember, never took his eyes off the ball. He wasn’t staring at the player since that’s how a moron can trick you. He simply waited patiently for the ideal moment to remove the ball from him, and Jairzinho likely wondered what had happened. “Where is the ball?” It was excellent.
The other instance that comes to mind is Gordon Banks’ save against Pelé. He headed the ball down with force and completed the entire task as expected, but he was unable to score. The ball was almost behind him, so you questioned, “How did he keep that out?” He managed to get it above the bar in some way.
Even Mooro, who seldom showed emotion, gave Banks a round of applause after the save.
And lastly, there was the legendary occasion when Pelé and Mooro switched clothes. That picture is hanging on the wall of my home office.
Pelé is giving Bobby a quick touch on the back of his head as Mooro is standing there, and they are both staring at each other with a great deal of respect. At the conclusion of an incredible football match, this photo is among the best.
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