Sunday, 11 July 2010

Sir Geoffrey On World Cup FInal Day


I wonder if Sir Geoffrey Charles Hurst MBE wakes up on the morning of every World Cup Final in a cold sweat, worrying that his achievement of a hat-trick in the final might be matched or even beaten later that day? Does he watch the game or putter around in the garden pruning his roses hoping there's not a sudden arrival of reporters at his door asking for his reaction?

Ronaldo scored his second for Brazil in the 79th minute of the 2002 final and Sir Geoff must have breathed a sigh of relief when he was substitued on 90 minutes, but that was nothing compared to four years earlier.

Zinedine Zadane had scored two goals by half-time, and that must have been an uncomfortable second-half for England's hero.

We have to go back to 1978 for the previous time that one player scored twice in a final, with Mario Kempes scoring his second for Argentina in the 104th minute.

I do have a few concerns about the accuracy of the entry for Sir Geoff in Wikipedia. It claims:
The son of a lower-division footballer, Hurst's own footballing career began when he was apprenticed to West Ham United. When he was scouted for West Ham United, he played for a Sunday team in the Tandridge League (Surrey area), Chipstead.
The Tandridge Football League wasn't formed until 1976, which was the year Geoff's career was winding down playing for the Seattle Sounders and Cork Celtic. He did open Chipstead's clubhouse though. There's a plaque on the wall commemorating the occasion, which perhaps is the source of the confusion.

My son really DID play for Chipstead for many years, and I have high hopes that in 2018 he will surpass Sir Geoff's record with four goals in the World Cup Final at Wembley, perhaps v Germany.

Update: All was calm in Hurst Castle as no one came close to usurping Sir Geoffrey's great record.

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