Norman Hunter (soccer player)

Norman Hunter
Bobby Charlton and Norman Hunter (1969)
Personnel
Surname	Norman Hunter
birthday	October 29, 1943
place of birth	Gateshead ,  England
date of death	17th April 2020
position	Defense , midfield (defensive)
Men's
Years	station	Games (goals) 1
1962-1976	Leeds United	540 (18)
1976-1979	Bristol City	108 ( 04)
1979-1982	Barnsley FC	31 ( 00)
National team
Years	selection	Games (goals)
1965-1974	England	28 ( 02)
Stations as a trainer
Years	station
1980-1984	Barnsley FC
1985-1987	Rotherham United
1988	Leeds United (Interim)
1 Only league games are given.

Norman Hunter (born October 29, 1943 in Gateshead , † April 17, 2020 ) was an English football player . He was a member of the Leeds United team of the 1960s and 1970s and was part of the England team at the 1966 World Cup in his own country and at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico.

Athletic career

World champion, trade fair cup winner and first championship (1962–1970)

An original attacking player, Hunter developed into a good central defender in Leeds, wearing the number 6 jersey for fourteen successful, controversial and eventful years for the club he joined at the age of fifteen after spotting at an amateur game and after his engagement gave up the desired profession as an electrician.

Hunter made his debut in the Leeds first team in 1962 and remained with the team for the remainder of the season, standing in a line of defense with Jack Charlton that would last in this form for an entire decade. Hunter developed a reputation for an aggressive and body-hugging style of play, although he also had a great technical skill, acted ball-safe and also had an above-average shot with the left foot.

Leeds rose as champions of the Second Division in 1964 and narrowly missed the championship and FA Cup double in the following year . In the First Division , Leeds was relegated to second place by Manchester United only because of a poor goal difference and in the FA Cup final Leeds lost 2-1 to Liverpool FC , although Hunter scored the goal from Leeds in that game with a pass to Billy Bremner could prepare.

Hunter made his English national team debut in 1965, but the tried-and-true line-up of Charlton and Bobby Moore was intended to limit Hunter's ambitions to the status of a supplementary player, so that he had a comparatively few 28 internationals in total and also at the World Cup in his own country, though in the squad, was not used - he only received a winner's medal in June 2009 and was officially allowed to call himself “World Champion”.

Leeds completed the other years in the 60s always in the top region of the table and never finished a season worse than fourth. Hunter won his first title with Leeds with the League Cup in 1968 and added the European Trade Fair Cup later in the season. In the quarter-finals of the European Championship he scored the winning goal on May 6, 1968 in the second leg in Madrid in the 2-1 success of the Ramsey protégés in the 82nd minute of the game. He also played in the finals in Italy against Yugoslavia (0-1) in June 1968 and in Rome on June 8 in the third-place match against the USSR (2-0). With Nobby Stiles , Bobby Charlton and Martin Peters , he formed the midfield. The following year he won his first English championship. In 1970, however, he then missed all possible titles in an attempt by Leeds to win a triple.

On the last day of the match, Leeds lost the championship against Everton , was also beaten in the semi-finals of the European Cup by Celtic Glasgow and also lost in the FA Cup replay against Chelsea . Hunter was briefly injured that season, but despite his fitness efforts and the sporting disappointments suffered, Alf Ramsey named him to the squad for the 1970 World Cup in Mexico . There he only came on June 14, 1970 in the Mexican city of Leon in the World Cup quarter-final match between England and Germany (final score 2: 3 (2: 2, 1: 0) after extra time) in the seventy-ninth minute of the game for Martin Peters.

The early 1970s (1970-1976)

In the championship, Leeds was beaten again in 1971 when Arsenal FC won the title with a 1-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur , with a defeat or a draw by Arsenal would have meant the championship for Leeds United. In the FA Cup was Leeds victim of the greatest sporting sensations when they the team of Colchester United in the fifth round with 2: subject to third In this game Hunter scored after a 3-0 deficit, but the chase turned out to be too late. In the same year, however, Leeds won the second trade fair cup.

Then in 1972 Leeds won the FA Cup and the moment of friends at Hunter was captured in one of the most iconic photos in English football. When Leeds reached the final of the cup competition again, the club faced defending champions Arsenal. In a tight but actionless game, Allan Clarke scored the 1-0 for Leeds United with a diving header in the second half after a cross from Mick Jones .

Due to Hunter's defensive position, he was on the other side of the field when the goal was scored, as he, like many central defenders, only switched to the offensive in exceptional situations. A photographer positioned behind the Leeds gate captured the moment when Hunter was high in the air, arms and legs spread out in a star, cheering the gate. Leeds were able to defend their 1-0 lead and thus secure the title. When the game was over, Hunter entered the royal box of honor twice when he accepted his own medal and then supported his shoulder-injured team-mate Jones on his way to the honor.

When Charlton resigned the following year, Hunter needed a new central defensive partner at his side after ten years. This role would then be taken over by his long-time teammate Paul Madeley and Leeds reached two finals again. This again included the FA Cup and, for the first time, the European Cup Winners' Cup . The season ended in disappointment again when Sunderland FC surprisingly won the English Cup final and AC Milan also defeated Leeds in Greece . There Hunter received a red card late in the game because he let himself be carried away to a foul of revenge due to a failure to give a foul against him. Although the referee was suspended by UEFA due to the poor overall performance , this did not change the result.

The expulsion was, contrary to popular belief, a rarity for Hunter. During his ten-year professional career at that time, he had always used methods that were beyond what was permitted to neutralize the effect of opposing attacking players. In this context, he received the nickname Norman "Bites Yer Legs" Hunter from his own supporters, journalists and commentators , which was mostly meant teasingly. Compared to his team captain Billy Bremner and midfielder Johnny Giles , who committed more treacherous fouls than Hunter, he was even well behind in terms of toughness. He never pulled a tackle beyond a certain limit that would have made him a brutal player. He was also a more technically gifted player than his reputation would have given him. From the professional players he received the award for England's Footballer of the Year in 1974, which was presented for the first time.

Hunter only played a few months in the international match against Poland at Wembley Stadium , which was the last qualifying game for the 1974 World Cup in Germany and England had to win. In this game Hunter should also play an important role in the middle of the second half. It was 0-0 in a game dominated by England, with Polish goalkeeper Jan Tomaszewski in very good shape. Hunter lost the ball on the sideline and allowed the Polish team a quick counterattack that led to the 0-1. Clarke was able to equalize to 1-1 with a penalty , but in the end England missed qualifying for the World Cup. Another famous photo from Hunter's career shows him being comfortably escorted off the field by Bobby Moore , whose place he had taken.

Hunter got in the following season with Gordon McQueen a new defensive partner and successor to Charlton. Leeds started the season unbeaten in the first 29 games and then won the English championship. Hunter has been on the team five straight times and coach Don Revie's resignation to the English national team meant his international career continued in 1975, although his mistake in the game against Poland was believed to mean the end. In the end, Hunter made 28 caps.

Also in 1975 Leeds reached a European final again, but the club lost again. Leeds lost 2-0 in the national championship against FC Bayern Munich . This defeat should also mark the end of an extremely successful period, as Revie had already left the club and the team had meanwhile significantly aged. Hunter was also punished by the FA after he had a brawl with Derby County's attacker Francis Lee , who was also a teammate in the national team, and was sent off again for it.

Last playing years and coaching engagements (1976–1988)

Hunter played another season in Leeds before leaving the club in the fall of 1976 at the same time as Bremner and then joining Bristol City . There he played for two years and then returned to Yorkshire , where he was initially a player and then a coach for Barnsley FC . He then assisted his former teammate Johnny Giles at West Bromwich Albion and then had only a moderately successful period as coach of Rotherham United . In the 1980s, Hunter joined a coaching team of veteran players in Leeds (in collaboration with Clarke, Eddie Gray and Bremner) but was again sorted out upon arrival by Howard Wilkinson , who reorganized the club. After that, Hunter decided to leave football completely and was henceforth active in the sports business and insurance industry.

After football (since 1988)

Hunter then worked for several years on local radio for BBC Radio Leeds , where he summarized the Leeds United games.

He published his autobiography , Biting Talk , in 2004 . He had been married to his wife Sue since 1968.

Norman Hunter died in April 2020 at the age of 76 as a result of COVID-19 .

successes

• World Champion : 1966
• Trade fair cup winner: 1968 , 1971
• English champion : 1969 , 1974
• FA Cup winner : 1972
• League Cup Winner: 1968
• Charity Shield Winner: 1969

Web links

• Profile at leedsunited-mad.co.uk
• Norman Hunter as England international
• Player statistics in the Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Database
• Norman Hunter in the soccerbase.com database

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b} Paul Wilson: Norman Hunter, former Leeds and England defender, dies aged 76. In: The Guardian . Guardian News & Media Ltd., April 17, 2020, accessed April 17, 2020 . 
2. ↑ "World Cup 1966 winners honored" (BBC Sport)