Ron Harris (soccer player)

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Ron Harris
Personnel
Surname Ronald Edward Harris
birthday November 13, 1944
place of birth London ,  England
position Central defender
Men's
Years station Games (goals) 1
1961-1980 Chelsea FC 655 (13)
1980-1983 Brentford FC 61 0(0)
1984-1985 FC Aldershot
National team
Years selection Games (goals)
1966-1968 England U23 4 0(0)
1 Only league games are given.

Ronald Edward Harris (born November 13, 1944 in London ), known by the nickname Chopper , is a former English football player and later player-coach who played for Chelsea from 1961 to 1980 . Harris was considered one of the toughest defenders of his time. With 795 appearances for Chelsea, he is the club's record player today.

Career

society

Harris was a member of the Chelsea team that won the FA Youth Cup in 1961 and made his debut for the first team on February 24, 1962 in a 1-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday . Within a year he had established himself as a regular player, a position he would hold for the next eighteen years. Alongside Peter Bonetti , Peter Osgood and Bobby Tambling, he was an important part of the youth-oriented development of the new Chelsea coach Tommy Docherty after relegation from the First Division .

Upon the club's return to the top division, Harris cemented his reputation as an uncompromising yet talented defender with a number of strong (and sometimes infamous) performances. He won his first title for Chelsea in 1965 with a League Cup victory in the final against Leicester City . That same season, Chelsea fought for the league title for most of the year but ultimately finished third after winning just one of their last five games. The following year, when Terry Venables moved to Tottenham Hotspur , he became the club's captain. In 1967 he was the youngest captain to ever wear the captain's armband in an FA Cup final, which was lost 2-1 to Tottenham. Chelsea, led by Harris, reached another FA Cup final three years later, this time against Leeds United - a team that was at its height in English football at the time. The 1970 FA Cup final against Leeds United is considered one of the toughest of all time and featured Harris in the role of leader and uncompromising tackler. After Leeds took a 2-1 lead at Wembley with just six minutes remaining, it was his quick free-kick that Ian Hutchinson equalized. During the replay at Old Trafford , his opponent, Ledd's playmaker Eddie Gray , was sent off after a foul by Harris after 8 minutes. Chelsea finally won 2-1 after extra time.

The following season Harris won the European Cup Winners' Cup with the club in the final against Real Madrid in Athens . This was the first major European title for Chelsea. Harris also reached a second league cup final with Chelsea in 1972, but surprisingly lost to Stoke City in what turned out to be his last big final for the club. Harris remained loyal to the club even in its subsequent slow decline. During the following decade, the team rose twice and once promoted. Harris was replaced as captain at the end of the 1971/72 season by John Hollins . He eventually left Chelsea in 1980 to become player-manager at Brentford FC after playing 795 games for Chelsea. He was later also a short time player-coach for FC Aldershot .

National team

He made four international matches for England's U23s between 1966 and 1968.

successes

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Chelsea FC - Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 (Premier League 1961/1962, 31st matchday). Retrieved December 9, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Chelsea FC - Real Madrid 2-1 (EC cup winners 1970/1971, final). Retrieved December 9, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Ron Harris in the database of barryhugmansfootballers.com (English). Retrieved August 16, 2020.
  4. ↑ England - U-23 International Results - Details. Retrieved December 9, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Harris, Ron
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Harris, Ron Edward
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English soccer player
DATE OF BIRTH November 13, 1944
PLACE OF BIRTH London