LONDON, United Kingdom – Jimmy Greaves was hailed as the "best
goalscorer to ever play" after the former Tottenham and England striker
died aged 81 on Sunday.
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Greaves, Tottenham's all-time leading scorer, suffered a
stroke in 2015 which left him wheelchair-bound and with severely impaired
speech.
One of the game's great characters, Greaves, who also
starred for Chelsea during his iconic career, died at home on Sunday morning.
"We are extremely saddened to learn of the passing of
the great Jimmy Greaves, not just Tottenham Hotspur's record goalscorer, but
the finest marksman this country has ever seen," the club said.
West Ham, another of Greaves' old teams, held a minute's
applause ahead of Sunday's match against Manchester United, with an image of
the striker displayed on the stadium's big screen.
Greaves' former Tottenham team-mate Alan Mullery led the
tributes, saying: "I can picture Jimmy on the field, side-footing the ball
past the keeper. He was a wonderful footballer, the best goalscorer to ever
play.
"He scored goals for fun, you'd be irritated that he'd
not touched the ball and then bang, back in the net."
A member of England's 1966 World Cup-winning squad, Greaves
scored 44 goals in his 57 appearances for England.
His strike rate was phenomenal as he scored 357 goals in
England's top flight, a record which still stands.
For Tottenham, the charismatic Londoner, renowned for his
cheeky wit, scored 266 goals in 379 appearances between 1961 and 1970.
Martin Chivers, who was Greaves' fellow forward at
Tottenham, said the only modern-day player he would compare his friend to was
Lionel Messi.
"You'd have to look at Messi, how he jinks in and out.
Jimmy was like that," Chivers said.
"He was a cheeky chappy, one that always put me into
trouble, all pranks and jokes. But on the field he was deadly."
Greaves' 37 league goals in the 1962/63 season has yet to
be bettered by a Tottenham player in a single season.
"RIP Jimmy Greaves. A true legend and one of the great
goalscorers. Thoughts are with his family and friends," tweeted Tottenham
striker Harry Kane, who is second behind Greaves on the club's record scorers
list with 223 goals.
Gary Lineker, another Tottenham and England great, said:
"Quite possibly the greatest striker this country has ever produced.
"A truly magnificent footballer who was at home both
in the box and on the box.
"A charismatic, knowledgeable, witty and warm man. A
giant of the sport."
Greaves began his career in 1957 with Chelsea – his 41-goal
haul in 1960/61 still stands as the club's record for a single season.
A brief spell at AC Milan followed before he joined
Tottenham.
Within a few months of arriving at White Hart Lane, Greaves
won his first senior medal, scoring the opener in Tottenham's 3-1 win over
Burnley in the FA Cup final.
The following season, his brace in the European Cup
Winners' Cup Final helped Tottenham to a 5-1 demolition of Atletico Madrid.
He also played in Tottenham's 1967 FA Cup final win against
his old club Chelsea.
Greaves played in all four of England's games at the 1962
World Cup but famously did not feature in the 1966 World Cup final victory over
West Germany.
A shin injury had seen him replaced in the side by Geoff
Hurst at the quarter-final stage.
Although he was fit for the final, Alf Ramsey's decision
not to change a winning side was vindicated by Hurst's hat-trick at Wembley.
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