Ability
In the foreword for Charles' autobiography, Sir Bobby Robson described him as "incomparable" and classed him among the all-time footballing greats such as Pelé, Diego Maradona and George Best. He also notes that Charles is the only footballing great to be world class in two very different positions.
"John wasn't only one of the greatest footballers who ever lived. He was one of the greatest men ever to play the game. —Sir Bobby Robson.Jimmy Greaves once stated that "if I were picking my all-time great British team, or even a world eleven, John Charles would be in it". Other footballers have also named him as one of the best, including Jack Charlton, Nat Lofthouse and Billy Wright. Jack Charlton said "he was the best header of the ball I ever saw in my life."
Charles' accomplishments with Juventus led to him being voted 'the greatest foreign player ever in Serie A', ahead of Maradona, Michel Platini, Marco Van Basten and Zinedine Zidane – this in 1997, 34 years after his last appearance in the league. In 2001 he became the first non-Italian inducted to the Azzurri Hall of Fame.
Read more about this topic: John Charles
Famous quotes containing the word ability:
“The ability to get to the verge without getting into the war is the necessary art.... If you try to run away from it, if you are scared to go to the brink, you are lost.... We walked to the brink and we looked it in the face.”
—John Foster Dulles (1888–1959)
“Innocence of Life and great Ability were the distinguishing Parts of his Character; the latter, he had often observed, had led to the Destruction of the former, and used frequently to lament that Great and Good had not the same Signification.”
—Richard Steele (1672–1729)
“If I were not perfectly sure of my power to write and of my marvelous ability to express ideas with the utmost grace and vividness.... So, more or less, I had thought of beginning my tale.”
—Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977)