 ALAN BALL’S tremendous work ethic was a key to England’s triumph in the 1966 World Cup. Ball, then at Blackpool, became a football legend and one of the midfield greats of Everton, but international teammate Roger Hunt believes the little maestro set the example of super fitness. Hunt, himself a Liverpool legend with his goalscoring exploits, recalled the dramatic victory against West Germany at Wembley, and said: “In the final Alan became famous for his workrate, not just as a midfielder but a midfield winger. The longer the game went on Alan seemed to have so much energy and ran and ran.” Ball, who died of a heart attack yesterday after trying to put out a fire in the garden at his Hampshire home, was remembered with affection by Hunt as “always a bubbly character.” He went on: “He could see things early on the field. “With me playing as a striker I could make a run and the ball would be there. “He could always see the early pass and was a good reader of the game. “He was always comfortable on the ball, had a tremendous enthusiasm, and he was just a great player. “You always knew what you were going to get from him.” Ball’s father, Alan snr, was both his biggest fan and critic and always cajoled his son to greater achievement. Hunt went on: “With his upbringing, and effect his father had on him, Alan was always striving to improve and that’s the way he was brought up. “He was turned down by a couple of clubs, but when he joined Blackpool and got into the first team, he got a lot of his confidence.” At 21, he might have been the youngest member of the World Cup squad, but Hunt added: “He did not have an inferiority complex. He just worked extremely hard and didn’t seem to suffer a lot from nerves.” Of course, he formed one third of the famous Goodison midfield trio of Ball, Harvey and Kendall, and Hunt added: “He was a fantastic player for Everton and all the other teams he played for. He loved life and loved his football. “I remember after the World Cup when he was at Blackpool and then signed for Everton. They beat us 3-1 in the derby and he scored twice. Obviously, I was disappointed at the result, but we shook hands and I said well done.” Both Hunt and Ball were brought up as Bolton fans. “Nat Lofthouse was our hero, so we had a lot in common.” | 
Article
