[LEGEND] Alexander Cyril "Alex" Stepney

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Alexander Cyril "Alex" Stepney (born 18 September 1942 in Mitcham, Surrey) is a former English football player who was Manchester United's goalkeeper when they became the first English club to win the European Cup.





London beginnings

Stepney had unsuccessful trials with Fulham and joined Tooting & Mitcham United. From there, he was spotted by Millwall, who signed him as an amateur in 1963, but quickly realised his potential and made him a professional within two months of his arrival. Stepney was ever-present for almost three seasons, making 158 appearances, only missing the last game of the 1965–66 season. During this period, he achieved three England under-23 caps.

In May 1966, Stepney joined Chelsea for £50,000. Manager Tommy Docherty initially intended to play Stepney and fellow goalkeeper Peter Bonetti in alternate weeks, but just three months later Stepney was sold to Manchester United for a record fee of £55,000, having made just one appearance for the club. He made his debut for United later the same year against Manchester City at Old Trafford which United won 1–0 with a first half goal from Denis Law.

League and European honours

With Stepney in goal, Manchester United won the League in 1967, entitling them to entry into the European Cup the following season, a competition which no English club had yet won. Stepney featured throughout United's progress to the final at Wembley, memorably making a late close-range save from Benfica striker Eusébio in the closing stages with the score at 1–1. Eusébio was so astonished at Stepney's save – he caught a vicious close-range shot – that he stopped to applaud the keeper as Stepney threw the ball back into play. United eventually won 4–1 after extra time. Stepney will also be remembered for conceding a goal scored by Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper, Pat Jennings, in the 1967 Charity Shield match at Old Trafford. With Tottenham leading 1–0, Jennings punted the ball upfield from the Stretford End. The ball bounced over the stranded Stepney into the net. The game ended 3–3.

International recognition

Although a highly talented keeper, Stepney was a distance down the pecking order when it came to the England team. Gordon Banks was the undisputed number one, with Peter Bonetti, Gordon West and the more experienced Ron Springett all in Stepney's way. When England qualified for the final stages of the 1968 European Championships, coach Alf Ramsey selected Stepney and West as his two back-up keepers to Banks and, in what turned into a momentous week for Stepney, he made his England debut in a friendly win over Sweden in May 1968, seven days before the European Cup final. England won 3–1.

Ramsey kept Stepney in his thoughts in his preparations for England's defence of the 1970 World Cup, for which England didn't have to qualify due to their status as holders, but didn't give him another cap as the likes of Bonetti and West added to their meagre tallies of appearances. However, when the preliminary squad of 27 was announced, Stepney was in, along with Banks, Bonetti and uncapped rookie Peter Shilton, with no sign of West. When the final 22 who would travel to Mexico was confirmed, Shilton was the goalkeeper sent home.

Nevertheless, Stepney was clearly the third choice goalkeeper in the squad and the chances of his appearing on the pitch in Mexico were negligible. When Banks went down with food poisoning prior to the quarter final with West Germany, it was to the slightly more experienced Bonetti – who had six caps to Stepney's one – whom Ramsey turned. England squandered a two goal lead to lose 3–2 and it was Stepney who told the groggy, ill Banks the scoreline in his hotel room by holding up three fingers on one hand and two on the other.

United's fall and rise


Stepney was occasionally recalled by Ramsey but would ultimately not add to his solitary England cap, with Shilton emerging as the new deputy and ultimate long-term replacement. He continued to play in goal for Manchester United in a period of significant underachievement for the club, which culminated in their relegation to the Second Division in 1974, a season which saw Stepney, unusually for a goalkeeper, score two goals from penalties thus making him the (joint) leading scorer at Christmas. By now, with Stepney's former Chelsea manager Tommy Docherty in charge, they bounced back as champions the following season (1974–75). During this time, Stepney suffered a freak injury when he dislocated his jaw barking instructions at his disorganised defence.

The next two seasons saw Stepney as the wise head behind a new, youthful team collated by Docherty courtesy of some astute purchases and a prolific youth set-up. Stepney was the only player with any Wembley experience at club level at all when United reached the 1976 FA Cup final and the nerves of the youngsters got the better of them as Southampton, a division below United but containing some experienced heads of Stepney's generation, won 1–0. Stepney had no chance with the goal from Bobby Stokes, a late, low, crossfield shot which United claimed fruitlessly was from an offside position.

United reached the Cup Final again in 1977 and this time were successful. Stepney got a hand to a bullet shot on the turn from Jimmy Case but couldn't stop it entering the net and levelling the match after Stuart Pearson had scored for United. Jimmy Greenhoff quickly restored United's lead and Stepney made some good saves in the closing stages as Liverpool, chasing an unprecedented 'treble' of trophies (having already won the league title, and just days later going on to win the European Cup), piled on the pressure.

Stepney was the only player in the 1977 FA Cup winning team remaining from the European Cup winning side of nine years earlier.

End of an era

The following year, Stepney was again not an automatic choice, playing fewer than half of United's games in the League. He played the last of his 546 games for Manchester United in April 1978, prior to leaving for Dallas Tornado in the North American Soccer League in the United States, where he remained until he retired from professional football in 1980.

He kept 175 clean sheets, made a club record 92 consecutive appearances (later broken by Steve Coppell) and, with those two goals, remains United's top scoring goalkeeper. Aside Peter Schmeichel (who scored in a UEFA Cup game in the 1995–96 season) no other Manchester United goalkeeper has scored in a competitive game for the club in the post Second World War years.

Towards the end of his career, he turned out for non-league side Altrincham in the early 1980s, when they were competing in the Alliance Premier League (which became the Football Conference in 1986). He helped them win the Alliance Premier League title in 1980–81 (they had won it the 1979–80 season as well), but they did not win promotion to the Football League as the re-election system was still in place and the majority of the league's members voting against them joining the Football League, ending Stepney's hopes of a professional comeback.

Stepney became a coach specialising in goalkeeping after he stopped playing, including a spell at Manchester City as recently as 2000–01. He also works as an after-dinner speaker and currently hosts The Legends Football Phone in on 105.4 Century Radio in Manchester, replacing Mickey Thomas – another former Manchester United player.

source: wikipedia

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[Andi Istiabudi]

STEPNEY ON 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF UNITED MOVE

Alex Stepney has recalled signing for Manchester United 50 years ago today (1 September) as he explained the circumstances behind his shock move from Chelsea.

The £55,000 fee was a world record for a goalkeeper, beating the price he set when heading across London from Millwall only a matter of three months earlier. Admitting the interest from Matt Busby and Jimmy Murphy came out of the blue, Stepney explained the full background of the events of 1966 which eventually led to his move from West London to Old Trafford.

"I was stuck in no-man's land," he told ManUtd.com. "The arrangement with [then Chelsea manager] Tommy Docherty was Peter Bonetti would join West Ham and I'd replace him at Stamford Bridge. To be honest though, I went to the Chelsea chairman before I signed because I thought I’m not going to sign just on the manager’s say.

"The chairman was a guy called Joe Mears, and he said to me: ‘You sign for us and I’ll definitely sell Bonetti to West Ham’ as it was very much on the cards. Of course, I signed and Peter was actually with the World Cup squad in 1966 so he was away.

"Two or three days later, the chairman, suddenly died of a heart attack. A new chairman came in and said Bonetti is not going. We were at the end of the season, it was May, and we had a couple of months off. England won the World Cup, we went on a pre-season tour and I don’t think Tommy Docherty had any choice – the chairman wanted Peter to play but Peter wanted to go.

"The Doc had said he'd rotate both of us but we were two of the top keepers in the country with Banksy [Gordon Banks]. Peter wanted away but, to be honest, I didn't want away. I didn't expect Manchester United to come in for me, though.

"Peter pulled out of one game with an injury and I did play away to Southampton and kept a clean sheet as we won 3-0. I think we were top of the league at that early stage and I couldn’t believe it when, on the Monday morning, Matt Busby and Jimmy Murphy came down to London. We couldn’t do it there and then, I had to come up to Manchester on the Tuesday and then I signed."

Murphy tried to sell the idea of joining the Reds but Stepney, who would go on to make 539 appearances for the club and win the league, FA Cup and European Cup, needed little convincing.

"What can you do? You’re in awe, aren’t you? You've got him [Sir Matt] and Jimmy and then there's the history of what had gone on with Munich, plus to get to play with who I was going to play with," he recalled.

"When Matt came down with Jimmy, we went to the White House Hotel near Euston. He and the Doc went to a room and Jimmy came with me to another room. Jimmy was telling me about United and talked about [Denis] Law, [Bobby] Charlton, [George] Best and [Paddy] Crerand. Sometimes it just happens and you’re in the right place at the right time."

http://www.manutd.com/