FORMER ENGLAND star Frank Worthington has passed away aged 72 after a long battle with dementia.
A forward in his playing days, Worthington represented the likes of Leeds, Huddersfield, Bolton, Birmingham and Southampton.
But it was at Leicester City that he made his biggest mark, appearing over 200 times for the Foxes during the 1970s.
One of the country’s finest players during that decade, Worthington also earned eight England caps in 1974, scoring twice.
In recent years he suffered with Alzheimer’s disease, and died peacefully in hospital yesterday.
His wife Carol said: “Frank brought joy to so many people throughout his career and in his private life.
“He will be greatly missed by everyone who loved him so much.”
As popular for his off-field personality as well as on it, Worthington developed a reputation as a ‘man’s man’.
The Foxes icon, a maverick through and through, could party with the best of them during his 1970s pomp.
Worthington was labelled ‘the working man’s George Best’ by a former manager and was popular with the ladies – with his 1994 autobiography – titled ‘One Hump Or Two’ – revealing that Hollywood legend Raquel Welch once tried to kiss him after a game.
He also had a brilliant sense of humour – in an interview with Shoot magazine he was asked to name his most difficult opponent, to which he replied: “The taxman”.
In the same interview, he quipped that among his former clubs were notorious night spots The Playboy, Tramps and Sandpiper.
The peak of his career was undoubtedly a memorable goal against Ipswich, when he controlled the ball on his head, flicked it up twice, over his shoulder and volleyed home.
That, too, came with a quip, as he pointed to the stand behind the goal and told centre back Terry Butcher “you should have gone up there, you’d have had a better view!”
When he turned up for his first England call-up, he arrived wearing cowboy boots, a red silk shirt and a lime velvet jacket. Then Three Lions manager Sir Alf Ramsey was not impressed.
The BBC’s Phil McNulty led the tributes on social media, writing: “Frank Worthington. Footballer as entertainment. Wonderful player, maverick character. And what a memory to leave for everyone who has ever seen his most famous goal.”
And Leicester fan Gary Lineker added his own touching tribute: “Profoundly saddened to hear that Frank Worthington has died. He was my boyhood hero when he was at @LCFC.
“A beautiful footballer, a maverick and a wonderful character who was so kind to this young apprentice when he joined the club. RIP Frank (Elvis).”
A fan added: “RIP Frank Worthington, a true maverick, a true entertainer and a wonderful footballer.”
While another said: “More awful news with the passing of the great Frank Worthington, what a footballer and what a boy he was, back in the day when football was magic to watch, not many better entertainers than Frank.”
A terrific goalscorer, and a scorer of terrific goals, Worthington won the First Division Golden Boot in 1979 with 24 strikes for Bolton – beating the likes of Kenny Dalglish along the way.
In January, Worthington’s former Trotters team-mate Peter Reid called on the government to ‘urgently review the possible link between heading a ball and neurodegenerative diseases,’ after seeing his pal’s fight against the illness up close.
England legends Jack Charlton and Nobby Stiles also passed away after suffering with dementia last year.
And just last week, Lineker called for heading to be ‘limited’ in training.
He said: “If I’d known what I know now, I would have certainly limited the amount of heading I did.
“It’s hard to imagine the game without heading, but maybe it’s worth trialling.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
