#3 Sir Stanley Matthews testimonial
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Perhaps one of the greatest-ever lineups for a testimonial was when a Stanley Matthews XI took on an international XI back in April 1965. Packed full of stars, some of the football’s greatest-ever players turned out to feature alongside, and against, the England legend at Victoria Stadium.
Although Matthews persisted with the beautiful game on a semi-competitive level for another few years afterwards, this was essentially the last big hurrah for him.
Take a look at the insane teamsheets from the matchday programme back then:
Lev Yashin, Eusebio, Alfredo di Stefano and Ferenc Puskas on the one team, against Denis Law, Jimmy Greaves, Bobby Charlton and Bobby Moore on the other – an almost unimaginably talented array of skilful performers.
According to legend, over 100 million viewers tuned into the match on television and while that might be hard to verify, the more modest 35,000 at the ground on the day, a packed out venue, certainly attests to how loved a player he was.
Plus, considering how many veritable maestros turned up, with Yashin and Puskas carrying him off the field on their shoulders, it’s undeniable how respected Matthews was.
