The soccer world mourned the loss of one of the surviving members of England’s last World Cup championship team.
George Cohen passed away at the age of 83 on Friday night. The legendary player helped lead England to a World Cup championship in 1966, a feat the country has not achieved ever since.
Cohen most famously played at the club level with Fulham F.C. After Cohen’s passing, Fulham’s Twitter account posted in memoriam of Cohen. They tweeted, “Everyone at Fulham Football Club is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of one of our greatest ever players – and gentlemen – George Cohen MBE”
Fulham continued, as the team released a statement on behalf of Chairman Shahid Khan. It read:
Upon becoming your Chairman in 2013, I truly embraced the history of this special Club and learned immediately what our supporters have celebrated for generations, George Cohen is intrinsically embedded in that history.
We have been exceptionally blessed at Fulham Football Club to be able to call George Cohen, our very own. The unmatched success of 1966 put him in the hearts of an entire nation, but it was Fulham where he spent his career and he meant the world to the Club.
Over the last nine years, I was able to get to know George and his wife Daphne, which ahs been an honour. He was a kind and humble man, always generous with his time and always a story to tell.
George and his family are in my hear today and always, and I thank George for setting the ultimate standard at Fulham as a player and a person.”
Memorials continued from all over. Cohen’s teammate on the England National Team, Sir Geoff Hurts, released a statement through Twitter. It read, “Very sad to hear my friend and England teammate George Cohen has died. Everyone, without exception, always said that George was such a lovely man. He will be sadly missed, my heartfelt thoughts are with George’s wife Daphne and his family.”
The Premier League responded to Cohen’s passing with an announcement that there will be “a moment’s applause” prior to matches from December 26-28 according to Peter Rutzler of The Athletic FC.
English football reporter and writer Paul Hayward called Cohen “warm, grounded, and strong-hearted” while saying he embodied England’s spirit on the famed 1966 team.
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Chris Novak has been talking and writing about sports ever since he can remember. Previously, Novak wrote for and managed sites in the SB Nation network for nearly a decade from 2013-2022