England's greatest-ever goalkeeper, Gordon Banks, met up with his arch-enemy, Pele, again yesterday, for the unveiling of a statue of himself at the Britannia Stadium, home of Premiership newboys, Stoke City.
Banks is world-renowned for the best save ever by a goalkeeper, when he clawed a header from Pele around the post during the England v. Brazil game in the 1970 World Cup in Mexico.
Yesterday, the two players took part in a charity match, with a Banks XI taking on a Pele XI, with Desmond Tutu playing in the outside right position for the latter. The match ended 0-0, with Banks again pulling off a string of world-class saves to thwart the Brazilian.
The bronze statue of Banks has been placed next to a memorial of another Stoke great, Stanley Matthews, and other statues of Geoff Hurst, Peter Shilton, George Eastham, Jimmy Greenhoff, Alan Hudson and Terry Conroy are all at the planning stage. The club have said there might also be room for one of Mike Pejic, if there is enough concrete left.
