The Lion of Vienna
"He was a leader, he had fantastic ability in the air and he was strong. He was a talisman"
(Bobby Charlton)
Wikipedia: it - en | Spartacus Educational | Telegraph | The Lion of Vienna | The Guardian ( Brian Glanville) | BBC
Carriera internazionale
Austria - Inghilterra (25 maggio 1952): Settimana Incom | British Pathé
The 'Matthews Final' (2 maggio 1952)
He gained his Lion of Vienna nickname for his gallant display against Austria. Collecting the ball near the halfway line, Lofthouse set off on a remarkable run, harried and hacked by the Austrian defence, until he shot into the net; to be left prone and battered on the ground. In 1953 he played for Bolton in the "Matthews Final" at Wembley. In all the eulogies of Stanley Matthews, who inspired Blackpool to a 4-3 victory over Bolton, it tends to be forgotten that Bolton played most of the Cup final with 10 fit men, their left-half, Eric Bell, being obliged to hobble on the wing, though it did not stop him scoring. Lofthouse had to wait another five years before he took home a cupwinners' medal.
Thus Lofthouse, so depressed by adverse criticism that he had almost stopped playing in 1943, entered the pantheon of Bolton's heroes. It was long enough ago, before the era of mammoth salaries, for him to feel endlessly grateful to be a professional footballer. He was of the era when the close links with working-class life had yet to be severed. "I got easy money," he once said. "I know; I've worked down the pit, and I've played football" (Brian Glanville)
