Born in Lancashire in 1945, midfielder Alan Ball is just 21 at the 1966 World Cup, the youngest player in the England side

The team beat Germany 4-2 to claim an historic win and lift the Jules Rimet trophy in front of the Wembley crowd

Having started his career at Blackpool, Ball joins Everton after the World Cup, and wins the league title with them in 1970

Arsenal manager Bertie Mee brings 26-year-old Ball to Highbury for a record fee of �220,000 in December 1971

After five years with the Gunners, Ball moves to Southampton in 1976, helping the Saints back to the First Division in 1978

Ball enjoys great success as manager at Portsmouth between 1984 and 1989, including promotion to the top flight in 1987

Southampton are in the drop zone when Ball returns in early 1994; he is hailed a hero after steering them to safety

He brings his passion for the game to Man City in 1995, but the club go down and he leaves at the end of the season

Ball is tempted back to Portsmouth in January 1998, and duly delivers final-day safety for the cash-strapped side

In 2000 he receives the MBE, but the world of football is saddened by his death seven years later at the age of 61

Tributes pour in for a man whose name will always be associated with England's most famous sporting victory