Sir
Geoff Hurst is a bundle of energy. The scorer of the only hat-trick in a
World Cup final, which helped England win the tournament in 1966 with a
4-2 victory over West Germany, his enthusiasm for the game is
infectious.
The former England striker – who also won FA Cup and
European Cup Winners’ Cup medals with West Ham in his illustrious
career – was in Qatar for a short visit. Hurst was part of the National
Sport Day celebrations yesterday as he refereed a tournament for
international property and construction consultancy Gleeds.
Hurst is 78, but looks much younger and can dazzle
the room with his witty anecdotes. In a wide-ranging interview with Gulf
Times, the English legend spoke about Qatar hosting the 2022 World Cup,
memories of his magical night at Wembley and much more. Excerpts:
Q. You have been coming to Qatar since 2005, what are your impressions of the country?
A: It’s my third visit to Qatar. Last year I came
here and my first was in 2005. I enjoyed my visit last year. It’s very
different from what it was in 2005. I have been to one or two Arab
countries before; it’s a different culture and I enjoy being here. I
spent two years coaching in Kuwait from 1982-84. It’s nice going to
different countries and cultures.
Qatar has changed dramatically over the years. I can
see many changes in a short time since my visit last year. I can see so
much construction going on. It’s just enormous and amazing. You are
going to need that when hundreds of thousands of people from all over
the world come to Qatar for the World Cup. I think that was an issue
they spoke about. Like when the fans come, where they going to stay?
Someone was speaking about housing fans on cruise ships here. I think
that is fascinating and that will be fun.
Q: Qatar will make history in 2022, when it will
become the first Arab country to host the FIFA World Cup. How important
is it to host the tournament in new countries and regions?
A: I think every country is different. And of
course, every country is different when it comes to hosting the World
Cup. It’s very different and unusual and because of that it makes
interesting for a different culture to host the World Cup. I firmly
believe every country should have an opportunity to host the World Cup.
It’s fantastic what they are doing here and I am convinced it will be a
successful World Cup.
There will always be negatives. When any World Cup
comes around there has always been negativity – Russia was a good
example. But after the World Cup in Russia every single English person I
spoke to said the tournament and hospitality of the Russians was
fantastic. I don’t go around with negativity. As a person I am positive,
as a player I was very positive. It’s going to be a great World Cup in
Qatar.
Q: Qatar’s World Cup will be played in November and December. Do you thinking holding the tournament in the middle of the traditional European season will have any negative impact?
A: I think the Premier League and other leagues will
adjust for one year. I don’t think that is an issue. They have had
plenty of time to plan for it. That cannot be a problem. It’s great that
they have moved the World Cup to winter. When it was first announced,
they said it will be held in summer and naturally there was some
criticism because it was going to be too hot for the players.
I have experienced that. I have played In Mexico
World Cup in 1970 and we played there in the summer there and it was
hot. We played in a city called Guadalajara which is at 5,000 feet, so
we were playing at an altitude. There were a couple of games in which I
played and I was getting a dizzy spell and had to rest more than I would
normally do.
Now they have quite rightly decided to move the
Qatar World Cup to winter. If it’s that hot, not only it’s not good for
the players but also for the fans, who will be walking around. That
would spoil their enjoyment.
Q: What advice would you give to the Qatari players before the World Cup?
A: My advice for them is to be 100% focused and
dedicated on their performance and fitness. One important thing to be
successful is for the team spirit to be good. I think it’s a fundamental
requirement for a successful national team. The manager needs his
players to commit that. Alf Ramsey (England’s 1966 World Cup winning
coach) for me was good in a way, because when a player didn’t want to be
part of the team, then it was a goodbye. Ramsey was left with a very
good bunch of players and hard-nosed, dedicated players and that for me
has always been a fundamental reason for success. I have talked to other
international players who have won the World Cup and they say they were
successful because the team they played in had great team spirit.
Q: Do you think England can be strong contenders for the 2022 World Cup?
A: I think they will. I am very positive about the
England team at the moment. I think under Gareth Southgate we have
improved and done well. The English fans prior to Southgate’s tenure
were getting very disappointed and disillusioned with the English team.
We were not having a full house at Wembley. But since Southgate has
taken over, we have seen 80-9000 people packed at the stadium. At the
Brazil World Cup in 2014, we played two group games and we were out.
That’s the World Cup and in the Euros we lost against Iceland. That was
the worst game I have seen. The fans want their team to play well so
there was a bit of disillusionment during that period. But now the
situation has changed dramatically. Now there is lot more interest back
home.
Q: Do you think that Southgate can lead England to Euro Championships success this summer?
A: I do fancy England’s chances of winning the
Euros. The last 16, semis and final will be played in London, which I
see as a big advantage for the home team. I can certainly see us
winning. We are a young side. It’s different now to my times, because
there is a smaller percentage of English players playing the league.
Southgate now is selecting players very unusually, for, they have hardly
played for their clubs.
I think Callum Hudson-Odoi for example was picked
for England having hardly played a game for Chelsea. In my time that was
unthinkable. I had to play for three years, my club West Ham was doing
very well and I was scoring goals. Still it was three years before I was
picked for England. I made the West Ham first team in the 1962-63
season. Nowadays it’s different. Having said that, Southgate is
harnessing raw talent who are without experience into a good unit.
Overall, Southgate’s managerial style and what he’s doing, and the way
they’re playing, is just fantastic. There is a team spirit and
camaraderie, which I think was missing for a long time.
Q: Is the memory of scoring a hat-trick in the 1966 World Cup final against West Germany at Wembley still fresh in your mind?
A: The memories are still fresh and it’s also fresh
in fans’ mind. I still get people of my generation talk about the
memories of that final, where they were and what they were doing at that
time. That’s one of the most enjoyable things when you win the World
Cup in your country. Those memories last forever for people and I always
enjoy when people talk about it.
Q: Do u think your feat of scoring a hat-trick in the final of a World Cup will ever be matched?
A: No! I sometimes say yes because nothing is
impossible in football. You can never tell. Who would have thought
Liverpool will win the championship this year so easily? They are 22
points ahead at the moment. And also, who would have thought Liverpool,
one of the greatest clubs, will take 30 years to win another title?
Manchester United under Alex Ferguson achieved so much, but currently
they are languishing in seventh spot. So anything can happen in football
and that’s the beauty of sport. It’s very unpredictable. What is true
is scoring has become lot harder. Teams that are winning the World Cup
are not some of them who are scoring many goals. We scored 11 goals when
we won. In 1956, Jules Fonte scored 13 on his own. It’s statically a
lot tougher, so on that basis you can say it’s a lot harder to equal my
record.
Q: According to you who will be favourites for the title in Qatar?
A: I would say usual suspects are not far away.
France are a very good team at the moment. The Germans have not done
quite as well in recent years but they have been dominant for a long
time. I think England is still in the mix, and in another two years if
the players continue to develop we have a chance. Brazil and Argentina
are always around. Portugal has a good young team, and I think they will
do very well in Euros this year and if they can do then they can be a
force at the World Cup. Having said that, you can sit and predict here
of who will in Qatar in three years’ time but you can never be sure of
what is going to happen.
Q: Your former team West Ham is languishing in 18th
spot in the Premier League. What according to you is the reason for
their decline?
A: We are in a very difficult position, in bottom
three. It’s going to be a hard battle between now and the end of the
season to get out of trouble. I think (manager) David Moyes has been a
good acquisition. I was surprised that, when he got us out of trouble
for the first time we didn’t keep him. He is a very experienced manager
who did well at Everton.
I think he is a good choice, but he has taken over
at a very difficult time and now it’s a tough battle. And we have very
difficult fixtures ahead, with most of the matches against top teams.
The last game was very disappointing, because were 3-1 up against
Brighton and we drew the game. We lost two points and that makes a huge
difference at this time of the season.
Q: Who according to you is the best player – Messi or Ronaldo?
A: I lean towards Messi. Both are great players, even if they had played in any other era.
I just favour Messi a little bit. I have always felt
that Ronaldo and Messi playing at two great clubs Real Madrid and
Barcelona in Spain was great. Them playing in attacking teams meant they
scored lots of goals. But what’s good about Ronaldo going to Juventus
is – even though they are a dominant club – he is still doing very well
there at his age. I think his attitude is very good and he keeps himself
fit. But I always felt Messi is the best player and it’s nice to choose
between two of them.
