Bobby Moore Statue, Wembley Way

The Statue of Bobby Moore on Olympic Way in London is a twenty-foot bronze sculpture created by Philip Jackson to honor England's World Cup-winning football captain outside Wembley Stadium. Unveiled by Sir Bobby Charlton on May 11, 2007, it marked the completion of the new stadium ahead of the 2007 FA Cup Final. The stone plinth features a 1970 World Championship cap and an inscription written by football journalist Jeff Powell.

London Β· from the walk β€œThe Beautiful Game: London's Football Trail” Β· audio ~4 min Β· Generated

Statue of Bobby Moore, Olympic Way, Wembley HA9 0GF

When was the Statue of Bobby Moore at Wembley Stadium unveiled?

Look up ahead. You see him, don't you? Twenty feet of bronze, towering over Wembley Way... Bobby Moore. Arms folded, jaw set, gazing north along this very path you're walking now... as if he's still watching over every fan who approaches England's home of football.......... This statue was unveiled on the eleventh of May, two thousand and seven, by Sir Bobby Charlton himself, with guests including Moore's widow Stephanie, Prime Minister Tony Blair, and Sir Geoff Hurst. It was, in fact, the finishing touch to the completion of the new Wembley... the stadium's final piece before it officially opened for the two thousand and seven FA Cup Final.......... But here's something most people walk right past. Look at the front of the stone plinth. There's a plaque depicting the Rest of the nineteen sixty-six England team. And on the side... a sculpted England cap, with the words "World Championship, Jules Rimet Cup, nineteen seventy" on the peak. Nineteen Seventy, not sixty-six. Why? Because that cap honors Moore's Other legendary World Cup... the one in Mexico.......... And what happened just before that tournament is extraordinary. In Bogotah, Colombia, Moore was falsely accused of stealing a bracelet from a jewelry shop. He was actually Arrested... then completely exonerated of all charges. Imagine that. Days before defending England's crown... your captain is sitting in a Colombian police station. Yet he walked out, composed as ever, and delivered what many consider his greatest performance.......... In the group stage against Brazil, his perfectly executed tackle on Jairzinyo became one of football's most replayed moments, and the photograph of him and Pelay smiling and swapping shirts at the final whistle became a worldwide symbol of fair play.......... Now, the man who sculpted this bronze... Philip Jackson, the Royal Sculptor to the late Queen Elizabeth the Second, whose works can be found across the United Kingdom, Argentina, and Switzerland. Jackson admitted that the one person he was aiming to please was Stephanie Moore. He said, "If I pleased her, I knew I would be home and dry." And when she saw the finished work... she said simply, "It's so like Bobby. Even the shoulders are just right. It was as if he was standing there in front of me."

...... Here's a detail that gives me chills. This statue was commissioned after an FA fan poll to find the greatest England player of the last fifty years. Moore won it... hands down. And yet... according to The Guardian, this statue was the Football Association's First official tribute to Moore... fourteen years after his death.......... The inscription you see was composed by Jeff Powell, a football journalist and one of Moore's closest friends. Those famous opening words... "Immaculate footballer. Imperial defender. Immortal hero of nineteen sixty-six."

...... And consider this final stat. In that nineteen sixty-six final, Moore completed sixty-four passes... more than Anyone else on the pitch... with a passing accuracy of ninety-three percent, also better than any player on either side. A centre-back. Outpassing every midfielder, every attacker, on the biggest stage in world football. That is the man standing above you right now.

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