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John Charles, Wales footballer: Profile, Career, News & Videos

John Charles
John Charles
Wales
27 December 1931
forward
John Charles was a Welsh footballer who played at centre-forward and centre-back. Best known for his time at Leeds United and Juventus, he was rated by many as the greatest all-round footballer ever to come from Great Britain and one of the greatest footballers ever.

Charles began his career at Leeds United, having moved there in 1949 from his hometown club, Swansea Town. He was equally adept as a defender or a forward, due to his strength, pace, technique, vision, ability in the air and eye for goal. After returning from national service in 1952, Charles began to be used more often as a forward and was the Second Division's top scorer in 1954. The following year, he was named club captain; in his first season as captain, he led the club to second place and promotion. Charles ended the 1956–57 season as the First Division's top scorer and an eighth-place finish for Leeds. In the summer of 1957, Charles joined Juventus, where he partnered Giampiero Boniperti and Omar Sívori, with the trio becoming known as The Holy Trident. In his five seasons with the club, he won the scudetto three times and the Coppa Italia twice; he was also the capocannoniere winner for the 1957–58 season. In 1962, Charles returned to Leeds, but his time there proved unsuccessful as he was accustomed to the style of play in Italy, and by the end of the year, he had joined Roma. Charles moved back to his native country to play for Cardiff City and ended his career in non-league football in player-manager roles at Hereford United and Merthyr Tydfil. He was never cautioned nor sent off during his entire career, owing to his philosophy of never kicking nor intentionally hurting opposing players. This led to the nickname he acquired while playing for Juventus, Il Gigante Buono (The Gentle Giant). In 1998, Charles was included in the Football League 100 Legends and, in 2002, was one of the inaugural inductees to the Football Hall of Fame.

Charles played for the Welsh national team over fifteen years, from 1950 to 1965. Alongside his brother, Mel Charles, he was a member of the Welsh squad at the 1958 FIFA World Cup. At the tournament, he scored in a 1–1 draw with Hungary but was injured in a play-off match against the same opposition and ruled out of the quarter-final against Brazil, Wales lost the match 1–0, with Pelé scoring the winner. Wales manager Jimmy Murphy opined that had Charles been fit, Wales might have won the match.

For its 50th anniversary in 2004, UEFA asked each of its then 52 member associations to nominate one player as the single most outstanding player of the period 1954–2003: Charles was chosen as the Golden Player of Wales by its national association in November 2003.

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📋 Profile & Career

: Charles with Wales in 1954
⚽ Personal information:
Full name: William John Charles
Date of birth: (1931-12-27)27 December 1931
Place of birth: Swansea, Wales
Date of death: 21 February 2004(2004-02-21) (aged 72)
Place of death: Wakefield, England
Height: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Position(s): Centre-forwardcentre-back
⚽ Youth career:
1946–1948: Swansea Town
1948–1949: Leeds United
⚽ Senior career*:
Years: Team Apps (Gls)
1949–1957: Leeds United 297 (150)
1957–1962: Juventus 155 (108)
1962: Leeds United 11 (3)
1962–1963: Roma 10 (4)
1963–1966: Cardiff City 69 (18)
1966–1971: Hereford United 173 (80)
1972–1974: Merthyr Tydfil
Total: 715 (363)
⚽ International career:
1950–1965: Wales 38 (15)
⚽ Managerial career:
1967–1971: Hereford United (player-manager)
1972–1974: Merthyr Tydfil (player-manager)
1987: Hamilton Steelers
: * Club domestic league appearances and goals

📼 Match Highlights Videos

RoyoBLtT17M Video Image
3:35
Channel Image John Charles, The Gentle Giant [Best Goals]
5 years ago • 27.77K views
Estimated Revenue • $78

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11:06
Channel Image Centenary Stories: John Charles - The Gentle Giant who scored 43 goals in one season
5 years ago • 21.07K views
Estimated Revenue • $59

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5:12
Channel Image Entertainers - John Charles [Leeds United, Juventus & Wales]
13 years ago • 2.97K views
Estimated Revenue • $8

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9:54
Channel Image John Charles Died The Most Tragic Death, And They Lied About This…
7 months ago • 28.63K views
Estimated Revenue • $80

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14:10
Channel Image Welsh Greats: John Charles 1/2
15 years ago • 86.01K views
Estimated Revenue • $241

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10:36
Channel Image John Charles vs Real Madrid 1962 European Cup (All touches & actions)
8 years ago • 6.64K views
Estimated Revenue • $19

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0:43
Channel Image Juventus legend- John Charles thanked by fans
8 years ago • 538 views
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APQf0OPSWcI Video Image
9:21
Channel Image John Charles - The All Time World XI Contender In Two Different Positions
1 years ago • 3.5K views
Estimated Revenue • $10

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5:13
Channel Image John Charles - Changing Rooms
5 years ago • 384 views
Estimated Revenue •

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6:24
Channel Image John Charles Wales & Juventus greatest player
7 years ago • 226 views
Estimated Revenue •

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24:05
Channel Image The John Charles Story (2002)
13 years ago • 8.42K views
Estimated Revenue • $24

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8:55
Channel Image Top 20 goal di John Charles
12 years ago • 3.96K views
Estimated Revenue • $11

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