Ron Greenwood

Lore & Background

Greenwood played as a centre-half for Chelsea, Bradford Park Avenue, Brentford, Chelsea again, and Fulham. He never played for West Ham as a player. He managed West Ham from 1961 to 1974, then became general manager for three years, ending his 16-year association with West Ham in 1977. Under Greenwood, West Ham won the FA Cup in 1964 and the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1964–65. The 1980 FA Cup win occurred after he moved upstairs as general manager, with John Lyall in charge of the first team.

In Their Own Story

The Stadio San Nicola was a furnace of noise that night, Bari's summer heat pressing down on the crowd as the Italian flags fluttered in the stands. On the West Ham bench, Ron Greenwood sat with his hands folded, his expression unreadable, a small notebook of set-piece diagrams resting on his knee. The match had been a war of attrition — Frankfurt pushing, West Ham absorbing, the midfield a tangle of tackles and short passes. Then, in the dying minutes, a corner swung in. The ball rose, hung, and found Brooking's head. The net bulged. Greenwood did not stand. He simply closed the notebook, nodded once to his assistant, and allowed the smallest of smiles to break across his weathered face. Around him, the East Enders in the away section were on their feet, singing, weeping, holding up scarves that had been knitted in Hackney and Ilford. For Greenwood, it was not the roar of the crowd that mattered. It was the shape of the team, the discipline of the press, the fact that no one had cracked. That was the game he had built, one training session at the Boleyn Ground at a time, over four years of quiet, relentless work.

Reader's Guide

Greenwood's defining honours at West Ham were the FA Cup (1963–64) and the European Cup Winners' Cup (1964–65). He also led England to qualification for UEFA Euro 1980 and the 1982 FIFA World Cup, where England were unbeaten but eliminated in the second group stage. He retired after the 1982 World Cup.

Did You Know?

• Greenwood was never capped for England but made a single 'B' team appearance in 1952.
• He selected the first black player for England, Viv Anderson, in 1978.
• He was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2006.