LONDON: Jimmy Armfield, a former England captain who led Leeds to the European Cup final as a manager before a distinguished career in broadcasting, has died. He was 82.
The Professional Footballers' Association said Armfield died early Monday morning. Armfield had been fighting cancer for the second time, with treatment forcing him to curtail his commentary on Premier League soccer games for the BBC.
PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor said Armfield was a "national hero and football legend."
As a defender, Armfield played 43 times for England from 1959-66. Although Armfield was in England's 1966 World Cup-winning squad, he didn't play. A change to FIFA rules meant he eventually collected a winners' medal in 2009.
Armfield made a club-record 568 appearances for Blackpool before embarking on a managerial career with Bolton and Leeds, which he led to the 1975 European Cup final. Leeds lost to Bayern Munich.
"The football world is much diminished with our loss," Taylor said. "He had time for everybody and made the world a better place with his love for life and all his many activities for his charities, hospitals, his church and his devotion to his wife Anne his sons Duncan and John and their wives and his grandchildren."