Alan Ball had one heck of a ball.

Ball, who this week died of a heart attack at the early age of 61, was one of English football’s finest midfield busybodies. Ball was not only a celebrated World Cup winner for England but he came to represent everything good in the game.

During the 1966 World Cup Final Ball was the lively, dynamic firework who never stopped running. He was the wholesome face of English football who was never less than whole hearted.

When the final whistle went at the end of the final, Ball flung his hands into the air and flopped ecstatically into the arms of his team mates. As a fresh faced youngster barely out of nappies, Ball had become the nation’s back-page darling.

Firstly at Blackpool and then more famously with Everton Alan Ball was that embodiment of the great English hero. Alongside the more composed Colin Harvey and Howard Kendall, Ball fizzed and bubbled in the middle of the Everton midfield.

Sometimes the ginger-haired Ball would, somewhat amusingly, lose his temper with the referee. There were the endless arguments and the inevitable bookings. He could be childish, impatient and prickly but for all his irascible outbursts, Ball was essentially a pussycat.

Sandwiched between Harvey and Kendall, Ball tackled, chased and passed the ball as if nothing else mattered. There was a robust simplicity about his game English football fans loved. He never made the complicated ball where the easy option existed.

By the time he reached Arsenal and then Southampton Ball was already the finished article. His football had already achieved a maturity it would never lose. Under Lawrie McMenemy at Southampton Ball was all footballing wisdom and well intentioned words of advice.

He would lay the ball off to the likes of Mick Channon and Steve Williams with the lightest touches before charging off again. At the Dell he was both idolised and revered by the fans, as much a part of the South Coast as candy floss and kiss-me-quick hats.

There followed not so successful managerial spells at Portsmouth and Manchester City. But for Alan Ball life was a rich and wonderous journey that was never less than enjoyable. There was a youthful exuberance about Ball that never aged, Mourners at his funeral will be asked to laugh. You can be sure he would have expected nothing less.

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