Mourners cheer for World Cup hero

Memories of the diminutive player's tireless performance during the historic final were shared during the service at Winchester Cathedral.

Members of the victorious 1966 squad joined more than a thousand well-wishers to remember a man who dedicated his life to the beautiful game.

Among them were centre-half Jack Charlton, midfielder Nobby Stiles, goalkeeper Gordon Banks, full-back George Cohen and striker Roger Hunt.

Ball's coffin held centre stage in the hushed cathedral, draped in the St George's Cross England flag and with his trademark chequered grey flat cap on top.

Stiles, the first to pay tribute to his friend and former teammate, said Ball gave him fresh energy during the final, even when he felt he had nothing left. He said: "My most abiding memory of Alan is in the World Cup final. I think all the lads agree he was the best player on the pitch by far. He covered every blade of grass, he was unbelievable."

Leading the mourners was Ball's son Jimmy, 31, who tapped his father's coffin on his way to making his tribute. Mr Ball said he and his sisters were "very fortunate" to have a mother and a father "as great as ours". Ball's wife Lesley died three years ago from ovarian cancer.

He recited Kipling's poem "If" and said it typified his father's spirit. After the final line of the poem which reads "and you'll be a man, my son," Mr Ball said: "And he was a man, probably the best I ever met."

Fighting back tears, former Arsenal captain Frank McLintock paid tribute to Ball who joined him at the club in the early 1970s. He said: "Alan lived his life to the full and I would just like to say thanks for the memories and thanks for his contribution to our lives."

The Rev Canon Michael St John-Channell said Ball would never be forgotten because of the famous victory over West Germany. He said: "It was without exaggeration one of the finest days of this nation which all of us are proud, whether we were there or not, and Alan was very much of that great time. He will never ever be forgotten."