Liverpool mourn European Cup-winning stalwart Tommy Smith
LIVERPOOL: Former Liverpool captain Tommy Smith, who helped the club to domestic and European success in the 1960s and 1970s, has died aged 74.
Known as the “Anfield Iron”, Smith had an 18-year career at Anfield, during which he won four league titles. He scored in the 1977 European Cup final as Liverpool beat Borussia Monchengladbach 3-1 to win the trophy for the first time.
Smith, both on April 5, 1945, Smith played once for England, in 1971, and also played at club level for Tampa Bay Rowdies, Los Angeles Aztecs and Swansea City.
The Liverpool manager Bill Shankly, who signed him, once said: “Tommy Smith wasn’t born, he was quarried.”
Shankly brought Smith into his team as a No10 but playing as a second central back when Liverpool began to develop a style which could work both at home but also in European competition.
Smith, who made 638 appearances for the Reds between 1960 and 1978, had struggled with dementia and other ailments during his later years.
His daughter, Janette Simpson, told the club website on Friday: “Dad died very peacefully in his sleep shortly after 4.30pm today at his nursing home. He had been growing increasingly frail and suffering from a variety of ailments over the last three months especially. We are obviously all devastated.”
Former Liverpool midfielder Kenny Dalglish said Smith helped him settle in when he made the move from Celtic to Merseyside in 1977.
He told the club website: “Smith was a fantastic servant. He was a great advert for Liverpool football club. It’s very sad to see him go, but his memories will be there forever.”
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homas Smith MBE (5 April 1945 – 12 April 2019) was an English footballer, who played as a defender at Liverpool for 16 years from 1962 to 1978. Known for his uncompromising defensive style, manager Bill Shanklyonce said of him: “Tommy Smith wasn’t born, he was quarried”. A central defender for most of his career, Smith’s most memorable moment for the club probably came when he scored Liverpool’s second goal in the 1977 European Cup Final against Borussia Mönchengladbach. Smith played once for England, in 1971, and also played at club level for Tampa Bay Rowdies, Los Angeles Aztecsand Swansea City.
