0:00:04 > 0:00:10John Charles was perhaps the finest footballer Wales has ever produced.
0:00:10 > 0:00:17He was indisputably the greatest player in two positions I ever saw, centre-forward and centre-half.
0:00:17 > 0:00:21Born in Swansea, he became a hero in Leeds.
0:00:21 > 0:00:23His greatness came through word-of-mouth.
0:00:23 > 0:00:27"You must go and watch this man John Charles." People came to see him
0:00:27 > 0:00:30in person.
0:00:30 > 0:00:34His time at Juventus made him an international legend.
0:00:34 > 0:00:41I don't think we realised in Wales how good of a player and how much of a god he really was in Italy.
0:00:43 > 0:00:49But it was John's qualities as a man that earned him the title, the gentle giant.
0:01:07 > 0:01:11John Charles was born in 1931 in Cwmdu,
0:01:11 > 0:01:15a solidly working-class area of Swansea.
0:01:15 > 0:01:20The Charles's lived in a small terraced house they shared with another family.
0:01:20 > 0:01:23John's father, Ned, was a steelworker
0:01:23 > 0:01:29whose own promising football career for Swansea Town reserves was ended when he broke his leg.
0:01:29 > 0:01:34Both John and his brother, Mel, would grow up to play football for Wales.
0:01:37 > 0:01:39On me head, boys.
0:01:39 > 0:01:42John was sports-mad from the start.
0:01:42 > 0:01:49As boys, he and Mel spent every spare minute in nearby Cwmbwrla Park.
0:01:49 > 0:01:54We were just saying about this park, it used to be full all day.
0:01:54 > 0:01:57- Jesus, yes.- At 4pm when you finished, if it was school time,
0:01:57 > 0:02:01you finished school, came straight up here,
0:02:01 > 0:02:06it would be two against two and it ended up 22 against 22.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09First game I remember you playing for Gendros.
0:02:09 > 0:02:11I was going down to see the Swans.
0:02:11 > 0:02:16I will always remember it, you said, "Do you fancy a game today?" I said, "I'm going down to see the Swans."
0:02:16 > 0:02:21You said, "I'll even play out." And I scored seven goals.
0:02:21 > 0:02:26- I believe that! - I can't remember that.
0:02:26 > 0:02:28- I'll see you, boys.- Yeah, take care.
0:02:30 > 0:02:32I can't remember him scoring seven goals!
0:02:32 > 0:02:33No, no.
0:02:35 > 0:02:39At the age of 12, John played for Swansea schoolboys,
0:02:39 > 0:02:46who in those days could attract a crowd of 20,000.
0:02:46 > 0:02:50The one thing I remember particularly was an occasion when John Charles
0:02:50 > 0:02:53hadn't done what he was supposed to do in class.
0:02:53 > 0:02:55Charles was called out for the cane.
0:02:55 > 0:02:57I could see the schoolmaster...
0:02:57 > 0:02:59Wake up, Charles, wake up.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02You'll never make a living playing football.
0:03:04 > 0:03:08At the age of 14, John caught the eye of a scout for Swansea Town.
0:03:08 > 0:03:14After a trial at the Vetch Field, he left school to take up a job as one of the ground staff there.
0:03:14 > 0:03:20Cleaning boots and weeding the pitch was all part of a young footballers apprenticeship in those days.
0:03:20 > 0:03:26But after two years of the Vetch, John was frustrated by the fact he was rarely given a chance to play.
0:03:28 > 0:03:35Though Swansea Town failed to see his potential, it wasn't lost on one local man.
0:03:35 > 0:03:39A fellow by the name of Jack Pickard.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42Jack was a grass, what you'd call him now.
0:03:42 > 0:03:46He used to sneak around and get players and sent them off to Leeds.
0:03:46 > 0:03:53Jack Pickard was a scout who worked for Major Frank Buckley, manager of Leeds United.
0:03:53 > 0:03:58Jack was in Cwmbwrla Park one day to watch a local Swansea league fixture
0:03:58 > 0:04:01when he happened to catch sight of John having a kickabout.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04I don't know what he saw in me because I didn't think I could
0:04:04 > 0:04:07play at that time, I didn't think I could play at all.
0:04:07 > 0:04:11But Jack Pickard's notebooks tell another story.
0:04:11 > 0:04:16I noted a group of youngsters having a happy-go-lucky kickabout
0:04:16 > 0:04:19with a soccer ball, behind the goal posts.
0:04:19 > 0:04:23I was so enthralled by the potential of the biggest of the boys
0:04:23 > 0:04:28that I was loathe to leave the spot when my wife gently turned my arm
0:04:28 > 0:04:30and informed me that the match
0:04:30 > 0:04:33I had really come to watch was already in progress.
0:04:33 > 0:04:40So I mentioned that in my opinion he could be coached and trained into a top grade soccer player.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43I'd like to know more about him.
0:04:43 > 0:04:47Jack Pickard later said he felt as excited as a fight manager
0:04:47 > 0:04:50who knows he's found a World Heavyweight Champion.
0:04:50 > 0:04:54So I said, "I will see about sending him to Leeds."
0:04:54 > 0:04:56My mother at the time said,
0:04:58 > 0:05:01"He can't go, I'm very sorry, Mr Pickard."
0:05:01 > 0:05:05He said, "Why?" She said, "He hasn't got his passport yet."
0:05:05 > 0:05:09You've got to remember, she'd never been out of Wales...
0:05:09 > 0:05:12She'd never been out of Swansea, really.
0:05:19 > 0:05:26At the age of 16, John made his first ever trip outside Wales on the seven hour train journey to Leeds.
0:05:26 > 0:05:31After two weeks of trials, Leeds signed him.
0:05:31 > 0:05:35This caused uproar back home when Swansea Town realised what they'd lost.
0:05:35 > 0:05:39At Leeds, John was on £3.10 shillings a week.
0:05:39 > 0:05:45In his modest digs, he and the other apprentices slept three to a bed.
0:05:45 > 0:05:49I made my debut against Queen Of The South.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52Did your family come up and see you for your debut?
0:05:52 > 0:05:55No, they didn't come up, they couldn't afford it,
0:05:55 > 0:05:58and I couldn't afford to bring them out so they didn't come up.
0:06:01 > 0:06:08John was put in at centre half, replacing Tom Holley who was injured and watching from the stands.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11Holley later said, "Within 20 minutes I knew that
0:06:11 > 0:06:15"my football days weren't simply numbered, they were finished."
0:06:15 > 0:06:19John would remain in the Leeds first team for the next eight years.
0:06:21 > 0:06:28Leeds was run like a military unit by the eccentric Boer War veteran, Frank Buckley, who wore plus-fours
0:06:28 > 0:06:32and insisted that even his family address him as Major.
0:06:32 > 0:06:37Major Buckley said, "You are playing centre-half today."
0:06:37 > 0:06:40He was sitting on the line and he said, "Go up for the corner, John."
0:06:40 > 0:06:43A fellow by the name of Chick Farr was in goal.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46I went up for the ball and I heard a bang,
0:06:46 > 0:06:51I got a smack right in the jaw and went down on the floor and Mr Farr,
0:06:51 > 0:06:53which I called him then.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56He said, "Don't come in the penalty area any more, will you, John?"
0:06:56 > 0:06:59I said, "No, Mr Farr, I won't come in any more."
0:07:02 > 0:07:07John was not an aggressive man but he was a formidable footballer.
0:07:07 > 0:07:12Major Buckley said of him, "John Charles is the greatest I've ever had.
0:07:12 > 0:07:16"I've never seen anyone like him in 50 years in the game."
0:07:16 > 0:07:20What made John special was his versatility.
0:07:20 > 0:07:25In 1952, Buckley moved him from defence to the attacking position of centre forward.
0:07:25 > 0:07:31That season, John scored 26 goals in 28 League games.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34There's only one thing to do in football, score goals.
0:07:34 > 0:07:38When I was playing centre forward and I scored goals, that was the best position.
0:07:38 > 0:07:40No matter what anybody else says.
0:07:40 > 0:07:44When you didn't score goals it was better to play centre half.
0:07:44 > 0:07:51For the final game of the season, Buckley paired John with a promising new 17-year-old at centre-half.
0:07:51 > 0:07:55When they saw the first team for the game at Doncaster,
0:07:55 > 0:08:00I remember John looking at it and going, "Who's that?"
0:08:00 > 0:08:04Pointing to me. I didn't even know I was playing, nobody had told me.
0:08:04 > 0:08:08Jack was just coming through then at the beginning.
0:08:10 > 0:08:12As a matter of fact,
0:08:12 > 0:08:16I went to centre forward and he came into centre half.
0:08:16 > 0:08:22I remember at Elland Road once, I'd got settled into the team a bit then.
0:08:22 > 0:08:24We had a corner against us.
0:08:24 > 0:08:27John came back
0:08:27 > 0:08:31and I said to him, "We don't need you back here, you are better up front.
0:08:31 > 0:08:34"We've handled everything up to now, we are OK."
0:08:35 > 0:08:40He went, "Don't you talk to me like that. I'll go where I want to go."
0:08:40 > 0:08:46Then after the match he came and got me against the wall in the dressing room and had a right go at me.
0:08:46 > 0:08:50"You don't ever tell me what I'm supposed to be doing on the pitch!"
0:08:53 > 0:08:57Jack and John were soon working smoothly together as a team.
0:08:58 > 0:09:06During the 1953-54 season, John set a new club record scoring 42 League goals.
0:09:06 > 0:09:10A record that remains unbeaten to this day.
0:09:10 > 0:09:13He was now Leeds' star player.
0:09:15 > 0:09:19His physique and fitness, his ball control and heading power...
0:09:19 > 0:09:21With the old fashioned football we used to play
0:09:21 > 0:09:25in then days, it was tremendous. I think everybody admired him.
0:09:25 > 0:09:27So when they played away from home
0:09:27 > 0:09:30I think he was one of these players
0:09:30 > 0:09:31who put 3,000 to 4,000
0:09:31 > 0:09:35extra spectators on the gate, just to come and watch one man play football.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38Tremendous player.
0:09:38 > 0:09:44If we'd had television, the great, exposure of television in those days,
0:09:44 > 0:09:48John would have been a much more famous character.
0:09:48 > 0:09:53Everybody has seen Shearer, everybody has seen Zola,
0:09:53 > 0:09:57everyone has seen Ruud Gullit on television.
0:09:57 > 0:10:02But they didn't see John Charles on television.
0:10:02 > 0:10:08But his reputation, his greatness, came through word of mouth.
0:10:08 > 0:10:13"You must go and watch this man John Charles." People came to see him in person.
0:10:13 > 0:10:15He was that much important to Leeds United
0:10:15 > 0:10:17that the club used to unfairly
0:10:17 > 0:10:24get called Charles United because he scored so many of the goals and did so much of the defending...
0:10:24 > 0:10:30There were some good players in the side but I think any side would have paled in comparison to John.
0:10:30 > 0:10:35John didn't let this adulation go to his head.
0:10:35 > 0:10:42I remember being in a club in Stoke many years ago, a nightclub.
0:10:42 > 0:10:44I was there to judge a beauty contest,
0:10:44 > 0:10:46Miss Potteries or something like that.
0:10:46 > 0:10:50I was standing at the bar thinking, what am I doing here?
0:10:50 > 0:10:55I was tapped on my shoulder and I turned around and looked up, there was this big man.
0:10:55 > 0:10:57WELSH ACCENT: He said, "You don't know me, my name is John Charles."
0:10:57 > 0:10:59I said, "I don't know you?
0:10:59 > 0:11:01"You are my hero! Come and sit down."
0:11:01 > 0:11:03But it seemed to me he wasn't being affective.
0:11:03 > 0:11:07He thought I genuinely didn't know him, that he would have to introduce himself.
0:11:07 > 0:11:12I think that is an indication of the genuine modesty of the man.
0:11:12 > 0:11:14Even as Leeds' top goalscorer,
0:11:14 > 0:11:20John was on the standard wage of only £15 a week... With the odd bonus.
0:11:20 > 0:11:23I remember when I scored a hat-trick,
0:11:23 > 0:11:26I think it was against Doncaster.
0:11:26 > 0:11:33I go around the ground on the Tuesday,
0:11:33 > 0:11:39I'm walking into the ground and the chairman is coming round and he said, "Well done, Jack." He called me Jack.
0:11:39 > 0:11:40"Well done, Jack.
0:11:42 > 0:11:46"You go to my garage and get three gallons of petrol."
0:11:46 > 0:11:50I looked at him and I said, "Mr Bolton, I haven't got a car."
0:11:50 > 0:11:55In parallel with his success at Leeds, John was enjoying a career
0:11:55 > 0:11:58as an international player alongside his brother, Mel.
0:12:00 > 0:12:06However, John's Welsh debut, against Northern Ireland in 1950, didn't go well.
0:12:06 > 0:12:09I had some shocking write-ups that I could repeat after that match.
0:12:09 > 0:12:15And the worst one, I think, was a gentleman called Desmond Hackett, who didn't like me anyway, I don't think.
0:12:15 > 0:12:18And he gave me some stick in the paper.
0:12:18 > 0:12:21And I wasn't picked for two years after.
0:12:21 > 0:12:25And I was only picked because Ray Daniels had gone with Arsenal to
0:12:25 > 0:12:30Brazil on a tour and they were short of a centre half, so they picked me.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33And from then on I didn't come out of the team.
0:12:37 > 0:12:41COMMENTATOR: Judged from the size of the crowd, it seems as if all Welsh Wales has come to Wembley.
0:12:41 > 0:12:44The 65th battle against of white shirts of England.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51In those days, fixtures between the British home nations
0:12:51 > 0:12:53were a highlight of the footballing calendar.
0:12:55 > 0:12:57The atmosphere used to be terrific.
0:12:57 > 0:13:01You know, you'd go to Hampden Park and there would be 100,000 there.
0:13:01 > 0:13:05Or you'd go to Ninian Park and there'd be 50 or 60,000 at Ninian Park.
0:13:05 > 0:13:07It was terrific, terrific.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10It used to build you up.
0:13:10 > 0:13:14When they used to play the national anthem, you used to get emotional and what have you.
0:13:14 > 0:13:15It was absolutely terrific.
0:13:15 > 0:13:22Wales had John Charles in their half-back line with his brother, Mel. Also a very alert mascot.
0:13:22 > 0:13:26Top spectators were soon watching Welsh right winger, Cliff Jones, racing away.
0:13:28 > 0:13:31Wales, in fact, made a pretty good start in this international at Ninian Park.
0:13:31 > 0:13:36Half an hour had barely passed when Graham Williams beat Springett.
0:13:42 > 0:13:44In spite of this opener, England looked the better side.
0:13:44 > 0:13:48But they had those two Charleses to contend with that and Kelsey in goal.
0:13:48 > 0:13:51Now John Charles cleared a certainty.
0:13:51 > 0:13:55The match petered out as a draw but spectators had their heroes to
0:13:55 > 0:13:59acclaim, notably of course, John Charles, who was mobbed.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08Now enjoying a successful international career,
0:14:08 > 0:14:11John was becoming frustrated with life in the Second Division at Leeds.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14He now had a family to provide for.
0:14:14 > 0:14:20At the age of 21, he had married Peggy White, whom he'd met at the Astoria Dance Hall.
0:14:20 > 0:14:23With his wife, Peggy, and his six-week-old baby, Terrence,
0:14:23 > 0:14:26John Charles, the Welsh international,
0:14:26 > 0:14:27relaxes for a few moments
0:14:27 > 0:14:31before he and the rest of the Leeds United team meet Hibernian.
0:14:31 > 0:14:33Charles has been seeking a transfer from Leeds,
0:14:33 > 0:14:35preferably to Arsenal or Cardiff.
0:14:35 > 0:14:39But Charles, number five, learns his request has been turned down.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42Equally at home as centre-half or centre-forward,
0:14:42 > 0:14:48he shows the style that has brought Leeds offers of around the £50,000 mark for his transfer.
0:14:50 > 0:14:52Despite Charles' magnificent efforts,
0:14:52 > 0:14:54Leeds United go down to Hibernian.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57Charles, the leading goalscorer last season, hears from manager
0:14:57 > 0:15:01Raich Carter that the directors are unanimous in their decision.
0:15:01 > 0:15:06John Charles, who is just 22 years old and has been hailed as the outstanding player of his age,
0:15:06 > 0:15:09is keeping his name on the transfer list just in case.
0:15:11 > 0:15:13Leeds resisted all advances from other clubs.
0:15:13 > 0:15:17However, in 1957, after John had helped the club
0:15:17 > 0:15:21win promotion to the First Division by scoring 29 goals,
0:15:21 > 0:15:25Leeds were made an offer they couldn't refuse.
0:15:28 > 0:15:34John was approached by an Italian scout representing Juventus.
0:15:34 > 0:15:39Juventus had the backing of the wealthy Agnelli family, who owned the Fiat car empire.
0:15:39 > 0:15:46They offered Leeds the highest transfer fee in British football history.
0:15:47 > 0:15:51Tears mingle with cheers as John Charles scores his last goal for Leeds.
0:15:51 > 0:15:54The feeling was of dejection and sadness.
0:15:54 > 0:15:58Myself included, grown men had tears in their eyes that day.
0:15:58 > 0:16:02The joke of the day was that when he was transferred to Juventus,
0:16:02 > 0:16:07they said, "They've transferred John Charles to Juventus and the rest of the team to Fray Bentos."
0:16:07 > 0:16:09I was going to Italy for two years.
0:16:09 > 0:16:11I didn't know what I was going into. And I thought,
0:16:11 > 0:16:16"Well, I've got a two-year contract with the Juventus club and I'm going to stick the two years out.
0:16:16 > 0:16:20If I don't like it, I'm still young enough to come back and play in this country."
0:16:20 > 0:16:24The man whom everyone acclaims as the greatest and gentlest footballer of our time
0:16:24 > 0:16:27goes off to Italy in the most sensational transfer of the year.
0:16:27 > 0:16:33£65,000 - that's the price Italy pays for the footballer of the year John Charles.
0:16:37 > 0:16:39When he landed in Turin,
0:16:39 > 0:16:44John was greeted by 2,000 Juventus fans shouting, "Equo il nostro salvatore".
0:16:44 > 0:16:46"Here comes our saviour."
0:16:46 > 0:16:53He earned a signing-on fee of £10,000, as opposed to the £10 he would have got in Britain.
0:16:53 > 0:16:57He was also given an apartment and a car - a Fiat, naturally.
0:17:03 > 0:17:08But despite these fringe benefits, the basic wages for a player in Italy were modest.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14I was on £16 a week in Italy.
0:17:16 > 0:17:20The way you make money in Italy is that you've got to win.
0:17:20 > 0:17:28And anything from £100 to £200 bonus, that was what they used to pay you.
0:17:28 > 0:17:33During John's first season at Juventus, the bonuses rolled in.
0:17:33 > 0:17:38Having finished ninth in the league the previous season, Juventus now won it.
0:17:38 > 0:17:43John was named the league's capo cannoniere, or top scorer,
0:17:43 > 0:17:46a title no other Briton has ever won.
0:17:46 > 0:17:52And memorable moments like this won him the title King Charles of the Soccer World.
0:17:55 > 0:18:00Unlike many foreign players, John make the effort to fit into Italian society.
0:18:00 > 0:18:04He learnt the language and the people of Turin loved him for it.
0:18:04 > 0:18:09They also appreciated his sportsmanship and sense of fair play.
0:18:09 > 0:18:15In a career that spanned four decades, John was never once booked by a referee.
0:18:15 > 0:18:21The Juventus fans called him Il Gigante Buono, the gentle giant.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29John revealed a hidden talent in Italy.
0:18:29 > 0:18:33He loved to sing, and after an impromptu performance with other
0:18:33 > 0:18:37Juventus players in a nightclub, he was signed up to cut a record.
0:18:40 > 0:18:46As a matter of fact, I topped Nat King Cole in Rome on television.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49They said to me, "You've got to sing after Nat King Cole."
0:18:49 > 0:18:53I said, "Well, you know, Nat King Cole's a singer, he's top of the bill, isn't he?"
0:18:53 > 0:18:56And they said, "No, but you're going to sing after him."
0:18:56 > 0:18:58You know, it was unbelievable, really.
0:18:58 > 0:19:00Unbelievable.
0:19:02 > 0:19:09Having paid a record fee for their new star, Juventus were reluctant to release him for international games.
0:19:09 > 0:19:14During his five years in Turin, John played for Wales only 14 times.
0:19:14 > 0:19:17When Wales qualified for the 1958 World Cup,
0:19:17 > 0:19:20there was doubt as to whether John would make it.
0:19:20 > 0:19:22I missed a lot of matches.
0:19:22 > 0:19:27In 1958 I had to beg to go to Sweden.
0:19:28 > 0:19:31But I went in the end. They let me go in the end.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36In Stockholm, having drawn 1-1 against Hungary
0:19:36 > 0:19:39Wales faced them again in the group stages.
0:19:39 > 0:19:43The Hungarians were a tough team and John was a marked man.
0:19:43 > 0:19:49A series of shocking fouls on him went unpunished by the Russian referee.
0:19:49 > 0:19:53They kicked hell out of me that day, and I was injured.
0:19:53 > 0:19:56I think they kicked me in the back, I think I had back trouble.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59The back of my legs were all black and blue.
0:19:59 > 0:20:02And that was it, I couldn't play.
0:20:06 > 0:20:10Without their star player, Wales lost the semi-final, beaten
0:20:10 > 0:20:16by a Brazilian team that featured a 17 year-old newcomer called Pele.
0:20:17 > 0:20:22In 1962, after five years at Juventus, John decided to return
0:20:22 > 0:20:26to Britain so that his children could attend school in England.
0:20:28 > 0:20:32Leeds United welcomed him back with open arms,
0:20:32 > 0:20:34paying a transfer fee of £53,000.
0:20:34 > 0:20:40The bill was passed on to fans with ticket prices rising by 150%.
0:20:40 > 0:20:44John had great expectations to fulfil.
0:20:44 > 0:20:49It's nice to come back but it's not right to come back to a place that you already been to.
0:20:49 > 0:20:54You know, they expect, when you left, sort of thing, that you'd be the same when you came back.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57And it didn't work out, really.
0:20:57 > 0:21:02Under new manager Don Revie, Leeds was now a very different club.
0:21:02 > 0:21:05Only two of John's old team-mates were still in the squad,
0:21:05 > 0:21:09and John was no longer the player he had once been.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12He never regained his old form.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15Don Revie wanted to keep me, but I said, "No, I'll have to go because,
0:21:15 > 0:21:17"you know, I'm not doing you justice either."
0:21:17 > 0:21:20So I went back to Rome to see if I could handle it.
0:21:20 > 0:21:23Rome was worse, actually.
0:21:23 > 0:21:28John returned to Italy after only three months and 11 games at Leeds.
0:21:28 > 0:21:34But his season at Roma was a washout and he was soon back in Britain.
0:21:34 > 0:21:38For the first time in his career, John signed to a Welsh club.
0:21:38 > 0:21:43For a fee of £22,500, he was bought by Cardiff City.
0:21:46 > 0:21:50ARCHIVE: Then there's that well-known traveller, John Charles, exported
0:21:50 > 0:21:53and re-imported until everyone was dizzy, including Charles,
0:21:53 > 0:21:55and when he thought he'd finally settle down
0:21:55 > 0:22:02with Cardiff, he's almost banned from playing because Leeds say Italy still owe them money for the last sale.
0:22:02 > 0:22:06Gentlemen, please! Let's settle the horse-trading and get on with the football.
0:22:09 > 0:22:15At Ninian Park, John passed on his experience to younger players such as John Toshack,
0:22:15 > 0:22:21who later said, "I learnt as much from John as I did from years playing the game."
0:22:23 > 0:22:26His presence on the pitch, you thought, well, if you got beat
0:22:26 > 0:22:29there was always big John at the back to save you,
0:22:29 > 0:22:31or if you were a goal down,
0:22:31 > 0:22:36the big fella would go up and get a header in and score for you.
0:22:36 > 0:22:39So you were always in with a chance.
0:22:39 > 0:22:47But after three years with the Bluebirds, John, now aged 34, was suffering serious injury problems.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50The end of his Football League career was in sight.
0:22:50 > 0:22:54What was the deciding day, or the point that made you decide that
0:22:54 > 0:22:58you could no longer continue to the standards that you'd set yourself?
0:22:58 > 0:23:02Peter, when I got my letter from Cardiff that said,
0:23:02 > 0:23:07"We will not be employing you next year. Please will you find another club?"
0:23:07 > 0:23:09So I said, I'm finished.
0:23:13 > 0:23:21For a player who'd been adored by millions in Italy and in Britain, this was a bitter pill to swallow.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27You know, when you think it's going to go on and on and on and on, you know,
0:23:27 > 0:23:29and you're not going to finish...
0:23:29 > 0:23:33And all of a sudden, the day comes when they say, right, we don't need you any more,
0:23:33 > 0:23:35and you've got a free transfer to go where you want to.
0:23:35 > 0:23:41And you're shocked, I can assure you, shocked for about two months after that.
0:23:41 > 0:23:43Why have they let me go, you know?
0:23:43 > 0:23:51And then you realise that you're getting older anyway and you're not good enough to play in the division.
0:23:54 > 0:23:58So began the slow, inevitable slide down the minor leagues.
0:23:58 > 0:24:02John left Ninian Park to spend six years with Hereford,
0:24:02 > 0:24:04where he became player-manager.
0:24:04 > 0:24:10But in 1972, at the end of 40, his time there was up, too.
0:24:10 > 0:24:17His last job as a player was at Merthyr Town, where he briefly introduced a lilac and yellow strip
0:24:17 > 0:24:20in imitation of the colourful style of the Italian clubs.
0:24:22 > 0:24:26In 1974, John's story came full circle.
0:24:26 > 0:24:31He returned to Swansea to help develop the club's youth programme.
0:24:31 > 0:24:33Yes, I enjoyed coaching youngsters.
0:24:33 > 0:24:37Not the older players - the youngsters, because I think that
0:24:37 > 0:24:40you see something when it comes out in the end, the end product.
0:24:40 > 0:24:44When you see someone coming through, which I, at the time I was lucky -
0:24:44 > 0:24:47I had a lot of good little players, actually. I had about seven of them.
0:24:47 > 0:24:50I took them from the Fourth up to the First Division.
0:24:55 > 0:24:59When he wasn't coaching, John helped the groundsman,
0:24:59 > 0:25:02doing the same kind of jobs he had once done as an apprentice.
0:25:02 > 0:25:06His love of the game was such he was just happy to be there.
0:25:09 > 0:25:14After two years, John decided to return to Leeds, to run a pub.
0:25:14 > 0:25:17The New Inn wasn't John's first businesses.
0:25:17 > 0:25:22In Italy, he'd owned a share in a restaurant which had ended up costing him £35,000.
0:25:22 > 0:25:28In Cardiff, a failed sports shop had cost him another £9,000.
0:25:28 > 0:25:31This new venture fared no better.
0:25:31 > 0:25:36The strain of running a pub together ended John and Peggy's marriage.
0:25:36 > 0:25:43In 1984, John left the New Inn and took over a second pub, with his new wife, Glenda.
0:25:43 > 0:25:45But this turned out even worse.
0:25:45 > 0:25:48John ended up in court for non-payment of rates.
0:25:48 > 0:25:51He was sentenced to two months in jail.
0:25:51 > 0:25:54He was waiting for the prison bus to turn up
0:25:54 > 0:26:00when Glenda arrived in a taxi with £943 in cash to pay the arrears.
0:26:00 > 0:26:06It later turned out that the money had come from Leslie Silver, chairman of Leeds United.
0:26:07 > 0:26:11A testimonial match at Leeds helped John get back on his feet.
0:26:11 > 0:26:17He spent his retirement living in a modest house on the outskirts of Leeds.
0:26:17 > 0:26:23On Saturdays, he could be found at Elland Road, where he remained a folk hero.
0:26:25 > 0:26:29And whenever he returned to Italy, he was treated like a star.
0:26:38 > 0:26:39MAN SPEAKS ITALIAN
0:26:39 > 0:26:44- You are the best one.- Thank you.
0:26:44 > 0:26:45The best one.
0:27:00 > 0:27:06In 1997, the Italian public paid John the greatest compliment possible.
0:27:06 > 0:27:09There was a poll on the best foreign player to play in Italy,
0:27:09 > 0:27:11and John Charles came out on top,
0:27:11 > 0:27:17and for him to come out on top when the likes of Diego Maradona, Michel Platini, you know...
0:27:17 > 0:27:19It's an incredible achievement.
0:27:21 > 0:27:28When the Italian team played Wales at the Millennium Stadium in 2002, John was there.
0:27:38 > 0:27:41BBC Radio News with David Woodward.
0:27:41 > 0:27:47The Welsh footballing legend John Charles has died at the age of 72 after a short illness.
0:27:47 > 0:27:52He was known as the Gentle Giant to a generation of Welsh, English and Italian fans.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55Good morning, BBC Radio Leeds News at nine o'clock.
0:27:55 > 0:27:59Football legend John Charles has died at the age of 72.
0:27:59 > 0:28:02The former Leeds, Juventus and Wales player passed away
0:28:02 > 0:28:04in the early hours of this morning.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07NEWSREADER SPEAKS IN ITALIAN
0:28:12 > 0:28:14NEWSREADER SPEAKS IN ITALIAN
0:28:29 > 0:28:31After a lifetime of travelling,
0:28:31 > 0:28:36John's ashes were laid to rest in his hometown of Swansea.
0:28:51 > 0:28:53Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:53 > 0:28:54E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk