Thousands pay tribute to ‘Crazy Horse’

THE greats of British, and particularly Liverpudlian, football united to say a sad farewell to Emlyn Hughes, the man they called Crazy Horse.

Sheffield Cathedral was packed to capacity with almost 2,000 mourners for the funeral of Hughes, who died last week at 57 from a brain tumour.

Thousands of fans, many sporting Liverpool or England shirts, braved the rain to pay their own tribute to one of English soccer’s most loved sons. Hughes captained Liverpool and England, winning 62 caps for his country, and became the only Englishman to lift the European Cup twice in back-to-back triumphs.

Three former Liverpool managers - Graeme Souness, Kenny Dalglish and Roy Evans - were there to pay their respects, plus Manchester City boss Kevin Keegan, a former team-mate, and a host of former Liverpool legends.

World Cup hero Roger Hunt, Ian St John, Ian Callaghan and former assistant manager Phil Thompson were also there. The tribute was read by John Toshack, Wales’ new manager and Hughes’ greatest friend. Toshack and Hughes shared eight seasons at Anfield under Bill Shankly, winning the title three times and the UEFA Cup twice.

“Emlyn epitomised everything that Bill Shankly wanted from a Liverpool player. The fans had their own song for him, ‘come all without, come all within, you’ll not see nothing like the mighty Emlyn’, from a pop song of the day. And they were right, Emlyn was unique, there was only one of him.”