The tough miner who led United

Bill Foulkes, who has died aged 81, was a stalwart defender who became the first captain of Manchester United’s ’Busby Babes’ after surviving the Munich air disaster and helped the club to their first European Cup triumph.

Foulkes played 688 times for the club — he never played for another — and became a legendary figure in the history of United.

The highlight of his club success came late on in his career, when aged 36 he scored the winning goal against Real Madrid — and this was by a player who averaged less than a goal a season — to send United through to the 1968 European Cup final, where they went on to beat Benfica.