Peter Bonetti

Peter Bonetti is a former professional football goalkeeper, who played most of his career games for Chelsea and was a member of the victorious 22-man England 1966 World Cup Squad. Bonetti was born on 27th September 1941 in Putney, London, to Swiss parents; and moved with his family as a child to the Sussex coast where they ran a cafe on Worthing seafront. Bonetti began playing football at a young age, turning out for Worthing Catholics F.C.

Bonetti signed his first professional contract with Chelsea in early 1960, having been signed from Reading where he was on youth terms. His mother had written to Chelsea requesting that they give him a trial, which they subsequently did. Bonetti made his first team debut in the same year, whilst also playing his part in the youth teams FA Youth Cup success. Bonetti became Chelsea's first choice keeper in the following 1960/61 season, a great achievement personal achievement for a 19 year old. In the following season Chelsea were relegated and subsequently changed their management team, with Tommy Docherty given the responsible of building a new side.

Bonetti became a key player in a new young and talented Chelsea team, which included Terry Venables and future legend Barry Bridges, and they were promoted back to the First Division at first attempt. The maturing Chelsea side were competitive in the First Division, and their form eventually became consistent enough for the club to win the League Cup in 1965; Bonetti had played a key part in this success with a number of excellent saves in a 0-0 draw against Leicester in the first leg of the final. In the same season the team also came close to winning the FA Cup and League Championship, narrowly missing out. Bonetti subsequently played every game for Chelsea in the Fairs Cup during the 1965/66 season, in a run which took the team to the Semi-Finals before elimination.

Bonetti's strong performances resulted in Alf Ramsey calling him up for the national team, handing him his debut in a friendly in the months leading up to the 1966 World Cup. Bonetti, still only 24 years old, was subsequently chosen as one of three goalkeepers in the final 22-man England 1966 World Cup Squad, who were of course to emerge victorious. Bonetti did not feature in the tournament however, with the excellent Gordon Banks and Ron Springett above him in the pecking order. Bonetti would make just 7 International appearances, further restricted by the emergence of a young Peter Shilton, the last of which was against West Germany in the 1970 World Cup in Mexico.

It is with misfortune that most football fans remember Bonetti for this game, his only World Cup appearance, when he was thrown into the starting eleven after Gordon Banks had been struck down by food poisoning. England threw away a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2, with the media placing most of this blame on Bonetti. This criticism was largely unfair however, with Bonetti only being at fault for one of the three goals, and considering that he had conceded just 1 goal in his other 6 International appearances. At the final of the successful 1966 World Cup final, only the 11 players on the pitch at the end of the game were awarded winners medals, whereas in more recent times the entire squad is awarded a medal at such tournaments. In June 2009, after a long campaign, the remaining 11 members of the England World Cup Squad were presented with their winners medals by Prime Minister Gordon Brown at 10 Downing Street.

Bonetti's position as number one keeper for Chelsea was briefly threatened by the clubs decision to sign a talented Alex Stepney in 1966, only for Stepney to leave the club after just 1 game to sign for Manchester United. Chelsea went on to reach the FA Cup final in the following 1967 season, before one again losing out after coming so close to success. Chelsea managed to win the trophy three years later, with a win over Leeds following a replay, with Bonetti emerging as a hero for a number of superb saves. Bonetti and Chelsea tasted more success in the 1970/71 season, adding the UEFA Cup Winners Cup to their trophy cabinet with a win over Real Madrid in Athens. It was again Bonetti that emerged the hero, with a string of saves in the 2-1 win. This was to prove the last trophy that Bonetti would win at the club before being released in 1975 due to Chelsea encountering financial problems.

Bonetti, now 34, signed for American club St. Louis Stars on a free transfer and helped them reach the play-offs in his 21 appearances. Surprisingly, Bonetti then returned to Chelsea, who were now playing in the Second Division, where he played a key part in Chelsea's promotion back to the First Division. He remained at the club for a further two seasons, playing his final game for Chelsea in May 1979 against Arsenal, finally leaving the club having made 729 appearances over 19 seasons; the second most Chelsea appearances by player after Ron Harris. Bonetti conceded 1 goal or less in more than two-thirds of his Chelsea appearances and kept an astonishing 200 clean sheets.

After leaving Chelsea at the age of 37 he moved to the Isle of Mull in the Scottish Hebrides and took a job as a postman. He came out of retirement briefly to become the second choice keeper of Dundee United during the 1979 season, making 5 appearances before again hanging up his gloves. He later decided that a career as a postman was not for him, and he moved into coaching, having spells for a variety of clubs including Manchester City, his beloved Chelsea, and the England national side. In 1986 a 45 year old Bonetti was persuaded to play 2 games for semi-professional team Woking, including a 1-0 win over Conference side Weymouth in the FA Cup. Since 2005 he has made several appearances in Charity football games against celebrity teams, although only coming on for the remaining few minutes of matches, and in 2007 he released a limited edition audio-autobiography CD called '60 Minutes With Peter Bonetti'.