When Matthews announced he was hanging up his boots in 1965, every top footballer in the world wanted to play in the 50-year-old's final professional game
(Image credit: Stanley Matthews testimonial)
When Stanley Matthews turned 50 in February 1965 and finally announced his retirement from professional football at the end of the season, Stoke City decided to commemorate the Englishman's 33-year career with a testimonial at the Victoria Ground, their former home.
It wasn't just any game of football, though. It included some of the biggest and best names in the world at the time, from Lev Yashin and Alfredo Di Stefano to Ferenc Puskas and Jimmy Greaves.
Played in front of 35,000 fans at the Victoria Ground - where Matthews had spent 19 years of his illustrious career - on April 28, 1965, and a further estimated 112 million people watching on TV and listening on radios from around the world, a Stan's XI took on an International XI with arguably the greatest list of assembled footballers in history.
Stan's XI consisted of players plying their trade in England's leagues at the time, while the International XI featured a host of household names from across the world.
The original team sheet for Stanley Matthews' testimonial in 1965 (Image credit: Stanley Matthews testimonial)
Unfortunately for the 35,000 fans in attendance at the Victoria Ground, many of the stars listed on the team sheet actually didn't play. In total, 17 players (10 from the International XI and seven from Matthews' XI) initially listed were unable to feature in the testimonial.
Dennis Law and Bobby Charlton were instead turning out for Manchester United that night against Aston Villa in the league. The final game of the season, United lost 2-1 at Villa Park - though they were still crowned the 1964/65 champions anyway.
Bobby Moore, also on the team sheet for Stan's XI, didn't feature. On that night he was instead playing in the semi-final of the European Cup Winners' Cup against Real Zaragoza. West Ham drew 1-1 in the second leg after a 1-0 victory in the first, meaning they progressed to the final, where they beat 1860 Munich 2-0.
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Other competitive fixtures around the date of Matthews' testimonial also meant players such as Ray Wilson and Roger Hunt couldn't play for Stan's XI, while Eusebio, Paco Gento, John Charles and Raymond Kopa were missing from the International XI.
Pele also reportedly requested to play in the game, but either his club, Santos, or the Brazilian FA denied him the opportunity.
Regardless, the International XI won 6-4, with Ferenc Puskas bagging a brace, as Josef Masopust, Laszlo Kubala, Willie Henderson and Godfried van den Boer - a late replacement - got the rest of the goals for the International XI.
Bryan Douglas also scored twice for Stan's XI, with Jimmy Greaves and John Ritchie notching the others.
Fittingly, Puskas and Yashin carried Matthews off the pitch on their shoulders at full-time, celebrating the legendary winger's career in front of the adoring crowd.
The pre-match entertainment wasn't too bad either, with a game between retired legends of the sport played out before the showpiece event. Former players such as Bert Trautmann, Nat Lofthouse, Tom Finney, Jackie Milburn and Danny Blanchflower starred, warming the crowd up before the ensemble of current superstars took to the pitch.
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Ryan is a staff writer for FourFourTwo, joining the team full-time in October 2022. He first joined Future in December 2020, working across FourFourTwo, Golf Monthly, Rugby World and Advnture's websites, before eventually earning himself a position with FourFourTwo permanently. After graduating from Cardiff University with a degree in Journalism and Communications, Ryan earned a NCTJ qualification to further develop as a writer while a Trainee News Writer at Future.
