Charismatic Northern Irish captain who led Tottenham to the historic Double in 1961 and was the intellectual heart of one of English football's greatest ever teams.
Robert Dennis Blanchflower was born in Belfast on 10 February 1926. He played for Glentoran and Barnsley before joining Tottenham in 1954, where he became club captain and the driving force behind one of the greatest sides in English football history. An elegant, creative wing-half with exceptional vision, he captained Spurs to the iconic Double in 1960-61 — the first in the 20th century. He also led them to the FA Cup in 1962 and the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1963, the first British club to win a European trophy. He was named FWA Footballer of the Year twice (1958, 1961). For Northern Ireland, he earned 56 caps and captained them to the quarter-finals of the 1958 World Cup. He later managed Northern Ireland. Blanchflower died on 9 December 1993.
League Championship 1961
He was named FWA Footballer of the Year twice and famously said: 'The great fallacy is that the game is first and last about winning. It is nothing of the kind. The game is about glory.'
Did You Know?Career Honours
- League Championship 1961
- FA Cup 2x
- European Cup Winners' Cup 1963