Peter Bonnetti
England, Chelsea goal keeper
Profile
Peter is the former England and Chelsea goalkeeper.
Since retiring from football he has been the goalkeeping coach with the senior England team alongside Glenn Hoddle, and Kevin Keegan, also working at Fulham, and Manchester City.
He retired from the game at the end of the 2003/04 season and he is available for speaking, and penalty shootouts.
Date of birth: 27th September 1941 (Putney).
League appearances: 600 for Chelsea.
England internationals: 7 Full caps and 12 Under 23 caps.
Other honours: European Cup-Winners’ Cup (1971); FA Cup (1970); League Cup (1965).
Summary
Peter Bonetti was a top goalkeeper for almost 20 years, a shot-stopper par excellence, whose agility earned him international caps and a fitting nickname: “The Cat”.
Unlucky to have played in an era in which England was blessed with arguably the world’s finest keeper, Gordon Banks; Bonetti was often the maestro’s understudy, playing his first match for his country in a 2-0 victory over Denmark, having previously turned out 12 times for the Under 23 team.
That fixture took place just eight days before the opening game of the 1966 World Cup Finals, yet it was not until May 1967, when he won two caps in the space of just three days, that Bonetti again pulled on the yellow shirt.
Earlier that same month, he had been between the posts at Wembley as Chelsea lost 2-1 to Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup Final. In 1965 The Blues had been more successful, capturing the League Cup in a two-legged tussle, with Leicester City, Chelsea winning 3-2 on aggregate.
Then, in 1970, Dave Sexton’s stylish Chelsea side beat Leeds United 2-1 in a replay to win the FA Cup for the first time and soon after this success, Bonetti jetted off to Mexico as part of England’s World Cup squad attempting to retain the Jules Remit trophy.
Again lined up as deputy for Gordon Banks, Chelsea’s No.1 gained an unexpected chance in the most dramatic of circumstances: Banks falling ill before the quarter-final tie with West Germany. However, there was to be no fairy-tale ending. England letting slip a two goal lead to bow out of the competition. At the end of the following season, though Peter Bonetti enjoyed still further club success as Chelsea defeated Real Madrid 2-1 to lift the European Cup-Winners-Cup, the first gaming having ended 1-1.
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