Hurst is 78, but looks much younger and can dazzle the room with his witty anecdotes. In a wide-ranging interview with Gulf Times, the English legend spoke about Qatar hosting the 2022 World Cup, memories of his magical night at Wembley and much more. Excerpts:
Q. You have been coming to Qatar since 2005, what are your impressions of the country?
A: It’s my third visit to Qatar. Last year I came here and my first was in 2005. I enjoyed my visit last year. It’s very different from what it was in 2005. I have been to one or two Arab countries before; it’s a different culture and I enjoy being here. I spent two years coaching in Kuwait from 1982-84. It’s nice going to different countries and cultures.
Qatar has changed dramatically over the years. I can see many changes in a short time since my visit last year. I can see so much construction going on. It’s just enormous and amazing. You are going to need that when hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world come to Qatar for the World Cup. I think that was an issue they spoke about. Like when the fans come, where they going to stay? Someone was speaking about housing fans on cruise ships here. I think that is fascinating and that will be fun.
Q: Qatar will make history in 2022, when it will become the first Arab country to host the FIFA World Cup. How important is it to host the tournament in new countries and regions?
A: I think every country is different. And of course, every country is different when it comes to hosting the World Cup. It’s very different and unusual and because of that it makes interesting for a different culture to host the World Cup. I firmly believe every country should have an opportunity to host the World Cup. It’s fantastic what they are doing here and I am convinced it will be a successful World Cup.
There will always be negatives. When any World Cup comes around there has always been negativity – Russia was a good example. But after the World Cup in Russia every single English person I spoke to said the tournament and hospitality of the Russians was fantastic. I don’t go around with negativity. As a person I am positive, as a player I was very positive. It’s going to be a great World Cup in Qatar.
Q: Qatar’s World Cup will be played in November and December. Do you thinking holding the tournament in the middle of the traditional European season will have any negative impact?
A: I think the Premier League and other leagues will adjust for one year. I don’t think that is an issue. They have had plenty of time to plan for it. That cannot be a problem. It’s great that they have moved the World Cup to winter. When it was first announced, they said it will be held in summer and naturally there was some criticism because it was going to be too hot for the players.
I have experienced that. I have played In Mexico World Cup in 1970 and we played there in the summer there and it was hot. We played in a city called Guadalajara which is at 5,000 feet, so we were playing at an altitude. There were a couple of games in which I played and I was getting a dizzy spell and had to rest more than I would normally do.
Now they have quite rightly decided to move the Qatar World Cup to winter. If it’s that hot, not only it’s not good for the players but also for the fans, who will be walking around. That would spoil their enjoyment.
Q: What advice would you give to the Qatari players before the World Cup?
A: My advice for them is to be 100% focused and dedicated on their performance and fitness. One important thing to be successful is for the team spirit to be good. I think it’s a fundamental requirement for a successful national team. The manager needs his players to commit that. Alf Ramsey (England’s 1966 World Cup winning coach) for me was good in a way, because when a player didn’t want to be part of the team, then it was a goodbye. Ramsey was left with a very good bunch of players and hard-nosed, dedicated players and that for me has always been a fundamental reason for success. I have talked to other international players who have won the World Cup and they say they were successful because the team they played in had great team spirit.
Q: Do you think England can be strong contenders for the 2022 World Cup?
A: I think they will. I am very positive about the England team at the moment. I think under Gareth Southgate we have improved and done well. The English fans prior to Southgate’s tenure were getting very disappointed and disillusioned with the English team. We were not having a full house at Wembley. But since Southgate has taken over, we have seen 80-9000 people packed at the stadium. At the Brazil World Cup in 2014, we played two group games and we were out. That’s the World Cup and in the Euros we lost against Iceland. That was the worst game I have seen. The fans want their team to play well so there was a bit of disillusionment during that period. But now the situation has changed dramatically. Now there is lot more interest back home.
Q: Do you think that Southgate can lead England to Euro Championships success this summer?
A: I do fancy England’s chances of winning the Euros. The last 16, semis and final will be played in London, which I see as a big advantage for the home team. I can certainly see us winning. We are a young side. It’s different now to my times, because there is a smaller percentage of English players playing the league. Southgate now is selecting players very unusually, for, they have hardly played for their clubs.
I think Callum Hudson-Odoi for example was picked for England having hardly played a game for Chelsea. In my time that was unthinkable. I had to play for three years, my club West Ham was doing very well and I was scoring goals. Still it was three years before I was picked for England. I made the West Ham first team in the 1962-63 season. Nowadays it’s different. Having said that, Southgate is harnessing raw talent who are without experience into a good unit. Overall, Southgate’s managerial style and what he’s doing, and the way they’re playing, is just fantastic. There is a team spirit and camaraderie, which I think was missing for a long time.
Q: Is the memory of scoring a hat-trick in the 1966 World Cup final against West Germany at Wembley still fresh in your mind?
A: The memories are still fresh and it’s also fresh in fans’ mind. I still get people of my generation talk about the memories of that final, where they were and what they were doing at that time. That’s one of the most enjoyable things when you win the World Cup in your country. Those memories last forever for people and I always enjoy when people talk about it.
Q: Do u think your feat of scoring a hat-trick in the final of a World Cup will ever be matched?
A: No! I sometimes say yes because nothing is
impossible in football. You can never tell. Who would have thought
Liverpool will win the championship this year so easily? They are 22
points ahead at the moment. And also, who would have thought Liverpool,
one of the greatest clubs, will take 30 years to win another title?
Manchester United under Alex Ferguson achieved so much, but currently
they are languishing in seventh spot. So anything can happen in football
and that’s the beauty of sport. It’s very unpredictable. What is true
is scoring has become lot harder. Teams that are winning the World Cup
are not some of them who are scoring many goals. We scored 11 goals when
we won. In 1956, Jules Fonte scored 13 on his own. It’s statically a
lot tougher, so on that basis you can say it’s a lot harder to equal my
record.
A: I would say usual suspects are not far away. France are a very good team at the moment. The Germans have not done quite as well in recent years but they have been dominant for a long time. I think England is still in the mix, and in another two years if the players continue to develop we have a chance. Brazil and Argentina are always around. Portugal has a good young team, and I think they will do very well in Euros this year and if they can do then they can be a force at the World Cup. Having said that, you can sit and predict here of who will in Qatar in three years’ time but you can never be sure of what is going to happen.
Q: Your former team West Ham is languishing in 18th spot in the Premier League. What according to you is the reason for their decline?
A: We are in a very difficult position, in bottom three. It’s going to be a hard battle between now and the end of the season to get out of trouble. I think (manager) David Moyes has been a good acquisition. I was surprised that, when he got us out of trouble for the first time we didn’t keep him. He is a very experienced manager who did well at Everton.
I think he is a good choice, but he has taken over at a very difficult time and now it’s a tough battle. And we have very difficult fixtures ahead, with most of the matches against top teams. The last game was very disappointing, because were 3-1 up against Brighton and we drew the game. We lost two points and that makes a huge difference at this time of the season.
Q: Who according to you is the best player – Messi or Ronaldo?
A: I lean towards Messi. Both are great players, even if they had played in any other era.
I just favour Messi a little bit. I have always felt that Ronaldo and Messi playing at two great clubs Real Madrid and Barcelona in Spain was great. Them playing in attacking teams meant they scored lots of goals. But what’s good about Ronaldo going to Juventus is – even though they are a dominant club – he is still doing very well there at his age. I think his attitude is very good and he keeps himself fit. But I always felt Messi is the best player and it’s nice to choose between two of them.
