![]() “I think this could be our best victory over Germany since the war.” “It gets better and better and better,” he declared excitedly, after Michael Owen celebrated with a cartwheel during England’s 5-1 drubbing of Germany in 2001. His simple but effective delivery – a speech therapist found that he was able to speak at double the speed and across twice the range of an average person – reflected the fans’ own emotions, an outlet for their projected triumphs and disasters. I want to give people them straight away before they read them in the morning paper.”īut Motson was always much more than a dry automaton. Motson once said: “Facts and records have always interested me. If he had looked carefully on the shelves, he might have found this intriguing observation from Motty’s Diary – A Year in the Life of a Commentator (1996): “Without, I hope, sounding morbid or irreverent, it is an unhappy coincidence that a number of leading football personalities have died on a Wednesday.” When Graham Kelly, the former FA chief executive, wanted to write his memoirs, he used Motson’s vast archive of programmes, notes and books. The ease with which he produced these facts – some of them more relevant than others – belied days of rigorous research before each game. When an 18-year-old Wayne Rooney scored against Switzerland in the European Championship in 2004, Motson took great pride in immediately telling his listeners that Rooney was the youngest scorer in the tournament’s history. They certainly did not have to fear being ill-informed: Motson could provide instant statistics to satisfy even the most ardent anorak. No one tuning in to Motty ever has to fear being conned.” “Whatever he says, it always comes straight from his heart. “There are a lot of good young commentators around, but they all have to learn something from Motty,” said Mark Saggers, a fellow commentator, when Motson retired. ![]() ![]() At the 2006 World Cup, an estimated 22 million viewers tuned in for his quarter-final commentary on the game between England and Portugal.įor Motson’s army of fans, it was his irrepressible love of the game that set him apart from his rivals. John Motson, who has died aged 77, was the BBC’s voice of football for nearly 50 years, first commentating on Match of the Day in 1971.įamed for his love of statistics, as much as for his warm and distinctive voice and trademark sheepskin coats, “Motty” covered more than 1,000 matches, including nine World Cups, nine European finals and 29 consecutive major cup finals.
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