THEIR pictures adorn the walls of the Stadio delle Alpi and their deeds live for generations. Players such as Sivori, Boniperti, Zoff, Causio, Gentile, Tardelli, Platini, Bettega and Zidane have all worn the black-and-white stripes of Juventus with distinction.

And yet 41 years after he last pulled on the revered No 9 shirt of Juventus, pride of place among such an esteemed group of soccer’s elite goes to John Charles.

Charles once lived in a sprawling 17th-century villa, perched on a hillside above the River Po. He kept a vintage wine cellar, part-owned a restaurant, drove sleek sports cars and socialised with film stars.

But he lived out his last years in a semi-detached house on the outskirts of Leeds, with his second wife Glenda, leading a life far removed from the millionaire world of even averagely talented Premiership professionals. He had battled courageously against cancer and when I last spoke to him some 18 months ago the onset of Alzheimer’s disease was evident, but there was not a trace of envy or bitterness in his demeanour when he delivered his verdict on today ’s pampered generation of soccer millionaires.

“There is not as much fun in the game today,” he once said in the lilting vowels of his native Cwmdu, near Swansea, still as rich as on the day he left his homeland at the age of 14. “It is all about money. Players these days are holding clubs to ransom and it has got to end or one or two clubs, and big ones at that, are going to go bankrupt.

“Players deserve to be well paid but the system has gone out of all proportion. The money these days is unbelievable.

“When I played I earned £20 a week, though the bonuses were good in Italy. I once earned a £500 bonus at Juventus, which was big money in those days.

“But really we played just because we wanted to play. If you are grumbling about money all the time it has got to distract a player, it has got to affect his form.”

Of his days in Italy, he said: “The ground was always packed. Whenever I went out I couldn’t move for people wanting to talk to me as I went down the street. Everything was just one big party.”

The £65,000 Juventus paid Leeds was a record for British football but Charles didn’t let it affect his chivalrous nature. There was an early example of this which left a strong impression on the Turin fans, not only those of Juventus but also those of their fierce city rivals, Torino.

In a local derby, Charles thundered past the Torino centre-half, leaving him on the ground and himself with a clear run on goal. But he stopped, turned back, and went to commiserate with his opponent.

As centre-forward, Charles operated between the pugnacious Sivori on his left, and the blond captain of Italy, Giampiero Boniperti, on his right. Both men were well capable of taking care of themselves. Once, in a match in which he was being persistently fouled, Charles turned to Boniperti, saying: “You do something to them, Boni — I can’t!” As a player Charles was never sent off, nor cautioned, throughout his career — testimony to his honest and kindly temperament, though he received official recognition shamefully late with a CBE two years ago.

He leaves four sons — the eldest of whom, Terry, is a selector with Cardiff Rugby Club and another, Melvyn, played rugby league.

Until recently he attended every Leeds home game and was a member of the Leeds United ex-Players’ Association for which he toured the after-dinner circuit raising money to buy kidney machines for local hospitals.

“It’s nice to be able to help others,” Charles used to say.

There could be no more fitting epitaph for the Gentle Giant — a genuine footballing hero.

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