Peter Philip Bonetti (27 September 1941 – 12 April 2020) was an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

for Chelsea, the St. Louis Stars,

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish professional association football, football club based in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923. United are nickname ...

and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. He was known for his safe handling, lightning reflexes and his graceful style, for which he was given the nickname "The Cat". He was one of several goalkeepers ( Gordon West of Everton was another) who specialised in a one-armed throw which could achieve a similar distance to a drop kick. Bonetti played seven times for England, but mainly served the team as a back-up to Gordon Banks; he was part of the winning England squad for the

1966 FIFA World Cup The 1966 FIFA World Cup was the eighth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in England from 11 to 30 July 1966. England defeated West Germany 4–2 in the 1966 FI ...

, but did not play. He belatedly received a winners' medal in 2009, after

the Football Association The Football Association (the FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest footb ...

led a successful campaign for non-playing members of the squad to be recognised. After Banks fell ill before the

1970 FIFA World Cup The 1970 FIFA World Cup was the 9th edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's senior national teams. Held from 31 May to ...

quarter-final, Bonetti played as England lost 3–2 to

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

Early life

Bonetti was born in

Putney Putney () is an affluent district in southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. History Putney is an ...

, southwest London. His family moved to

Worthing Worthing ( ) is a seaside town and borough in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 113,094 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Br ...

, Sussex in 1948. His parents ran a café on the seafront next to the Dome Cinema. They were Swiss-Italian emigrants from

Ticino Ticino ( ), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino, is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eight districts ...

. Bonetti attended St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Worthing. He shone at an early age, playing for

Club career

Chelsea

Chelsea signed him from the

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youth team after his mother had written to manager Ted Drake, requesting that he give her son a trial. Whilst a Chelsea junior, Bonetti made five appearances for Croydon Amateurs in the Surrey Senior League thanks to youth team coach Albert Tennant who was also coaching Croydon at that time. He made his first team debut in 1960, and a few weeks later helped the Chelsea youth team win the

FA Youth Cup The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. It ...

. From the 1960–61 season onward he was Chelsea's first-choice goalkeeper, a position he held more-or-less constantly for the next nineteen years. Chelsea were relegated in Bonetti's second full season, which saw the appointment of

Tommy Docherty Thomas Henderson Docherty (24 April 1928 – 31 December 2020), commonly known as The Doc, was a Scottish football player and manager. Docherty played for several clubs, most notably Preston North End, and represented Scotland 25 times bet ...

as manager. Bonetti emerged as a key figure in a talented young team which included Bobby Tambling,

Terry Venables Terence Frederick Venables (6 January 1943 – 25 November 2023), often referred to as El Tel, was an English football player and manager who played for clubs including Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Queens Park Rangers and won two caps for E ...

, John Hollins and Barry Bridges. The team went into the penultimate match of the season needing to beat promotion rivals

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

to have a chance of going up. Chelsea won 1–0, with Bonetti making a brilliant last minute save to deny George Mulhall and maintain his team's promotion chances; a 7–0 win over

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

secured instant promotion back to the First Division. The new Chelsea team challenged for honours during the 1960s, with Bonetti a key figure throughout, although more often than not the team narrowly missed out. The club won the League Cup in

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

with a 3–2 aggregate victory over

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

. Leicester put Chelsea under heavy pressure in the second leg at Filbert Street, but an inspired performance from Bonetti helped secure a 0–0 draw, and thus the trophy for his team. For most of that season Chelsea were on course to add both the league title and the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

, but ultimately missed out. They were beaten by

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

in the FA Cup; meanwhile, their title challenge ended with a few matches left, following a bust-up between Docherty and several of his first-team players (though not Bonetti). The disunity behind the scenes meant that a much-weakened team was fielded in a key match against

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

, in which Bonetti conceded six goals. Bonetti played in every match of Chelsea's

Inter-Cities Fairs Cup The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, most commonly referred to as the Fairs Cup and sometimes as the European Fairs Cup or Fairs Cities' Cup, was a European football competition played between 1955 and 1971. The Fairs Cup was the idea of FIFA vice-presid ...

run the following season, putting in a series of impressive displays against the likes of Roma,

A.C. Milan (), commonly referred to as Milan or AC Milan () mainly outside of Italy, is an Italian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Founded in 1899, the club competes in the Serie A, the top tie ...

and

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, though the team was eventually knocked out in the semi-final, as they were in the FA Cup for the second consecutive year. The signing of

Alex Stepney Alexander Cyril Stepney (born 18 September 1942) is an English former association football, footballer who was Manchester United F.C., Manchester United's goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper when they became the first English club to w ...

at the end of that season briefly threatened his position as Chelsea's first-choice goalkeeper, and he considered putting in a transfer request, but Stepney ultimately made only one appearance for the club and was sold to

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

a few months later. Chelsea eventually reached an FA Cup final in 1967, where they faced

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

, but the team got outplayed on the day and Bonetti could do little to stop Spurs winning 2–1. That was the closest he came to winning another trophy with Chelsea until 1970, by which time Docherty had been succeeded by

Dave Sexton David James Sexton (6 April 1930 – 25 November 2012) was an English football manager and player. He was notable for managing Chelsea to their first European trophy. Playing career Son of former professional boxer Archie Sexton, he st ...

. In 1970, Chelsea again reached the

FA Cup final The FA Cup Final is the last match in the FA Cup, Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the List of sports attendance figures, most attended domestic football events in the world, with an official attendance of 89,472 ...

and this time faced reigning league champions

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

. Over the two fiercely contested matches, Bonetti had what was perhaps the finest moment of his playing career. Chelsea were outplayed for large spells in the first final at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

and he made a series of crucial saves to help them emerge with a 2–2 draw. Shortly into the replay at

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

, his left knee was badly injured after a challenge from Leeds' Mick Jones. He returned to the field after treatment, but was effectively playing on one leg for the rest of the match and was powerless to stop Jones scoring the opener a few minutes later. In spite of the injury, and being targeted by the Leeds forwards, he made crucial saves throughout the match, denying both Peter Lorimer and Terry Cooper, and resisted more pressure from Leeds after Chelsea had taken the lead in

extra time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is required t ...

to help secure a 2–1 win. Such were Bonetti's performances that season, he was voted runner-up in the

FWA Footballer of the Year The Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year (often called the FWA Footballer of the Year, or in England simply the Footballer of the Year) is an annual award given to the player who is adjudged to have been the best of the season in ...

awards. A year later, the team added the

European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...

after another replayed win in the final, this time over Spanish giants

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

in Athens. Chelsea took a 2–0 lead in the replay, but Real dominated for much of the second half and it was another inspired performance from Bonetti that helped them hold on for a 2–1 win. That was his last trophy with the club, although they narrowly missed out on more in the following years, losing in the 1972 League Cup final to Stoke City and in the semi-final of the same competition to

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

a year later. Financial and disciplinary problems within the club prevented them from building on their success.

St Louis Stars

Bonetti left on a free transfer in 1975, joining the St. Louis Stars of the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

. That year, he made 21 appearances for the team and helped them top the Central Division that summer and reach the play-off semi-final.

Return to Chelsea

He then returned to Chelsea, where his experience proved invaluable in helping new manager Eddie McCreadie's young team gain promotion in 1976–77. Two years later, in May 1979, he played his final appearance for Chelsea, a 1–1 draw with

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

, having made a total of 729 appearances for the club in nineteen years – only Ron Harris has made more – and kept over 200

clean sheet In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usually seen as a result of ...

s. He conceded one goal or less in two-thirds of his appearances for Chelsea.

International career

Bonetti earned seven

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

for

, kept out of the team by Gordon Banks. He was a member of England's successful

squad, but did not make an appearance. Bonetti's England career is largely remembered for one match – the

quarter-final against

in Mexico. He was thrust into the starting line-up as a late replacement for Banks, who was suffering from severe

food poisoning Foodborne illness (also known as foodborne disease and food poisoning) is any illness resulting from the contamination of food by pathogenic bacteria, viruses, or parasites, as well as prions (the agents of mad cow disease), and toxins such ...

. During the match England relinquished a 2–0 second-half lead and lost 3–2 after extra time. Bonetti received a large amount of blame from the public for the loss, and never played for England again. In the 1966 World Cup final only the 11 players on the pitch at the end of the 4–2 win over West Germany received medals. Following a

Football Association A football association, also known as a football federation, soccer federation, or soccer association, is a governing body for association football. Many of them are members of the sport's regional bodies such as UEFA and CONMEBOL and the world gov ...

-led campaign to persuade

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

to award medals to all winning squad members, Bonetti was presented with his medal by prime minister

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. Previously, he was Chancellor of the Ex ...

at a ceremony at

10 Downing Street 10 Downing Street in London is the official residence and office of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister of the United Kingdom. Colloquially known as Number 10, the building is located in Downing Street, off Whitehall in th ...

on 10 June 2009.

Retirement

After leaving Chelsea, Bonetti moved to the

Isle of Mull The Isle of Mull or simply Mull ( ) is the second-largest island of the Inner Hebrides (after Skye) and lies off the west coast of Scotland in the Council areas of Scotland, council area of Argyll and Bute. Covering , Mull is the fourth-lar ...

where he ran a guesthouse and became a

postman A mail carrier, also referred to as a mailman, mailwoman, mailperson, postal carrier, postman, postwoman, postperson, person of post, letter carrier (in American English), or colloquially postie (in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Unite ...

. While living in Scotland, he briefly came out of retirement to make several appearances for

as understudy to Hamish McAlpine. Following his retirement from playing, Bonetti moved into coaching and had spells with Chelsea and the England national team, as well as working with

Kevin Keegan Joseph Kevin Keegan (born 14 February 1951) is an English former footballer and manager. Nicknamed "King Kev" or "Mighty Mouse", Keegan was recognised for his dribbling ability, as well as his finishing and presence in the air, and is regard ...

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

and

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

. During his time as a Chelsea coach, he was persuaded to play two matches for

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional Association football, football league covering Greater London, East of England, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, th ...

Division Two club

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in north-west Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'', and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settleme ...

, including an FA Cup debut in a 1–0 win over

Football Conference The National League of English Football Clubs is a professional Association football, football league in England that consists of 72 teams, divided equally between the National League (division), National League North and National League South ...

team Weymouth. At one time he held the record for the most appearances for a single club by a goalkeeper, but was overtaken in the 1990s by Portsmouth's Alan Knight. Since 2005, Bonetti made several appearances for an Old England XI in various charity matches, notably against celebrity teams, usually coming on for the last 10 minutes of each match. Bonetti died on 12 April 2020, aged 78, following a long illness. On 18 April 2022, his ashes were left behind the goal at the Shed End at Stamford Bridge.

Career statistics

:Source: ''Totals include one Charity Shield appearance in 1970–71.''

Honours

Chelsea Youth *

: 1959–60 Chelsea *

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third tier ...

promotion: 1962–63, 1976–77 *

: 1969–70; runner-up: 1966–67 *

Football League Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

: 1964–65 *

: 1970–71 St. Louis Stars *

Central Division:

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

England *

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

Individual *North American Soccer League All-Star First team:

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bonetti, Peter 1941 births 2020 deaths People from Putney Footballers from the London Borough of Wandsworth English men's footballers England men's under-23 international footballers England men's international footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Reading F.C. players Chelsea F.C. players St. Louis Stars (soccer) players Dundee United F.C. players Woking F.C. players English Football League players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Scottish Football League players 1966 FIFA World Cup players 1970 FIFA World Cup players FIFA World Cup–winning players English Football League representative players Association football goalkeeping coaches Chelsea F.C. non-playing staff Manchester City F.C. non-playing staff English expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States English expatriate sportspeople in the United States English people of Swiss descent English people of Italian descent Italian British sportspeople Sportspeople of Italian descent