View source for Alex Stepney

{{short description|English footballer (born 1942)}}
{{BLP sources|date=October 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Alex Stepney
| image = Alex Stepney.jpg
| fullname = Alexander Cyril Stepney
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1942|9|18|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Mitcham]], Surrey, England
| height = 1.80 m<ref>{{Cite web |last=Strack-Zimmermann |first=Benjamin |title=Alex Stepney (Player) |url=https://www.national-football-teams.com/player/19778/Alex_Stepney.html |access-date=2022-07-30 |website=national-football-teams.com |language=en}}</ref>
| position = [[Goalkeeper (association football)|Goalkeeper]]
| youthyears1 = 
| youthclubs1 = [[Tooting & Mitcham United F.C.|Tooting & Mitcham United]]
| years1 = 1961–1963
| clubs1 = [[Tooting & Mitcham United F.C.|Tooting & Mitcham United]]
| caps1 = 35
| goals1 = 0
| years2 = 1963–1966
| clubs2 = [[Millwall F.C.|Millwall]]
| caps2 = 137
| goals2 = 0
| years3 = 1966
| clubs3 = [[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]]
| caps3 = 1
| goals3 = 0
| years4 = 1966–1978
| clubs4 = [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]]
| caps4 = 433
| goals4 = 2
| years5 = 1979–1980
| clubs5 = [[Dallas Tornado]]
| caps5 = 54
| goals5 = 0
| years6 = 1979–1980
| clubs6 = → [[Altrincham F.C.|Altrincham]] (loan)
| caps6 = 17
| goals6 = 0
| years7 = 1981–1982
| clubs7 = [[Altrincham F.C.|Altrincham]]
| caps7 = 1
| goals7 = 0
| totalcaps = 678
| totalgoals = 2
| nationalyears1 = 
| nationalteam1 = [[England national under-23 football team|England U23]]
| nationalcaps1 = 
| nationalgoals1 = 
| nationalyears2 = 1968
| nationalteam2 = [[England national football team|England]]
| nationalcaps2 = 1
| nationalgoals2 = 0
| caption = Stepney in 2009
}}
'''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 win the [[UEFA Champions League|European Cup]].

==Early career==
Born in [[Mitcham, London|Mitcham]], Surrey, Stepney had unsuccessful trials with [[Fulham F.C.|Fulham]] and joined [[Tooting & Mitcham United F.C.|Tooting & Mitcham United]]. From there, he was spotted by [[Millwall F.C.|Millwall]], who signed him as an amateur in 1963, but quickly realised his potential and made him a professional within two months of his arrival. Stepney was ever-present for almost three seasons, making 158 appearances, only missing the last game of the 1965–66 season. During this period, he earned three England under-23 caps.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bethel|first1=Chris|last2=Sullivan|first2=David|title=Millwall Football Club 1940–2001|publisher=Tempus Publishing|year=2002|page=56|isbn=0-7524-2187-5}}</ref>

In May 1966, Stepney joined [[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]] for £50,000. Manager [[Tommy Docherty]] initially intended to play Stepney and fellow goalkeeper [[Peter Bonetti]] in alternate weeks, but just three months later Stepney was sold to [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]] for a record fee of £55,000, having made just one appearance for the club. With [[Harry Gregg]]'s career virtually ended by injury, the Manchester United manager, [[Matt Busby]], opted for Stepney after deciding that neither [[Pat Dunne]] nor the injury-prone [[David Gaskell]] was up to the job. Stepney made his debut for United later the same year against [[Manchester City F.C.|Manchester City]] at [[Old Trafford]], and he kept a [[Shutout#Association football|clean sheet]] as United won 1–0 through a first-half goal from [[Denis Law]].

==League and European success==
With Stepney in goal, Manchester United won the [[Football League First Division|First Division]] title in [[1966–67 Football League#First Division|1967]], earning them entry into the European Cup the following season, a competition that no English club had yet won. Stepney featured throughout United's progress to the final at [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|Wembley Stadium]], during which he made a memorable close-range save from [[S.L. Benfica|Benfica]] striker [[Eusébio]] in the closing stages with the score at 1–1. Eusébio was so astonished at Stepney's save that he stopped to applaud the keeper as Stepney threw the ball back into play. United eventually won 4–1 after [[extra time]].

At the start of that season, Stepney had conceded a goal to his opposite number at Tottenham Hotspur, [[Pat Jennings]], in the [[1967 FA Charity Shield]] at Old Trafford. With Tottenham leading 1–0, Jennings punted the ball upfield from the [[Stretford End]]; the ball bounced over the stranded Stepney into the net. The game ended 3–3 with United's goals coming from [[Bobby Charlton]] (2) and Denis Law.

==International recognition==
Although a highly talented keeper, Stepney was a distance down the pecking order when it came to the [[England national football team|England]] team. [[Gordon Banks]] was the undisputed number one, with [[Peter Bonetti]] of Chelsea, [[Gordon West]] of Everton and the more experienced Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper [[Ron Springett]] all in Stepney's way. When England qualified for the final stages of the [[UEFA Euro 1968|1968 European Championships]], coach [[Alf Ramsey]] selected Stepney and West as the two back-up keepers to Banks and, in what turned into a momentous week for Stepney, he made his England debut in a friendly win over [[Sweden men's national football team|Sweden]] in May 1968, seven days before the European Cup final. England won 3–1.

Ramsey kept Stepney in his thoughts in his preparations for England's defence of the [[FIFA World Cup]] in [[1970 FIFA World Cup|1970]], for which England did not have to qualify having won the previous tournament, but did not give him another cap as the likes of Bonetti and West added to their meagre tallies of appearances. However, when the preliminary squad of 27 was announced, Stepney was in, along with Banks, Bonetti and uncapped rookie [[Peter Shilton]], with no sign of West. When the final 22 who would travel to [[Mexico]] was confirmed, Shilton was the goalkeeper sent home.

Nevertheless, Stepney was clearly the third-choice goalkeeper in the squad and the chances of his appearing on the pitch in Mexico were small. When Banks went down with food poisoning prior to the quarter-final with [[Germany national football team|West Germany]], it was the slightly more experienced Bonetti – who had six caps to Stepney's one – to whom Ramsey turned, although Stepney did make it onto the substitutes' bench. England squandered a two-goal lead to lose 3–2 and it was Stepney who told the groggy, ill Banks the scoreline in his hotel room by holding up three fingers on one hand and two on the other.

==Later Manchester United career ==
[[File:AjaxManchesterUnited1976b.jpg|upright=1.35|thumb|Stepney in goal for Manchester United in 1976 against Ajax]]
Stepney was occasionally recalled by Ramsey but would ultimately not add to his solitary England cap, with Shilton emerging as the new deputy and ultimate long-term replacement. He continued to play in goal for Manchester United in a period of significant underachievement for the club, which culminated in their relegation to the [[Football League Second Division|Second Division]] in 1974, a season which saw Stepney, unusually for a goalkeeper, score two goals from penalties thus making him the (joint) leading scorer at Christmas.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stretfordend.co.uk/playermenu/stepney.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061210040814/http://www.stretfordend.co.uk/playermenu/stepney.html |url-status=live |archive-date=10 December 2006 |title=Alex Stepney Season by Season United Career Record |access-date=29 January 2009 |publisher=stretfordend.co.uk }}</ref> For half a season he was replaced by [[Jimmy Rimmer]]. By now, with Stepney's former Chelsea manager [[Tommy Docherty]] in charge, they bounced back as Division Two champions the following season (1974–75). During this time, Stepney suffered a freak injury when he dislocated his jaw while barking instructions at his disorganised defence.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/gallery/7245423|title=Bizarre football injuries|date=10 June 2014}}</ref>

The next two seasons saw Stepney as the wise head behind a new, youthful team collated by Docherty courtesy of some astute purchases and a prolific youth set-up. During this period, Stepney had to compete with [[Paddy Roche]] for a regular starting position. Stepney was the only player with any Wembley experience at club level at all when United reached the [[1976 FA Cup final]] and the nerves of the youngsters got the better of them as [[Southampton F.C.|Southampton]], a division below United but containing some experienced heads of Stepney's generation, won 1–0. Stepney had no chance with the goal from [[Bobby Stokes]], a late, low, crossfield shot which United claimed fruitlessly was from an [[Offside (association football)|offside]] position.

United reached the cup final again in [[1977 FA Cup final|1977]], against Liverpool, and this time were successful. Stepney got a hand to a bullet shot on the turn from [[Jimmy Case]] but could not stop it entering the net and levelling the match after [[Stuart Pearson]] had scored for United. [[Jimmy Greenhoff]] quickly restored United's lead and Stepney made some good saves in the closing stages as Liverpool, chasing an unprecedented '[[Treble (association football)|treble]]' of trophies (having already won the [[1976–77 Football League#First Division 2|league]] title, and just days later going on to win the [[1977 European Cup final|European Cup]]), piled on the pressure.

Stepney was the only player in the 1977 FA Cup-winning team remaining from the European Cup-winning side of nine years earlier. Stepney was also the last remaining player to play for the club under manager Matt Busby.

==Later career==
The following year, Stepney was again not an automatic choice, playing 23 of United's 42 games in the league. He played the last of his 546 games for Manchester United in April 1978, prior to leaving for [[Dallas Tornado]] in the [[North American Soccer League (1968–1984)|North American Soccer League]] in the United States, where he remained until he retired from professional football in 1980.

He kept 175 [[clean sheet]]s, made a club record 92 consecutive appearances (later broken by [[Steve Coppell]]) and, with those two goals, remains United's top scoring goalkeeper. Aside from [[Peter Schmeichel]] (who scored in a [[1995–96 UEFA Cup]] game), no other Manchester United goalkeeper has scored in a competitive game for the club after [[World War II]].

Towards the end of his career, he turned out for non-league side [[Altrincham F.C.|Altrincham]] in the early 1980s, when they were competing in the [[National League (English football)|Alliance Premier League]]. He helped them win the Alliance Premier League title in [[1980–81 in English football|1980–81]] (they had won it the [[1979–80 in English football|1979–80 season]] as well), but they did not win promotion to the [[English Football League|Football League]] as the re-election system was still in place and the majority of the league's members voted against them joining the Football League, ending Stepney's hopes of a professional comeback.

Stepney became a goalkeeping coach after he stopped playing, including a spell at Manchester City in 2000–01. He also works as an [[public speaking|after-dinner speaker]] and used to host The Legends Football Phone in on [[105.4 Century Radio]] in Manchester, replacing [[Mickey Thomas (footballer)|Mickey Thomas]] – another former Manchester United player.

==Style of play==
Stepney was never a flashy performer and perhaps his most impressive quality was his positioning, though he could also demonstrate agility when required.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.redcafe.net/wiki/Alex_Stepney |title=Archived item |access-date=2012-04-19 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119170949/http://www.redcafe.net/wiki/Alex_Stepney |archive-date=19 January 2012 }}</ref>

==Honours==
'''Manchester United'''
*[[Football League First Division]]: [[1966–67 Football League First Division|1966–67]]<ref name="honours">{{cite web |title=Alex Stepney |url=http://www.manutd.com/en/History/Legends/Alex-Stepney.aspx |website=ManUtd.com |publisher=Manchester United |access-date=31 August 2017 }}</ref>
*[[FA Cup]]: [[1976–77 FA Cup|1976–77]];<ref name="honours"/> runner-up: [[1975–76 FA Cup|1975–76]]<ref>{{cite book |first1=Leslie |first2=Jack |last1=Vernon |last2=Rollin |title=Rothmans Football Yearbook 1977–78 |year=1977 |publisher=Brickfield Publications Ltd |location=London |isbn=0354-09018-6 |page=491}}</ref>
*[[FA Charity Shield]]: [[1967 FA Charity Shield|1967]], [[1977 FA Charity Shield|1977]]<ref name="honours"/>
*[[UEFA Champions League|European Cup]]: [[1967–68 European Cup|1967–68]]<ref name="honours"/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Navboxes
| title = England squads
| bg = white
| fg = #0B0B3F
| bordercolor = #0B0B3F
| list1 = 
{{England squad UEFA Euro 1968}}
{{England squad 1970 FIFA World Cup}}
}}
{{Millwall F.C. Hall of Fame}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stepney, Alex}}
[[Category:1942 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Footballers from the London Borough of Merton]]
[[Category:People from Mitcham]]
[[Category:English men's footballers]]
[[Category:Men's association football goalkeepers]]
[[Category:Millwall F.C. players]]
[[Category:Chelsea F.C. players]]
[[Category:Manchester United F.C. players]]
[[Category:Dallas Tornado players]]
[[Category:Altrincham F.C. players]]
[[Category:Tooting & Mitcham United F.C. players]]
[[Category:English Football League players]]
[[Category:North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players]]
[[Category:England men's international footballers]]
[[Category:England men's under-23 international footballers]]
[[Category:UEFA Euro 1968 players]]
[[Category:1970 FIFA World Cup players]]
[[Category:Rochdale A.F.C. non-playing staff]]
[[Category:Manchester City F.C. non-playing staff]]
[[Category:English Football League representative players]]
[[Category:English expatriate men's footballers]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States]]
[[Category:English expatriate sportspeople in the United States]]
[[Category:UEFA Champions League–winning players]]