Coincidentally, but pleasingly, Liverpool’s most recent match programme featured a photograph and short tribute to Tommy Smith, who has died at the age of 74. The photograph captured the ‘Anfield Iron’ in his moment of glory, meeting Steve Heighway’s corner with an unstoppable near-post header to put Liverpool ahead in the 1977 European Cup final against Borussia Mönchengladbach. It was far from typical of Smith to score goals with his head, or to score goals at all, and there was a note of surprise in Barry Davies’s memorable commentary once the ball flew into the net so quickly it was hard for television viewers to keep up. “It’s Tommy Smith! What a way to end a career.” Smith’s career did not end with Liverpool’s first European Cup triumph in Rome. The player was then 32 and had announced he planned to retire; predictably he found the game that had been his life difficult to give up and played another season for Liverpool before joining John Toshack for a short while at Swansea. If one player personified Liverpool as they rose to new heights under Bill Shankly it was Smith, who was born and raised in the shadow of Anfield and was taken to the club at the age of 15 by his mother who asked the manager to look after him. Shankly certainly did that, fast-tracking him and handing him his debut three years later, though Smith was never the sort of player to need much looking after. He was a tough, uncompromising competitor in an era when every team seemed to have a hard man at the back. But if Smith intimidated opponents it was because he appeared genuinely indestructible; he never needed to ‘put himself about’ to let others know he was around. Variously he was described of being made of iron or granite – always quick with an aphorism Shankly would famously say: “Tommy Smith wasn’t born, he was quarried” – and even Norman Hunter acknowledged that being tackled by Smith had similarities with running into a brick wall. Rather cruelly the strain on his body caught up with Smith in later life when he encountered mobility problems and needed to use crutches to climb the stairs into press boxes at Anfield and Goodison, where his earthy opinions would enliven many an afternoon as he completed his duties as a columnist for the Liverpool Echo; but even though he would talk himself into trouble on occasions his reputation as a player was unassailable. “He was fearless,” Bob Paisley said admiringly. “Tommy hated losing and was prepared to put himself through all manner of pain and suffering to avoid it.” Ron Yeats was the defensive colossus brought down from Scotland by Shankly, who called a press conference to invite local journalists to “take a walk round my new centre-half”, though Smith went on to take over the captaincy and make many more appearances, 638 in all, to become an integral part of the winning machine Shankly built and Paisley inherited. Being local meant he was immensely popular, even if his international career amounted to a solitary cap against Wales in 1971, and he remained sturdy enough to take advantage of the injury to Phil Thompson in the 1976-77 season and write his name into Liverpool legend. John Connolly of Everton tries to evade Tommy Smith. Photograph: Colorsport/Rex/Shutterstock After winning in Rome he said his career, which included four league titles, was now complete. “My biggest disappointments in the game were the European Cup semi-final defeat by Inter Milan in 1965 and the FA Cup final defeat by Arsenal in 1971. We wiped out the Arsenal one by beating Newcastle at Wembley three years later, and now this makes up for everything connected with the Inter game. It’s been a long wait, but it was worth it now.” Of the goal Smith remembered having a quick chat with Kevin Keegan about where to position themselves for Heighway’s corner. “I knew the defenders were keeping an eye on Kev,” he said. “I’m not the fastest person in the world but I can steal a yard on anyone. “The defender [Christian Kulik] didn’t know whether to wait for Kev to move or go with me and when the cross came in it was at a perfect height so I went for it. As soon as I hit it I knew it was on target. I can count the number of headers I have scored on the fingers of one hand and I’ve certainly never scored one like that in a game like that. It has to be the greatest feeling I’ve had in my whole life.”<doc-sep>Reds worldwide are currently in mourning as news was released that club legend Tommy Smith has passed away. The defender known as the Anfield Iron passed away quietly this afternoon in Merseyside. Smith is an absolute club icon for Liverpool, owner of 9 trophies/medals during his long and storied term with the club. A Scouser himself, Smith was part of the squads that secured the first FA trophy (under manager Bill Shankly) and the first UEFA trophy (under manager Bob Paisley) in the club’s history. Smith was also the captain of the club for three years. The career highlights are numerous for someone like Tommy Smith but one that stands out in most retellings is how he scored in the UEFA Cup Final against Borussia Monchengladbach. It feels oddly paradoxical to note that the legendary defender’s most iconic moment would be a goal scored, but given his reputation of being a scraper it feels apt. After all most people count that goal as the one that turned the tide for the Reds who would go on to win the match and claim their first European trophy. Tributes are pouring in from all over and I’m sure more superlatives in remembrance will be shared. Sir Kenny Dalglish has released a statement via the club’s official site that is worth a read. Here’s a small excerpt in which we get to see a side of Smith that most fans likely didn’t get to see: “When I came down in ’77 he was an integral part of the dressing room and him and Souey looked after my wife Marina and I, helped us settle in and took us round about the area to see if we could find a house to move into.” Leadership. Grit. Skill. All words that are fitting in any tribute for the Anfield Iron.<doc-sep>Smith, known by supporters as the 'Anfield Iron', played 638 games for Liverpool, winning four league titles, a European Cup, two FA Cups and two UEFA Cups in his time at the club. He captained the Reds for three years and scored 48 goals between 1962 and 1978 including one in the 1977 European Cup final, when Liverpool beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 3-1 to lift the trophy for the first time. Having joined the club as a schoolboy, he was fast-tracked into the first team by former manager Bill Shankly and swiftly gained a reputation as one of football's most fearsome competitors. Champions League Guardiola says leaving players out of final is 'terrible' 5 MINUTES AGO Shankly once famously said of Smith -- a true hard man in an era when tough tackling was encouraged and admired -- that he "was not born, he was quarried". Liverpool said in a statement on their website that they were "deeply saddened" by the news. Smith was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2014 after caring for his wife Susanne who died after suffering from the same condition. (Reporting by Toby Davis; Editing by Ken Ferris) Bundesliga Quick, strong and ready for the Premier League – Expert view on Ibrahima Konate 31 MINUTES AGO<doc-sep>Liverpool have confirmed the sad passing of former club legend Tommy Smith, who has died at the age of 74. Affectionally nicknamed the ‘Anfield Iron’ by supporters, Smith played for the Reds for 16 years between 1962 and 1978, making 638 appearances for his hometown club. Smith captain the Reds for three years, and won nine major honours with the club during his time at Anfield, even scoring in Liverpool’s victorious European Cup Final in 1977. The one-time England international was also an intremental player in Bill Shankly’s FA Cup winning team in 1965, the first team to win that competition for Liverpool. In all, Smith lifted four league titles, a European Cup, two FA Cups and two UEFA Cups during his time with Liverpool. Talking to the Liverpool official website about her father, Tommy’s daughter Janette Simpson said on Friday: Dad died very peacefully in his sleep shortly after 4.30pm today at Green Heyes nursing home in Park Road, Waterloo, Crosby. I was on my way to see him when he passed a couple of minutes before I arrived. Dad was only in here since the end of January and prior to that had been living in a care and sheltered accommodation complex for three years in Maghull. He had been growing increasingly frail and suffering from a variety of ailments over the last three months especially. We are obviously all devastated. Our mum, Sue, died four years ago. Mum’s death did hit dad especially hard and the illness took a bit of a grip of him after that we feel. The thoughts of everyone at Read Liverpool are with Tommy’s family and friends.<doc-sep>
Sir Kenny Dalglish has led the tributes to the former Liverpool captain Tommy Smith who has died at the age of 74. Smith – famously nicknamed “the Anfield Iron” – was one of the club’s most influential and decorated players, making 638 appearances between 1960 and 1978, winning nine major trophies, while he captained Liverpool for three years. The hard-tackling defender won the league title four times, the European Cup once, the FA Cup twice and the Uefa Cup twice. He was a key man in Bill Shankly’s side that beat Leeds United in 1965 to lift the FA Cup for the first time. Twelve years later, he headed the second goal to help the club win their maiden European Cup under Bob Paisley as they beat Borussia Mönchengladbach 3-1 in the final in Rome. Dalglish told the club’s website: “He was a great advert for Liverpool Football Club, the way he conducted himself. His memories will be there forever. [He was] in the first team at the age of 18 and I think he left just after I came. When I came down in 1977 he was an integral part of the dressing room and him and Souey [Graeme Souness] looked after my wife Marina and I, helped us settle in and took us round about the area to see if we could find a house to move into.” Born in Liverpool in April 1945, Smith grew up in the shadow of Anfield and joined the club he supported as a schoolboy in 1960, initially on the groundstaff, and then briefly as a centre-forward, before adopting the role of defensive enforcer. Such was his growing reputation that the player was the subject of a transfer enquiry from the Manchester United manager Matt Busby, which was quickly dismissed by Shankly. He made his debut as a substitute on 8 May 1963, in a 5-1 home victory over Birmingham City. An uncompromising tackler, Smith would strike fear into the hearts of opponents such as Bobby Charlton and Jimmy Greaves while allowing his team-mates such as Ian St John, Roger Hunt, Kevin Keegan and Terry McDermott to thrive. Yet Smith was not just a hard man, he could also play and scored 48 goals in a career which saw him sent off just once. Smith had struggled with dementia and other ailments in recent times. His daughter, Janette Simpson, told the club website: “Dad died very peacefully in his sleep shortly after 4.30pm today at his nursing home. He had been growing increasingly frail and suffering from a variety of ailments over the last three months especially. We are obviously all devastated.” The former Liverpool goalkeeper Ray Clemence, who won the 1973 league and Uefa Cup double under Smith’s captaincy and played with him for a decade, tweeted: “So desperately sorry to hear of the passing of Tommy Smith, a real legend of the club. Honoured to play with him. Great captain and leader of men.”