That still didn't stop Jimmy Greaves, a member of England's 1966 squad, from referring to it openly while Ramsey was still alive, in his 1993 book. Ramsey, the reporter noted, went “crimson with fury”, adding that “it was always accepted in the football world that Alf was a Gypsy”. Such details undermine an established narrative: that England's 1966 World Cup victory was uniformly ‘white'. The opening match of the 1966 World Cup, Ramsey leads his England team out to face Uruguay at Wembley. That the manager had the courage to back the defender reflected something else – as a player, Ramsey had likewise developed unusually late.