England football legends past and present gathered to witness the unveiling of a bust of Sir Alf Ramsey at Wembley Stadium.

WEMBLEY: England football legends past and present gathered to witness the unveiling of a bust of Sir Alf Ramsey at Wembley Stadium.

The bust was officially unveiled by current England manager Fabio Capello and George Cohen, who played under Sir Alf in the 1966 World Cup winning England team.

It will be given a permanent position in the tunnel area at Wembley.

The ceremony was witnessed by fellow '66 winners Geoff Hurst, Martin Peters, Gordon Banks and Bobby Charlton. Stephanie Moore, the widow of Bobby Moore, also attended.

Although it is as England manager that Sir Alf is remembered around the world, his success in transforming Ipswich from a Third Division South team to League champions ensured his legendary status in Suffolk.

Sir Alf's widow Lady Ramsey was unable to attend the ceremony but Cohen spoke on her behalf.

He said: “She was pleased to hear that the statue has a wonderful likeness to Sir Alf. It looks amazing. Alf was a true Englishman - a man of integrity and honour.”

Fabio Cappello said: “It is an honour for me to unveil this. He inspires me. It's a dream of all managers in England to win the World Cup for this country. So I have big respect for Alf Ramsey.”

Philip Jackson, the artist who created the bust, said: “I'm very proud of it. I had to do a lot of research to create it - watching films, videos and talking to people who knew him.

“He was a great man and it's a great honour for me to do someone like Sir Alf.”

During the ceremony guests were shown film footage of Sir Alf's achievements.

These included winning the First Division Championship with Ipswich in 1962, a year after being promoted to the top flight for the first time.

Sir Geoff Hurst, the man whose hat-trick clinched the '66 World Cup, said: “I have never met someone with so much power in front of a group of people.

“After each match I would say to him 'See you next game Alf'. And he would reply 'Maybe Geoffrey, maybe.'”

Martin Peters added: “We always knew we could win playing under Sir Alf. He was a great manager and a great man.”