Coronavirus: Leeds United great Norman Hunter dies after testing positive

Leeds United great Norman Hunter has died at the age of 76 after testing positive for coronavirus, the club has announced.

The former England defender, who was part of Sir Alf Ramsey’s 1966 World Cup-winning squad, was admitted to hospital last week after contracting COVID-19 – the disease caused by coronavirus.

In a statement released on Friday morning, his old team said: “Leeds United are devastated to learn of the passing of club legend Norman Hunter at the age of 76.”

“Norman was taken to hospital last week after being diagnosed with COVID-19 and, despite continuing to battle and the best efforts of NHS staff, he sadly lost his fight earlier this morning,” it added.

“He leaves a huge hole in the Leeds United family, his legacy will never be forgotten, and our thoughts are with Norman’s family and friends at this very difficult time.”

The Elland Road club had previously thanked supporters for their “amazing messages and well wishes” for Hunter, having become a fan favourite for his part of Don Revie’s famous title-winning teams in 1969 and 1974.

He also won the FA Cup, League Cup and two Inter-Cities Fairs Cups, and in 1974 was the inaugural winner of the Professional Footballers’ Association’s player of the year award.

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Hunter made more than 500 appearances for Leeds during his illustrious 20-year playing career, which also included shorter stints at Bristol City and Barnsley.

He would go on to manage Barnsley after he stopped playing, and also took the reigns at Rotherham and Bradford before retiring from football completely in 1990.

Hunter made 28 appearances for England between 1965 and 1974, although the centre back did not initially receive a winner’s medal for his role in the country’s historic World Cup campaign.

Back then, only those who featured in the final itself were eligible – and Hunter had not managed to break up the formidable partnership of Leeds teammate Jack Charlton and West Ham legend Bobby Moore.

Hunter also sometimes featured in defensive midfield, with his tough-tackling style seeing Leeds fans anoint him as Norman “Bites Yer Legs” Hunter, but did not force his way into that position for the World Cup final either.

Hunter was finally presented with a winner’s medal in 2009 after an FA-led campaign to persuade FIFA to honour the entire squad, alongside other former teammates who missed out on a medal – including Jimmy Greaves.

They were given their medals at a Downing Street reception by the then prime minister Gordon Brown.

Tributes have poured in for Hunter, including from former Sunderland and Leeds manager Peter Reid.

“RIP Norman Hunter, a giant of a man,” he tweeted.

Gary Lineker also tweeted: “Sad news: Norman Hunter has passed away. Grew up watching that great @LUFC side of which he was a huge part.

“This awful virus was one crunching tackle too far but he’ll be biting yer legs somewhere. RIP Norman.”

And the official Twitter account of the England national team said: “We’re extremely saddened to learn of the passing of Norman Hunter at the age of 76.

“Norman was part of our @FIFAWorldCup-winning squad and won 28 caps for the #ThreeLions. All of our thoughts are with his family, friends and supporters at this time.”

Hunter is one of several well known faces who have passed away after contracting COVID-19.

Among them are comedy star Eddie Large, actor Mark Blum, and Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne fame.

More than 146,000 people worldwide have died after testing positive for the disease, according to figures tracked by Johns Hopkins University, including nearly 14,000 in the UK.

More than 2.1 million people have been infected globally.

(c) Sky News 2020: Coronavirus: Leeds United great Norman Hunter dies after testing positive