Sir Alf Ramsey's 'masterplan' for 1966 World Cup win found in suitcase

Sir Alf Ramsey's 'masterplan' for England's 1966 World Cup victory has been found in an old suitcase after being stashed away for more than 50 years.

The never-before-seen letters, tactical diagrams, scouting reports and training schedules were left in a suitcase belonging to Sir Alf's old neighbours who lived on Valley Road in Ipswich.

The scouting reports on other countries including Germany and Portugal were written up by British football managers and sent to the England boss during the tournament.

Remarkably, one report was made by Scotsman Sir Matt Busby, the then manager of Manchester Utd, on England's semi-final clash with Portugal.

There is a six page report on West Germany who were described as a 'formidable opponent' and a 'major threat', with their captain Franz Beckenbauer singled out.

Sir Alf died in 1999 and his wife Lady Victoria Ramsey passed away in 2018. At some point, the Ramseys gave the case to their neighbours, the Couplands.

Elaine Coupland passed away this year and the documents were found by relatives while sorting out their affairs.

Other documents found in the case include a detailed and precise itinerary for the England players produced by Sir Alf for the tournament. 

He left no stone unturned with his preparations with meticulous notes on training regimes, food to be eaten, films to be watched and activities to be played during downtime. These included games of badminton, lawn tennis, golf and croquet.

His notes also reveal how every England player received a £2 daily allowance, a £60 match fee and an incentive bonus for winning the World Cup of a pool of £22,000 (about £500,000 today).

There are also fascinating documents from the FA's International Select Committee analysing the performance of England players in the lead-up to 1966.

These discussed which players were underachieving, what needed to be improved and who should be captain, with the legendary Bobby Moore mentioned as the strongest candidate.

Mrs Coupland's family took the documents TW Gaze in Diss, Norfolk, who are selling it next week. It has a pre-sale estimate of between £1,000 to £1,500 but is expected to go for more than that.

Auctioneer Rob Henshilwood said: 'The suitcase has come from a deceased estate.

'The Couplands were close friends and neighbours of the Ramseys, both living in Valley Road Ipswich from the 1960s. They often holidayed together in Austria and Germany and remained friends in later life.

 'These documents were gifted to Mrs Coupland and were subsequently found amongst her effects after she died in March of this year.

'When the family brought it in to us I started going through it, thinking 'this is pretty amazing'.

'This is Alf Ramsey's masterplan for the 1966 World Cup. Some of the scouting reports are fascinating to read almost 70 years later.

'The Matt Busby report really stands out. He comes across as a gentleman who wished Sir Alf all the best for the World Cup.'

Sir Matt wrote his report after seeing Portugal beat Hungary 3-1 in the group stage and before they played England in the semi-final.

He wrote: 'Dear Alf...first of all congrats - keep it up. I know you have knowledge of Portugal but have included a report which may help.

'Wembley final the next stop is the wish of Yours Truly, Matt.'

Sir Matt went on to state that the Portuguese defence 'come out playing' and that 'both backs come in hard.'

He also pointed out the threat of lethal striker Eusebio. He said: 'Of the countries we have seen, the Portuguese forwards have been the most dangerous, particularly Eusébio, who will take on players and hit every conceivable ball from 30 or 40 yards.

'I do suggest Eusebio should be tightly marked for the whole of the game.'

England beat Portugal 2-1 although Eusebio finished the World Cup as top goalscorer with nine goals.

The West Germany scouting report was written by Syd Owen, the then first team coach of Leeds Utd, who watched them thrash Switzerland 5-0.

He wrote: 'After seeing this game the general opinion I formed is that the German side are thoroughly fit, resolute in everything they do, tactically well drilled, and I consider will go a long way in this competition.

'They are a formidable opponent, individual confidence is high and they will be one of the major threats.'

He singled out Germany's pacy winger Sigfried Held who could 'catch pigeons (a real flyer). Not much craft when on the ball.'

He highlighted Beckenbauer. Owen wrote: 'Needs closest attention. Good control of ball, strong running off the ball...If not challenged carries on until he is, but his control is very good and he can beat his man in a very short space for a big player.'

Owen also drew several tactical diagrams showing the formations of the 10 outfield German players with arrows for directions in which individual players operated.

However, a second report by Alan Brown, then manager of Sheffield Wednesday, stated that Beckenbauer could be a weakness.

He wrote to Sir Ramsey: 'One weakness I thought could be exploited is in Beckenbauer who when defending in front of his own goal is easily beaten and he doesn't seem to worry too much about his defensive work...Beckenbauer seems to always anticipate that defenders will be there to cover up his mistakes..'

The suitcase also contained similar documents for the 1970 World Cup in Mexico as well as photographs of Sir Alf with Bobby Moore.

One document is a letter Sir Slf wrote to an English translator who had sent him comments made by the Brazil manager about England before the World Cup.

Joao Saldanha had told the Brazilian press that England only won in 1966 because they were the home team.

Sir Alf replied to the translator: 'Nothing would please me more than winning a match against Brazil.

England did play Brazil in the 1970 tournament and lost 1-0 in a match famous for Gordon Banks' incredible save from a Pele header.

Mr Henshilwood said the documents reflect the 'collaboration' of other football managers who worked together to help England succeed.

He said: 'It's a world away from modern football management where you have a whole entourage.

'This is all hand done and typed up, Alf Ramsey had a hand in all of this.

'The archive is being sold as one lot. We have put an estimate of between £1,000 to £1,500 on it but it really should go for quite a bit more.

'I really hope it will go to a football museum as it is a piece of national sporting history.'

The sale takes place on Thursday.