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The improbable success of Alf Ramsey
On the 100th anniversary of his birth, ASIF BURHAN considers Sir Alf's rise from Dagenham grocery boy to England's most successful manager
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THE only man to lead a senior England team to a major international trophy is buried in Ipswich’s Old Cemetery, under a simple grey headstone dwarfed by the surrounding black tombstones.

In front, I find a fresh holly wreath left by relatives with a Christmas message for “Auntie Victoria and Uncle Alf.” There is no mention anywhere of his role in the greatest-ever achievement in English football.

100 years ago today, Alfred Ernest Ramsey was born in Dagenham, then a small village in rural Essex. Not until 47 years later, when Alfred became Sir Alf — the manager who led England to World Cup victory — was his date of birth revealed to those in the game. 

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