Alexander Cyril Stepney (born 18 September 1942) is an English former footballer who was Manchester United's goalkeeper when they became the first English club to win the European Cup.
Early career
Born in Mitcham, Surrey, Stepney had unsuccessful trials with Fulham and joined Tooting & Mitcham United. From there, he was spotted by Millwall, who signed him as an amateur in 1963, but quickly realised his potential and made him a professional within two months of his arrival. Stepney was ever-present for almost three seasons, making 158 appearances, only missing the last game of the 1965–66 season. During this period, he earned three England under-23 caps.
In May 1966, Stepney joined Chelsea for £50,000. Manager Tommy Docherty initially intended to play Stepney and fellow goalkeeper Peter Bonetti in alternate weeks, but just three months later Stepney was sold to Manchester United for a record fee of £55,000, having made just one appearance for the club. With Harry Gregg's career virtually ended by injury, the Manchester United manager, Matt Busby, opted for Stepney after deciding that neither Pat Dunne nor the injury-prone David Gaskell was up to the job. Stepney made his debut for United later the same year against Manchester City at Old Trafford, and he kept a clean sheet as United won 1–0 through a first-half goal from Denis Law.
League and European success
With Stepney in goal, Manchester United won the First Division title in 1967, earning them entry into the European Cup the following season, a competition that no English club had yet won. Stepney featured throughout United's progress to the final at Wembley Stadium, during which he made a memorable close-range save from Benfica striker Eusébio in the closing stages with the score at 1–1. Eusébio was so astonished at Stepney's save that he stopped to applaud the keeper as Stepney threw the ball back into play. United eventually won 4–1 after extra time.
At the start of that season, Stepney had conceded a goal to his opposite number at Tottenham Hotspur, Pat Jennings, in the 1967 FA Charity Shield at Old Trafford. With Tottenham leading 1–0, Jennings punted the ball upfield from the Stretford End; the ball bounced over the stranded Stepney into the net. The game ended 3–3 with United's goals coming from Bobby Charlton (2) and Denis Law.
International recognition
Although a highly talented keeper, Stepney was a distance down the pecking order when it came to the England team. Gordon Banks was the undisputed number one, with Peter Bonetti of Chelsea, Gordon West of Everton and the more experienced Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper Ron Springett all in Stepney's way. When England qualified for the final stages of the 1968 European Championships, coach Alf Ramsey selected Stepney and West as the two back-up keepers to Banks and, in what turned into a momentous week for Stepney, he made his England debut in a friendly win over Sweden in May 1968, seven days before the European Cup final. England won 3–1.
Ramsey kept Stepney in his thoughts in his preparations for England's defence of the FIFA World Cup in 1970, for which England did not have to qualify having won the previous tournament, but did not give him another cap as the likes of Bonetti and West added to their meagre tallies of appearances. However, when the preliminary squad of 27 was announced, Stepney was in, along with Banks, Bonetti and uncapped rookie Peter Shilton, with no sign of West. When the final 22 who would travel to Mexico was confirmed, Shilton was the goalkeeper sent home.
Nevertheless, Stepney was clearly the third-choice goalkeeper in the squad and the chances of his appearing on the pitch in Mexico were small. When Banks went down with food poisoning prior to the quarter-final with West Germany, it was the slightly more experienced Bonetti – who had six caps to Stepney's one – to whom Ramsey turned, although Stepney did make it onto the substitutes' bench. England squandered a two-goal lead to lose 3–2 and it was Stepney who told the groggy, ill Banks the scoreline in his hotel room by holding up three fingers on one hand and two on the other.
