da doce： A breakdown of Jimmy Greaves' staggering goal-scoring tally for all his clubs and England.
da bwin： James Peter Greaves MBE was a English forward who had stamped his authority in European football with some majestic goals and thumping strikes. Regarded as one of the most prolific strikers of his generation, Greaves' ability to find the back of the net was second to none.
The striker spent majority of his career in England specifically in London as he preferred staying in the country. Greaves was once signed by AC Milan but the forward returned very soon to sign for Tottenham Hotspur.
Greaves' career skyrocketed when he returned to England as he became the most-decorated goalscorer in Spurs' history before being pushed down to the second position by Harry Kane. The forward stumbled from glory in the latter stages of his career suffering from alcoholism but was still considered a legend in the history books.
Greave wrapped up his career playing in the Southern League strutting his stuff for Chelmsford City and Barnet before hanging up his boots. The 1966 World Cup Winner sadly passed away on 19 September 2021 but he'll always be remembered for his contribution to football.
GOAL traces back through Jimmy Greaves' goal scoring journey and takes a look at exactly how many goals the veteran scored for his multiple clubs and country.
Let's take a look!
How many goals did he score for West Ham United?
In March 1970, Jimmy Greaves decided to join West Ham United in an exchange deal that saw Martin Peters' go the other way. Greaves banged two goals on his Hammers' debut as the London-based club beat Manchester City 5-1.
Despite his exploits, Greaves couldn't replicate his form from Spurs at West Ham United. In January 1971, Greaves was involved in a drinking incident before a FA Cup tie with four other teammates.
West Ham United went on to lose the encounter 4-0 against Blackpool and despite Greaves claiming he wasn't hungover and tired after the drinking incident, the former Spurs and Chelsea star was suspended by the management.
Greaves fell off his throne at the English club and lacked motivation for playing football. The striker reportedly drank a lot of alcohol during his stint at the Hammers which caused his downfall. Greaves completed his West Ham United career with just 13 goals in 40 games.
Season
Games
Goals
1969-70
6
4
1970-71
34
9
Total
40
13
AdvertisementHow did Greaves fare for Tottenham Hotspur?
After returning to England from Serie-A, Greaves' career shooted off in the right direction as he found the back of the net on constant occasions. On his debut, Greaves thumped a hattrick against Blackpool in 1961 and went on to score 266 goals for the London-based club.
Greaves' stint at Tottenham not only had goals but the English striker also won several pieces of silverware for his club. Greaves' bagged a goal in the 1962 FA Cup final to guide Spurs to the trophy, before capturing a brace against Atletico Madrid to lead the English heavyweights to European triumph in 1963. The forward's contribution helped the club win the FA Cup once again in 1967.
In the 1968-69 season Greaves' finished as the First Division's top-scorer for the 6th and final time as he continued to prove his worth for the English side. He capped off his Spurs' career with an underwhelming season considering his standards but still managed to rack up 268 goals for his club becoming the most decorated player in the club's history.
Greaves' record was only broken by Harry Kane last year after he leapfrogged the English veteran to lead the charts.
Season
Games
Goals
1961-62
31
30
1962-63
49
44
1963-64
45
36
1964-65
45
35
1965-66
31
16
1966-67
47
31
1967-68
48
29
1968-69
52
36
1969-70
33
11
Total
381
268
How many goals did he score for Chelsea and AC Milan?
GOALS FOR AC MILAN
AC Milan signed Jimmy Greaves for a fee of £80,000 in the summer of 1961, although the English forward was unhappy at leaving England he still joined the Italian heavyweights. The veteran had a scintillating start to his career but was not satisfied with Rossoneri's new manager Nereo Rocco.
The new manager insisted on keeping a strict fitness routine and gave less room for personal freedom irritating Greaves. In a match against Sampdoria, Greaves bashed a thunderous strike to open the scoring and then went on to set up the second goal.
But Sampdoria equalised owing to a foul by Greaves and the forward was blamed by the manager for the loss. Owing to low morale, Greaves was listed on the transfer market with Tottenham Hotspur signing the English international.
Season
Games
Goals
1961-62
13
9
GOALS FOR CHELSEA
Greaves joined Chelsea's youth academy in 1956 and then rose through the ranks to become one of the most decorated striker in Blues' history.
He debuted for Chelsea in the 1957/58 campaign when two London sides Chelsea and Spurs played out a 1-1 draw.
After that Greaves bagged 22, 37, 30, and 43 goals respectively in the next few seasons he played at the club. In 1960, Greaves scored his 100th league goal when Chelsea locked horns with Manchester City when he was just 20 years old.
In total, Greaves grabbed 13 hattricks during his stint at the West London club while also scoring five goals in a single game on three occasions.
The Blues management decided to sell Greaves to the highest suitor after his scintillating spell in London and despite his unwillingness to go the forward was shipped off to AC Milan. Greaves capped off his Chelsea career with four goals as the Blues emerged victorious in a 4-3 thriller.
Season
Games
Goals
1957-58
37
22
1958-59
47
37
1959-60
42
30
1960-61
43
43
Total
169
132
Greaves' England record year by year
Greaves debuted for England on 17th May 1959 against Peru at the Estadio Nacional. Greaves scored England's only goal as the South American side thrashed the European heavyweights 4-1.
In 1960, the stalwart scored two consecutive hattrick's against Northern Ireland and Luxembourg. The following year, Greaves continued his goal scoring threat with another hat trick against Scotland in the 9-3 routing at Wembley.
Owing to his exploits for England, Greaves was selected to represent the Three Lions at the 1962 World Cup in Chile. Despite playing in all four games, Greaves scored just a single goal against Argentina. The European side were dumped out of the competition in the quarter-finals by Brazil as England were handed a massive disappointment at the prestigious tournament.
On 3rd October 1964, Greaves bagged another hattrick against Northern Ireland making it his third hattrick against the opposition. With those three goals, the striker's tally for England reached 35 goals making him the most decorated goalscorer in the country's history then.
His ongoing goal scoring spree for his country saw him getting picked up for the 1966 World Cup. Greaves was an influential cog in England's starting line-up as he featured for his country in all group stage games.
But in the final group stage match against France, Greaves picked up a devastating injury which saw him being replaced. Despite him being full-fit for the final, the manager didn't wanna change the winning team and Greaves was benched for the prestigious final.
England went on to win the trophy as Greaves' replacement, Geoff Hurst, scored the winning goal for his country.
Greaves wrapped up his English career in 1969 after being in and out of the national team and going unused in the 1968 Euros.
Season
Games
Goals
1959
5
2
1960
6
9
1961
4
5
1962
10
6
1963
9
8
1964
8
6
1965
5
2
1966
7
5
1967
3
1
Total
57
44