At the tournament, he scored in a 1–1 draw with Hungary, but he got injured in a play-off match against the same opposition. Alongside his brother, Mel Charles, he was a member of the Welsh squad at the 1958 FIFA World Cup. He represented the Welsh national team over fifteen years, from 1950 to 1965. In 1998, he was included in the Football League 100 Legends, and in 2002, he was one of the inaugural inductees to the Football Hall of Fame. This led to the nickname he acquired while playing for Juventus, Il Gigante Buono (The Gentle Giant).
He was never cautioned nor sent off during his entire career, owing to his philosophy of never kicking nor intentionally hurting opposing players. Charles moved back to his native country to play for Cardiff City, and ended his career in non-league football in player-manager roles at Hereford United and Merthyr Tydfil. In 1962, Charles returned to Leeds, but his time there proved unsuccessful as he was accustomed to the style of play in Italy, and by the end of the year, he had joined Roma. In his five seasons with the club, he won the scudetto three times and the Coppa Italia twice he was also the capocannoniere winner for the 1957–58 season. In the summer of 1957, Charles joined Juventus, where he partnered Giampiero Boniperti and Omar Sívori, with the trio becoming known as The Holy Trident. Charles ended the 1956–57 season as the First Division's top scorer and an eighth-place finish for Leeds. The following year, he was named club captain in his first season as captain, he led the club to second place and promotion. After returning from his National Service in 1952, Charles began to be used more often as a forward, and he was the Second Division's top scorer in 1954. He was equally adept as a defender or a forward, due to his strength, pace, technique, vision, ability in the air and eye for goal. Ĭharles began his career at Leeds United, having moved there in 1949 from his hometown club, Swansea Town. Best known for his first stint at Leeds United and Juventus, he was rated by many as the greatest all-round footballer ever to come from Britain. William John Charles CBE (27 December 1931 – 21 February 2004) was a Welsh footballer who played as a centre-forward or as a centre-back. *Club domestic league appearances and goals
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