MIDLAND football figures past and present have paid tribute to 1966 World Cup legend Alan Ball who has died suddenly.
Blues boss Steve Bruce and former Villa and Albion manager Ron Atkinson said Ball would be remembered forever as one of the heroes of English football's finest hour.
The 61-year-old suffered a heart attack just after watching Manchester United's 3-2 Champions League semi-final win over AC Milan last night.
Just hours earlier he had been chatting on the phone to his son Jimmy about the game.
Atkinson said Ball's life had been touched by tragedy after his playing days, with the death of his father in a road accident and the loss of his wife in the last few years.
"Alan went through so much he appeared indestructible," Atkinson said.
"He wore his heart on his sleeve as a player and showed how much playing for England meant to him. He epitomised everything English football is about."
Ball was best known to younger fans as a manager, but Bruce hailed his impact as a player.
"Alan will be remembered as a true ambassador of football," he said.
"He was part of English football's finest hour and was popular wherever he went."
Ball was the youngest member of the side which won the World Cup at Wembley.
His son, Jimmy, said today: "I was talking to him last night just after the football and he was in great form."
World Cup winning goal-scorer Sir Geoff Hurst said other members of the 1966 team were "totally devastated" by Ball's death.
Sir Geoff said: "He was the youngest member of the team and man of the match in the 1966 World Cup final.
"He was always a good laugh and the 1966 team mixed a lot after then."
Another 1966 team mate, Jack Charlton, said he would "miss Alan more than anyone".
"Every time I met him and spent time with him he was taking the mickey out of me.
"I used to get annoyed with him and grab him by the shirt but it was only fun and I am going to miss Alan more than anybody because we had a tremendous relationship."
He joked that Ball would "stand on the chair" to make after-dinner speeches.
"I'm laughing now because I am thinking of Alan. I am not happy and I don't know why I'm laughing. It's just thinking of him. I've got so many good memories of Alan Ball."
Flags were today flying at half-mast at Everton's Goodison Park and Ball will be remembered with a minute's silence at the ground before Saturday's match against Manchester United.
Sir Tom Finney spoke of his shock and sadness at the death of a fellow football legend.
Sir Tom, capped 76 times for England, said: "I am totally shocked, it is just unbelievable. He always seemed in the best of health and full of energy. And 61 is no age to die."
Sir Tom said Ball was a major reason England won the World Cup in 1966.
He said: "He was a very, very good player. He was very similar in style to a Lampard or a Gerrard. He gave everything he had in a game and he was one of the main movers and influences in that 1966 team."