Share Save Add as preferred on Google James McClair West Midlands BBC Annie Onions said her dad, Dr Neil Phillips, was "so proud" to be England team doctor Kicking off their World Cup campaign against Croatia, England are hoping to become world champions for a second time and end 60 years of hurt.
But the man who was responsible for tending to any pain for players before they lifted the Jules Rimet trophy hailed from Malvern, Worcestershire.
Dr Neil Phillips, who died in 2015 aged 83, was the team doctor for the famed 1966 winning squad and worked with stars like Bobby Moore and Sir Geoff Hurst.
"He was so proud to be doctor to the England football team," his daughter Annie Onions recalls ahead of this summer's tournament in North America.
"What amazed him when he was on the pitch in 1966 before the final [was that] he was from Wales, his favourite sports were cricket and rugby, he spent six months doing gynaecology as part of his training, and he ends up doctor to the England World Cup team."
"It was always a pinch me moment [for him] standing there on that pitch and being part of it," she added.
Phillips' role landed him an appearance on Top of the Pops alongside the Three Lions squad when their World Cup song, 'Back Home', shot to fame four years on from their World Cup triumph.
His bond with England skipper Moore was one of the highlights of his stint with the national team.
Onions said she remembered trips to the West Ham legend's leather factory in London during her childhood whenever the family visited the capital.
"I had a bright red waistcoat in suede with all the tassels at the bottom," she said.
"From a very early age I was in love with Bobby Moore, I thought he was the greatest thing in the world and going there was just fabulous."
However, the job did not come without challenges, particularly as part of a small team, with Phillips even having to use his holiday allowance to tend to the team during competitions.
"Now when they go to the World Cup, they have this whole entourage of psychologists and physiotherapists," Onions said. "Then it was just Sir Alf Ramsey, my dad and Les Cocker – that was it."
Speaking to the BBC in 2010, Phillips was intent on the secret to England's one and only victory on the world stage.
"I know how we did it, and it was all due to one man - Alf Ramsey," he said at the time.
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Sources: BBC Sport
