Ken Jones: Honour at last for Briton who was an Italian hero

Only a few extraordinary sports figures are able to prevail in retirement. Their glory intact, they move from the playing field to other arenas, across generations, still special heroes. The word is passed on. "You should have seen Muhammad Ali fight, Pele in his pomp, Don Bradman bat, Lester Piggott in the saddle, Ben Hogan on the tee."

Even in this crowded and confusing present you might think John Charles would be accorded such reverence. However, not a head was turned when he strode through London last weekend on the eve of an appointment at Buckingham Palace to receive his CBE from Prince Charles.

Something about the man and something about fame emerged from the invitation Charles accepted from Nino and Tony Polledri, father and son proprietors of Little Italy, a restaurant in Soho. Charles, the Welshman from Swansea who ranks as one of the 10 greatest footballers in history, is, you see, an Italian rather than a British hero.

A couple of years ago, I had the privilege of introducing Charles at a dinner held in his honour. Most of the people present were too young to have seen him play and the black and white television clips they were shown did not begin to do him justice. I remarked that night on the words of Jimmy Murphy, who managed Wales in 1958 when they reached the World Cup finals in Sweden, their only appearance: "With John in the team [it also included such notables as Ivor Allchurch, Cliff Jones, Jack Kelsey and Terry Medwin] we can beat anybody, including Brazil. They are all terrified of him."

Spared the experience when Charles failed to recover from injury in time to face them in the quarter-finals, Brazil were never sure of victory until an emerging Pele scored the only goal of the game with 15 minutes left. "If John had been fit, who knows?" Murphy mused.

Two years after a sensational £65,000 transfer (double what was the existing British record) from Leeds United to Juventus in August 1957, Charles was established as an international star. Struggling near the bottom of the old Italian First Division when Charles arrived, Juventus became champions in his first season. After a quiet start, Charles hit 28 goals in 34 league matches, an astonishing total in a football culture known for its caution.

When Juventus added another championship in 1960, Charles' value was put at £280,000, making him more highly rated than the Real Madrid maestro Alfredo di Stefano.

No wonder that the big Welshman was fêted in Turin when he attended Juventus's final game last season, one that saw them pipped for Serie A by Roma. The reason was 93 goals in just 155 matches and a temperament that brought him the title Il Buon Gigante – the Gentle Giant. That apart, his versatility seemed endless: centre-forward (his favourite position) – "There is nothing like scoring goals," he said – centre-half, midfield. In the 1961-62 European Cup he was at right-half in the team that became the first to defeat Real Madrid on their own ground in European competition.

In his book Terry Venables' Football Heroes the former England and Barcelona coach recalls standing alongside Charles when turning out for Chelsea as an 18-year-old. "He was awe-inspiring, so big and strong [6ft 2in and around 14 stone]. He was a god. In spite of his size, Charles was an exceptionally skilful player with a delicate touch, terrific balance, speed over the ground and a tremendous shot in both feet. His height gave him a great advantage in the air and many of his goals came from powerful headers."

In his present occupation as an after-dinner speaker, Jack Charlton is frequently asked to nominate the best British player of the post-war era. "People expect me to say George Best or perhaps our kid [Bobby Charlton]. I think it surprises them when I say John Charles but it isn't my intention to be controversial. John was established in the Leeds team when I first got my chance and I learned more from him than any other player. Little things that coaches work hard at putting into players but which were pure instinct to John. Imagine what he would be worth today, how much he would be earning."

Because Charles left British football as he was approaching his peak and its fans saw just the promise and the decline, he will not be remembered as well as lesser men. The tears he shed when thunderously acclaimed in Turin last spring tell their own story. An Italian hero. It took three years to get him an honour – and it should have been a knighthood.