England manager resigns after Wembley defeat

By Dick Durham, CNN.com writer

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Kevin Keegan announced his resignation as England soccer manager within an hour of Germany beating England 1-0 in the last match ever to be played at Wembley Stadium.

As a driving autumn rain embraced the famous Twin Towers in a melancholy haze, Keegan said: "I've not been quite good enough."

He explained: "I just don't feel I can find that bit extra to find a winning formula."

Keegan said he wanted to spend more time with his family, adding: "I don't want to out-stay my welcome."

Dietmar Hamman scored the last-ever goal at the famous arena on Saturday to gain Germany's second straight win in the qualification campaign for the 2002 World Cup.

The teams had been led out onto the pitch by veterans from the 1966 World Cup when England beat Germany - some say the stadium's greatest moment.

For England Bobby Charlton walked in front of the team and Franz Beckenbauer his rival of 34 years ago did the same for Germany.

All week fans had been jetting into London to pay their last respects to Wembley, before England's national stadium is torn down and completely rebuilt.

The grand old stadium, opened in 1923 with its distinctive Twin Towers, is showing signs of decay but retains an aura for fans across the world.

"Wembley is the worldwide icon of football," says stadium spokesman Martin Corrie. "Pele called it the 'church of football'. It is the most powerful brand name in the world, but it has been trading on its image rather than the reality, which is that it is encumbered by its architecture."

Many of the structure's supports block the view of spectators and a new stadium to replace the 77-year-old sports ground will be self-supporting.

But fans have been flocking to the Wembley "experience", a £7.95 ($12) tour of the 219-acre site.

Austrian bank worker Ernst Pummer, 45, saw his visit as a pilgrimage. "I am a big football supporter. Everybody knows Wembley, everybody wants to be at Wembley so this is a special day for me."

He is one of the 5.5 million people who have visited the stadium every year.

"I have come here because this is the Holy Grass," said Andreas Wanitschek, an engineer from Stuttgart, Germany. "At last I've had the chance to see it."

His partner Martina Raible added: "I only came because we had a deal -- Andreas had to come with me to Madame Tussaud waxworks. But now I have come it is much better than I thought."

Glenn Van Vuuren, 39, from Durban, South Africa, felt the stadium looked tired but said: "I feel honoured to be here. World famous events have taken place here, historical events. A lot of history will disappear when it is pulled down."

Also paying their respects were the daughters of Billy Wright, the first footballer to win 100 international caps for England and a former captain.

Vicky Wright, 39, and Babette Woodham, 36, had visited the stadium dozens of times with their late father after he retired, but returned for the last time to make a poignant journey -- walking the 100 metres from the changing rooms, through the tunnel and onto the pitch.

Their father had told them he was physically sick with nerves just before entering the tunnel at every big match and had to clean himself up in the changing rooms.

Vicky said: "We came here a lot with dad and it is all a bit emotional but we were determined to make the pilgrimage before the stadium closed."

"I wanted to know what he felt like," said Babette. "I had always wanted to walk the tunnel."

Her husband Gerry, 34, said: "It is very emotional to come here. I've been involved in sport all my life and this is very moving."

Touring the stadium in its last days visitors could not escape the smell of decay -- damp worn carpet tiles, stained polystyrene ceilings, grubby emulsioned walls.

It was also the end of an era for Wembley guide John Mangum. He, along with 69 others, is now redundant.

But he retained his enthusiasm to the end leading his party up the 39 steps to the royal box, where fans lifted a replica of the English FA Cup, and into the stadium hospital, where he said the red curtains were to hide the blood of injured players, and also the changing rooms with their red-painted baths.

Now all this will be demolished and a new £326 million ($477 million) stadium will rise in its place -- the start of a new era.

Germany tops England 1-0 in Wembley farewell
Saturday October 07, 2000 12:55 PM
Wembley Stadium's hall of fame
October 4, 2000
It's all over for Wembley's Twin Towers
October 2, 2000

Wembley Stadium- End of an Era,Current Stadium,New Stadium
Federation Internationale de Football Association

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