Stanley Matthews he helped Blackpool to win the cup with a formidable personal performance in the "Matthews Final" of 1953. Between 1934 and 1957 he won 54 caps for England, playing in the FIFA World Cup in 1950 and 1954, and winning nine British Home Championship titles. Following an unsuccessful stint as Port Vale's general manager between 1965 and 1968, he travelled around the world, coaching enthusiastic amateurs. The most notable of his coaching experiences came in 1975 in South Africa, where in spite of the harsh apartheid laws of the time he established an all-black team in Soweto known as "Stan's
Stanley Matthews convinced he had found the true love of his life in Mila, he and Betty divorced. He and Mila spent the ensuing years living at various times in Malta (specifically Marsaxlokk), South Africa and Canada. They also travelled extensively as Matthews's coaching jobs and guest appearances dictated. After Mila died on 5 May 1999 at the age of 76, according to Les Scott (who helped Matthews write his autobiography), Matthews "was never the same person". Source: Matthews' autobiography, "The Way It Was", was released by Headline in 2000. The book is dedicated to his wife Mila, who died the year