WORLD CUP ’90 : Jack Charlton Still a Picture of Cup Success : Ireland: Standout player on England’s 1966 champions has coached the Irish into contention.

It is one of the most memorable and, indeed, poignant photographs in World Cup history. It shows a player on his knees on the turf, his face buried in his hands. The emotion it conveys is almost palpable.

The shot was taken at Wembley Stadium in London on the afternoon of July 30, 1966, the day that England defeated West Germany, 4-2, in overtime, to win the World Cup.

The player in the picture is Jack Charlton.

“I suddenly realized that I was knackered (exhausted, to use a more polite euphemism),” Charlton said years later in explaining the photograph. “Really knackered. I sank on my knees and put my head in my hands. A sort of, ‘Thank God that’s over.’ People reckon I said a little prayer, but I don’t think I actually said a conscious prayer. It was just relief at the end of two hours of football.”

Whatever the reason, the photograph dramatically captures the pressures of playing in the World Cup and its effect on those involved.

In 1966, Charlton and his more famous brother, Bobby, helped England win the trophy for the first and so far only time. In 1990, “Big Jack” is trying to do the same for Ireland.

An Englishman coaching the Irish might seem an unlikely, almost incongruous, situation, but there are all sorts of twists in this English lion’s tale.

For one thing, Charlton is looked upon almost as a saint in the republic after leading Ireland into both the European Championships in 1988 and the World Cup this year for the first time in its history. For another, he genuinely likes the Irish and has developed a true rapport with the country’s soccer supporters.

“If we can’t win the World Cup, then I would like England to be the champions,” Charlton told fans in Dublin before the team left for Italy, then paused just long enough before adding: “But they’ll do it over our dead bodies.”

Indeed, since Charlton took over as Ireland’s coach in February 1986, the English have found the Irish a particularly troublesome opponent.

Ireland played England in the first round of the European Championships in West Germany in 1988 and scored a memorable 1-0 upset victory. The teams met again 10 days ago in Cagliari on the island of Sardinia, this time in World Cup play, and the Irish earned a 1-1 tie.

“Beating England in West Germany was the high point of Ireland’s soccer history so far,” British soccer reporter Peter Ball wrote just before the World Cup, “and Charlton was virtually canonized on the spot by the traveling Irish fans and feted almost unbelievably when the side returned home, confirming his status as an honorary Irishman.

“There are still critics who do not love his approach to the game, but his rapport with fans is tremendous, and when Ireland qualified (for the World Cup), an emotional Charlton joined the celebrating fans in the streets and the bars as they drank the night away.”

Oddly enough, England and Ireland have since been drawn together for the third time in a row in international competition and will meet in the qualifying rounds of the 1992 European Championships.

But for now, the focus is on the World Cup and, in particular, on today’s match in Palermo, Sicily, between Ireland and the Netherlands. Odds favor the Dutch, but this has been a World Cup of upsets, and there is one other factor to remember: Charlton has never lost a World Cup match as a player or as a coach.

As the second-oldest player on England’s 1966 team, Charlton, then 29, played in and won six games. Inexplicably, he played in only one match in the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, but England won that game, too. Now, at 54, he has coached Ireland to consecutive ties against England and Egypt.

Even though he has been actively involved in the game since signing as a 16-year-old professional with Leeds United of the English League in 1952, Charlton’s life revolves around more than soccer.

As Ball wrote, “There is more to Jack Charlton than the Ireland manager would like you to think. Behind the bluff, sometimes rough exterior lies a surprising sensitivity; but then, behind the decisive, no-nonsense front there is a mass of contradictions: a socialist with a taste for shooting and fishing, if not hunting.”

Indeed, there are times when it seems that Charlton has an even greater passion for tramping the moors in search of grouse, a shotgun tucked under his arm, or for fly-fishing along some Irish river bank than he has for soccer. He made a notable television series on fishing--and another on soccer coaching--and is a popular television pundit and after-dinner speaker despite his broad north-of-England accent.

But soccer has been his bread and butter for almost four decades. At 6 feet 4 and gawky, long in neck and stride, he was a soccer-playing giraffe. His height helped him be almost unbeatable in the air, however, and it was as a defender that he made his mark.

He played a club-record 629 matches for Leeds United, his only club team, and appeared 35 times for England. He was named England’s player of the year in 1967 and, after moving into coaching--first with Middlesbrough, then with Sheffield Wednesday and, briefly, with Newcastle United--he was named England’s coach of the year in 1974.

But it is with Ireland that Charlton has enjoyed his greatest success. Consider:

--A survey by a Scottish soccer magazine, The Punter, late last year ranked Ireland ahead of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, based on the results of all international matches played since 1986. Ireland, in fact, ranked fourth in Europe, behind only the Netherlands, West Germany and Denmark. Italy was fifth.

--Coming into the World Cup, the Irish were unbeaten at home in four years.

--In his first three years as Ireland’s coach, Charlton won 13 matches, tied seven and lost only five. Small wonder that the Irish Football Assn. was quick to renew its agreement with him.

It was not a written contract, however. True to character, Charlton works on a handshake, a gentlemen’s agreement that requires nothing more than the other party’s word.

If there is one criticism of Charlton, it is that his team’s style of play tends to be more effective than attractive. This practical approach reflects Charlton’s temperament.

The best example of Ireland’s style was shown in the match against England. The Irish were quick into every tackle, unafraid of physical contact and aggressive for the full 90 minutes.

“We inflict our game on other teams--let them try to handle us,” Charlton said of Ireland’s approach during the World Cup qualifying campaign. So far, it has worked, but the future is less certain.

British sports columnist James Mossop has been a close friend of Charlton’s for almost a quarter-century. In an article in England’s Sunday Express on June 10 he wrote:

“Charlton is looking to the future, and in two years’ time he will be gone from the stewardship of the Republic of Ireland team. Retirement calls at 54.

“You would not guess as much from a glance at the training ground where he barks instructions with the epithets of the Northumbrian colliery where his working life began. He is a tall, bandy-legged figure in baggy shorts, vest, dark glasses and the kind of tweed cap favored by pigeon fanciers and rat-catchers.”

The image is almost like something out of D.H. Lawrence, and Charlton, in fact, does come across as the no-nonsense northerner--gruff, blunt and sparing no punches--that Lawrence favored.

Added Mossop: “Jack is a straightforward, uncomplicated person who will say exactly what he thinks. Usually instantly.”

This, Charlton believes, might have cost him any chance at becoming England’s coach several years ago. He applied, but never heard back from the English Football Assn.

“Perhaps they didn’t think I was couth enough or that my image was right,” he told Mossop. “I have a reputation for being outspoken. I do not consider myself a diplomat, but there are too many diplomats knocking about in the game.”

And so tonight, instead of guiding England’s fortunes against Egypt in Cagliari, Charlton will be in Palermo, hoping to upstage the English by beating the Dutch. It’s unlikely to happen, but Charlton will be there by choice.

“I love the Irish people and the job,” he said. “At this moment, I have no ambition other than managing the Irish team. I know the time will come when I will get the feeling that I should go and someone else should have a crack at it. You can spend too much time in a job.”

A postscript: On Nov. 15, 1989, in front of 25,000 fans, one-fifth of them Irish, at Ta Qali National Stadium in Valletta, Malta, Ireland defeated Malta, 2-0.

The victory was historic. Ireland had been trying for 56 years to reach the World Cup but had failed in its previous 12 attempts. Charlton got it right the first time as Ireland finished second to Spain in its qualifying group, which also included Hungary and Malta.

“The satisfaction for me is doing the job I was paid to do in the first place,” Charlton said afterward. “When I took over (as coach), it was made clear that the main aim was to qualify for the (24-team) finals.

“The European Championship was nice, and we’ve upgraded our game and caused people a few problems over the years. But I’m glad it’s over. We’ve had two very difficult years and we’ve had to win a few games when the pressure has been on. But (the players) have done that, and it’s absolutely terrific that Ireland is in the finals for the first time.”

That said, Charlton made his exit. His roots and his heart lie with the players and the fans, not the sportswriters and the television cameras. It was a night to celebrate, and as he left, Charlton tossed one last comment back over his shoulder: “The lads are singing, and I want to join them.”

Those 10 words, as well as any, illustrate what Jack Charlton is all about.