IT was 44 years ago, yet to Tim Phillips it seems like yesterday.

The moment when Bobby Moore hoisted aloft the Jules Rimet Trophy to mark England’s coronation as world champions is as fresh today as it was on July 30, 1966.

For Phillips, and friends Dan Murphy and Trevor Price, it capped an amazing teenage adventure that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

The trio, who were members of the Blue Dragons, a club for young Worcester City fans, went to all of the England games at Wembley and 10 in total — one also being at the now demolished White City Stadium.

The ill-tempered quarter-final victory over Argentina, semi-final success against a Eusebio-inspired Portgual and the legend-making 4-2 extra-time final triumph over West Germany — they saw it all.

“It was the greatest day of my life at the time. I have always got that memory that I was there when England won the World Cup,” Phillips, now 62, said. “Forty-four years on but it seems like yesterday.

“We used to get there early and always get the same position. We were in a block behind the goal immediately above the players’ tunnel and we always made a dash to get the front row.

“The Germans were all to our left and it was a great atmosphere, you didn’t get football hooliganism in those days but there was some friendly banter going on.

“It was a lovely sunny day, magnificent game but our hearts sunk when Weber scored (to make it 2-2).

“Of course, we had the infamous was the ball over the line moment but you couldn’t possibly see from where we were stood — you were about half a mile from the pitch at the old Wembley above the tunnel — but it was definitely over!

“When (Sir Geoff) Hurst scored the final goal we were just in raptures.

“I can remember Nobby Stiles walking around toothless waving the cup around and we were just on a different planet, it was absolutely amazing.”

Spurs fan Phillips, secretary-elect of the Worcester and District League and a referee of 28 years, continued: “Everybody seemed to make their way into central London afterwards with cans and the police were just turning a blind eye to all the celebrations. We all got soaked in the fountains in Trafalgar Square.

“Trevor then drove his A35 van back to Worcester at about three o’clock in the morning. I can always remember stopping at Moreton-in-Marsh and there was a burger stall still open.

“I think that was the first food we had after the final and we stopped and reflected on the day.”

The trio’s place in history is also immortalised on tape as they appeared in crowd shots from Goal!, the official film of the finals.

“We saw all these cameramen and film crews in front us and they kept turning round and asking us to cheer and wave.

“We thought they were just newspaper reporters but it turned out this one crew were doing the official film of the World Cup,” said Phillips, a retired civil servant and also groundsman at Old Elizabethans Cricket Club in Perdiswell Park.

“When it came to the Odeon in Worcester, the manager recognised us from being fans of Worcester City and they did the story in the Evening News and Times as it was then. We got invited down to the Odeon for one of the showings.”

Phillips, also in the crowd for Worcester City’s 1959 FA Cup triumph over Liverpool at St George’s Lane, admits home advantage played its part but believes Sir Alf Ramsey built a fine team.

“I think in 1966 Ramsey modelled a team based on the players he had.

“You had people like Jackie Charlton, Martin Peters and Roger Hunt, they were big team players and they had the greatest captain ever in Bobby Moore,” he said.

“You had Bobby Charlton with his shooting prowess and Alan Ball just didn’t stop running the whole game, he was the engine room of the team.

“Gordon Banks was probably the greatest goalkeeper England’s ever had. There wasn’t a weak link in the side.

“Ramsey was so focused and single-minded. He knew where he was going, what he wanted and he got there.”

Over the next few weeks, Fabio Capello will attempt to emulate that achievement in South Africa and Phillips could be there to witness it.

“There’s a possibility that I might have access to a final ticket if England get there,” he said. “I think we can beat anybody on our day.”