May 21 – Love’s Got the World in Motion

WHAT’S the worst thing about England not qualifying for this summer’s European Championships? A summer spent thinking what could have been, whilst we all sit around trying to decide who to support? The millions of pounds that Steve Mclaren was paid off to go umbrella shopping with? Nope, in our eyes it’s the fact that we won’t be seeing the England team hitting the Top 40 with pre-tournament sing-song.

Granted, most of these are terrible, but there’s always an exception to the rule and today in 1990 saw the release of the greatest ever football song: New Order’s World in Motion.

Breaking from the norm that had seen the England squad coming up with such pop ditties as “Back Home” and the almost-apologetic sounding “This Time (We’ll Get It Right)” the FA chose one of the trendiest bands in the country to come up with a song for Italia ’90. Fresh off the back of the biggest-selling 12″ single of all-time in “Blue Monday”, the Manchester band originally want to call the song “E is England”, but the FA, surprisingly on the ball with youth culture, saw through this drug reference and refused.

Co-written by actor and comedian Keith “Lilly’s dad” Allen the song features a number of the England squad such as Paul Gascoigne on backing vocals, but John Barnes was the real star, as the ‘Barnesy Rap’ at the end of the track is what everyone remembers the song for. Making 1989′s ‘Anfield Rap’ look like the rubbish Beastie Boys imitation it is, the Liverpool winger delivered lines such as “Catch me if you can/Cos I’m the England man/And what you’re looking at/Is the master plan” with a free-flowing style that would make Lethal Bizzle sweat (maybe).

With some timeless synths and a couple of Kenneth Wolstenholme samples chucked in for good measure, Bernard Sumner and company had a number one hit on their hands and had set a new standard for football songs, that’s still revered in popular culture today. Unfortunately, with the exception of Baddiel and Skinner’s ‘Three Lions’, New Order’s successors in the job haven’t really lived up to this watermark. ‘Top of the World’ by Echo and the Bunnymen and the Spice Girls anyone? ‘On the Ball’ by cheeky chaps Ant and Dec? Even the ear drum-destroying Crazy Frog got in on the act for the last World Cup.

Get your volume turned up whilst you hark back to the day when Ing-er-land had a side worth watching below and like Joey Barton we’ll be going nowhere tomorrow, so come back for some cup final action.

May 20 – FA Cup Bids Farewell to Wembley

WHILE David James is probably still celebrating winning the FA Cup on Saturday with Portsmouth, and keeping a clean sheet in the process, he was most certainly not celebrating on this day in 2000 when he was largely blamed for Chelsea’s winning goal as Aston Villa lost 1-0 in the showpiece match.

The 2000 final was the last to be held at Wembley before it was torn down and redeveloped, with Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium hosting the final until last year when Wembley was reopened.

The competition itself was a touch controversial that season when Manchester United became the first winners in the history of the FA Cup to not defend their title. Instead they trudged off to Brazil to participate in the new Club World Cup, much to the chagrin of supporters across the country.

In those pre-Abramovich days Chelsea were seen as the continental cup specialists having won the FA Cup in 1997 and the League Cup and Cup Winners Cup in 1998 and manager Gianluca Vialli named just one Englishman in his starting 11 with Dennis Wise captaining the side.

After an uninspiring first half things livened up after the break when Dennis Wise thought he had put his side 1-0 up only for the referee to disallow his effort for offside. A quarter of an hour later Chelsea do take the lead after James fumbles a Zola free kick only as far as Roberto Di Matteo who buries the ball to win the cup for the Londoners and consign Villa, and particularly David James to more misery. For James, who admitted he cried after the game, the whole scenario was reminiscent of his last Cup final appearance for Liverpool in 1996 when he punched the ball out only for it to fall for Eric Cantona who scored to win the game 1-0 for Manchester United.

Villa manager John Gregory was attempted to deflect some of the inevitable flak that would come the way of David James after yet another high-profile blunder by the ‘keeper.

“He got us to the final,” said Gregory of his goalkeeper. “He has done unbelievable things this season to get us in this position in the first place.

“In the semi-final he was outstanding and certainly no criticism can be placed on anybody.”

Meanwhile Di Matteo was lamenting the end of the old stadium having scored in three cup finals there. He said: “We have finished the season in a great way. It is just a pity for me that they are going to rip this stadium down because it is quite a lucky place for me.”

The result also meant Vialli became Chelsea’s most successful ever manager having collected the FA Cup, League Cup, Cup Winners Cup and European Super Cup in his spell as boss, although that was a record that was not to last long.

We have not been able to find any clips of Di Matteo’s winner, but have a look at Cantona’s effort against James in the 1996 final below and come back tomorrow for a collision of football and music, and no, it’s not the Anfield Rap.

May 19 – Fairy Tale End for The Dell

FOR years Southampton punched above their weight in the top flight of English football, aided by their small and intimidating home ground The Dell. It was the stadium opposition players dreaded visiting as the close proximity of the fans to the pitch made for a difficult place to go and get a result – just ask Sir Alex Ferguson who even tried to blame his team’s grey shirts for one of a number of losses at the south coast ground.

The stadium opened in 1898 and was home for the Saints for more than a hundred years but after the Hillsborough disaster in 1989 all top flight clubs had to convert their stadia into all-seater. This change gave The Dell a capacity of just over 15,000 – the smallest of any Premier League club, and while the intimidating atmosphere of the ground had undoubtedly helped the club over the years, the small capacity was now proving a major handicap in terms of gate receipts. As the 1990s drew to a close work had started on the new 32,000 seat St Mary’s Stadium which would replace The Dell from the 2001-02 season.

The last competitive match at The Dell took place on this day in 2001, and it was a belter. Arsenal were the visitors and they threatened to spoil the party by twice taking the lead through Ashley Cole and Freddie Ljungberg, with Hassan Kachloul equalising twice. With 20 minutes left and the scores level at 2-2 Saints manager Stuart Gray brought on two Southampton legends for a final run out at the old stadium. Franny Benali and Matt Le Tissier trotted out on to the pitch to a roar from the home crowd hoping for one more moment of brilliance from the man they call Le God before the stadium where he had spent his entire career was torn down.

They were not to be disappointed. With just a minute of the match to play Le Tissier scored with a trademark beautifully struck volley from inside the box to win the match and send The Dell crowd wild. Not only had Saints won their last competitive match at their famous old ground, but it had been sealed in the last minute by the only man on the pitch capable of such brilliance.

The final whistle moments later saw Le Tissier and the rest of the Southampton team mobbed by the crowd as they celebrated with their heroes.

The ground would host one more game before it was demolished – Brighton, the team who were the opposition in the very first match at The Dell, travelled along the coast for a friendly match a week later to neatly book-end the life of the stadium. Uwe Rosler scored the last goal ever at the ground in a 1-0 win for Saints as the fans started the demolition work early by helping themselves to seats, advertising hoardings and all manner of other momentos.

Saints did not find life easy at first at their new St Mary’s Stadium and a horrible early run of results in the new ground was blamed by some on rumours that builders from Portsmouth who helped construct it had buried a Portsmouth shirt in the foundations. True or not, it is more likely Saints form was down to Stuart Gray’s questionable top-level management skills and things certainly picked up with Gordon Strachan replaced him.

Have a look at a selection of some of Le Tissier’s best goals at The Dell, including the last minute winner against Arsenal at about one minute in. Follow this link to remember some of the best ever matches at the old ground, and come back tomorrow for another tale of a grand old stadium hosting it’s last FA Cup match.

May 18 – The Greatest Team Ever?

THE European Cup has seen it’s fair share of classic finals and legendary sides, but perhaps the best came today in 1960, as Real Madrid produced a footballing master-class to defeat Eintracht Frankfurt and claim their fifth successive title.

The tournament was the brainchild of French sports journalist and L’Equipe editor Gabriel Hanot who wanted to find out who the best side in Europe was. In the early days of the competition Real Madrid emphatically answered that one for him, winning the first five finals, saving their best for the shell-shocked German side.

Eintracht had earned their shot at the champs with a 12-4 aggregate thrashing of Rangers, and with the final being played at Hampden Park in Glasgow. This demolition of the ‘Gers had captured the imagination of the Glaswegian public, who turned out in their droves for the final, with the attendance topping the 127,000 mark.

If Eintracht had any ideas that their date in Scotland would have a fairytale ending then Madrid were quick to quash such notions. Real had also come into the final on a high, defeating their fiercest rivals Barcelona 6-2 over their two-legged semi-final.

In Alfredo Di Stefano and Ferenc Puskas the Spanish side had the two best players in the world turning out for them and the final turned into a personal duel between the two of these original Galacticos. Eintracht had the audacity to open the scoring when Richard Kress gave them an early lead, but Real came back with more gusto than a Glaswegian with a broken television, scoring six goals in a devastating spell either side of half-time.

At the end of a breathless 90 minutes of football Real had finished 7-3 winners, with Puskas edging Di Stefano out in the goal-scoring stakes by four to three. Such an effective, attacking display of football had rarely been seen before and Madrid had set a benchmark that not many club sides have come close to matching since. Their reward for a fifth successive title was to keep the original trophy and wear the Uefa badge of honour.

A further European Cup for Real followed in 1966, but this night in Glasgow proved to be the high-point of the side that dazzled Europe when continental football was in it’s infancy. Were they the best ever? Until we find a time-travelling Delorean and give Di Stefano and company a game against Cruijff’s 1970′s Ajax side or the early ’90′s Milan vintage we’ll never know, but if anyone ever wins five European Cup’s in row again we’ll do a lap of Bernabeu naked.

See football the way it’s supposed to be played below and join us tomorrow for some more end-of-season action.

May 17 – Fergie Off The Mark

HE’S won ten Premiership titles, five FA Cups and god knows how many other gongs. But you can bet your bottom dollar that the trophy that Sir Alex Ferguson won today in 1990 was one of the sweetest of the bunch. As his tenure of Manchester United was beginning to look a little dodgy, Fergie picked up his first honour at the club, when the Red Devils beat Crystal Palace in an FA Cup final replay.

If you ask Sir Alex what his greatest achievement at Old Trafford would be then his answer would be simple: “knocking Liverpool off their f***ing perch.” When Lee Martin hit his 59h-minute winner at Wembley on a Thursday night the pendulum had started to swing Manchester United’s way.

Palace’s semi-final against Liverpool was one of the most dramatic in recent times; avenging an early season 9-0 defeat, the Eagle’s had produced the shock of the tournament by defeating Dalglish’s all-conquering Liverpool side 4-3 thanks to an extra-time Alan Pardrew header. United, meanwhile, had held off local rivals Oldham at Maine Road to book their place at Wembley, ensuring that Fergie would face-off against former United midfielder Steve Coppell, who was cutting his managerial teeth at Selhurst Park.

A pulsating three-all draw followed in the final, with Mark Hughes and Ian Wright both completing their braces in extra time, as the clubs couldn’t be settled in an epic clash. A replay followed, and Fergie showed that he wasn’t afraid to show his ruthless side, dropping Scottish international keeper, and ugliest man to ever play the game, Jim Leighton for the relatively inexperienced Les Sealey, who was incredibly only on loan from Luton Town.

The replay wasn’t a repeat of the free-scoring match of the first leg, as Palace tried to kick United off the park. A scrappy game ensued, with Lee Martin’s clinical strike earning United their first trophy for five years. Paul Ince’s grafting display in midfield won him the man of the match plaudits as United made up for their 13-place finish in the league, and more than likely saved the job of their manager.

Ferguson now had a bit of breathing room amongst the Old Trafford faithful and was given the chance by his board to continue with his rebuilding process, which didn’t go too badly in the end. The win also meant the Sealey bagged a permanent transfer to Old Trafford, where he became a regular throughout the 1990/91 season, when United picked up the European Cup Winners’ Cup – a nice slice of karma for the former Coventry stopper, as he had given his 1990 winners’ medal to Leighton, as the Scot had played throughout the cup run.

There’s a distinct lack of footage knocking around on Youtube from the 1990 final, so instead see Mark Robins scoring the goal that got United to the final at the expense of Oldham Athletic. Reminisce there and unlike a big screen in Piccadilly Gardens we won’t be on the blink tomorrow, so come on over.

May 16 – Poor Man’s Treble

DESPITE having a seemingly ingrained inability to challenge for the league title for getting on for 20 years now, Liverpool have still managed to notch up their fair share of trophies over the last few years.

On this in 2001 they wrapped up a memorable season by adding a third trophy of the term to their haul to complete a unique treble. Liverpool players began picking up silverware back in February when they beat first division Birmingham City in the League Cup final, although they needed extra time and penalties to complete the feat.

Then the Reds travelled to Cardiff for the first FA Cup final to be held outside of England while Wembley was being redeveloped. Despite being largely second best to Arsenal during the match, and trailing to a Freddie Ljungberg goal on 72 minutes, Michael Owen popped up in the last seven minutes and scored twice to hand Liverpool the trophy and stun the Gunners who were wondering how the hell they had lost that one.

The UEFA Cup was now in Liverpool’s sights and if it’s one thing the Anfield club know, it’s winning in Europe. Spanish club Alaves were their opposition and the two sides played one of the most exciting finals in the history of the competition on this night in the Westfalenstadion in Dortmund.

After taking a two goal lead through Markus Babbel and Steven Gerrard, Alaves came back with an Iván Alonso goal before man of the match Gary McAllister scored a penalty to put Liverpool 3-1 up. Javi Moreno scored two quick-fire goals after half time to level the tie but scouse hero Robbie Fowler looked to have won it with a fourth goal for the Reds with less than 20 minutes to go. Again Alaves came back to level with just a minute of normal time to play through Jordi Cruyff but the game, and the trophy, was eventually settled by a Delfí Geli own goal with just three minutes to go before penalties.

“This is a historic day,” said an ecstatic Houllier afterwards.

“I am just so happy for the fans and very proud of them and the players.

“These boys have produced a game which will be remembered for a long time – and that is thanks to Alaves too.”

So the club had won a treble, albeit a treble that did not include either the league title or the European Cup, but still, it was another three pots for the already extensively furnished Anfield trophy cabinet.

While the season looked like being the springboard for Liverpool under Gerard Houllier, it would actually represent the peak of his success at the club. The following season they did finish second in the league but they would only win one more trophy under Houllier (the League Cup in 2003) before he made way for Rafa Benitez, who has had similar success in the cups, and lack of it in the league.

See the UEFA Cup triumph below and come back tomorrow where our cup action runeth over once again.

May 15 – Zizou’s Volley

HE was the best and most expensive player in the world, playing for the best, most star-studded team in the world, in the final of the best club competition in the world.

If you haven’t already got it, remembered it, played it over in your mind and marveled all over again at it’s brilliance then allow us to jog your memory: Zinedine Zidane’s stunning volley for Real Madrid in the champions league final against Bayer Leverkusen on this day in 2002.

Zidane had only joined Real a year before when he joined from Juventus in a £45.8m move that made him the most expensive footballer the world had ever seen. It was all part of Real president Florentino Pérez’s ‘galactico’ policy of identifying the best players in the world, and then simply paying whatever it took to take them to the Bernabeu.

Three-time world player of the year and European player of the year, Zidane was also a current world and European champion, having helped France to both titles in 1998 and 2000 respectively. He was clearly a class act but with Juve he had twice reached the champions league final, losing both times.

The 2002 game would be different. Raul had put the Spanish side ahead on nine minutes but Bayer Leverkusen quickly bounced back with Lucio’s equaliser, before Zidane stepped up with his spectacular effort just before half time which was enough to win the game and the trophy for Real in their centenary season.

He described his strike with the all-footballer party line about the result being more important.

“My goal was very nice, but the most important thing was that we won. It has brought me and the team great satisfaction.

He added: “I took the cross from Roberto Carlos on the volley, slammed it and it went in.

“It was very nice – but it was even nicer that we won.”

See the goal below, and if you did not see it the first time round it is well worth a look. More from us tomorrow when we will be recounting more cup final nostalgia, but before we go, just time for the random fact of the day: Zidane once had a sponsorship deal with Lego.

May 14 – The Crazy Gang beat the Culture Club

UNFASHIONABLE, unfancied and uncultured; the team formally known as Wimbledon got a hard rap in the ’80s and many believe that the team they would become are a symptom of the greed that encapsulates the modern game, but today in 1988 the Dons pulled off one the biggest shocks in FA Cup final history by beating Liverpool at Wembley.

Eleven years earlier Wimbledon won promotion to the Football League and tore up the leagues, being either promoted or relegated in every season from 1979 to 1984, landing in the top flight in 1986, using uncompromising long-ball tactics that won them few admirers.

This direct play, coupled with the physical approach from the likes of Vinnie Jones, Dennis Wise and John Fashanu, won the Dons few admirers and when they faced the freshly crowned champions Liverpool, few expected the cup to head south.

But, dear reader, that’s why we love the game so much. Renowned for their pranks, Wimbledon started early with the mind-games, as manager Bobby Gould putting the dressing-room clock back two minutes so that Liverpool had to wait in the tunnel before kick-off. “The FA Have got their rules but you can tweak them a little bit, just don’t tell anyone till 20 years later,” he recently admitted.

Future Norn Iron manager Lawrie Sanchez headed Wimbledon into the lead in the 37th minute and then they battened down the hatches.

Liverpool huffed and puffed, but couldn’t blow the Crazy Gang’s house down. The scousers were given a dodgy looking second-half penalty, but John Aldridge had the ignominy of being the first player to see a spot-kick saved in a FA Cup final as Dave Beasant dived to his left and denied the Irishman.

Wimbledon held out to win the cup and their only major honour, and one can only imagine the carnage that followed that night as we’re sure the crazy gang knew how to party.

It’s been twenty years since the final and nowadays the cast from that day haven’t all had the most traditional career paths. Whilst Sanchez went to manage his country, Dennis Wise can be found as an Executive Director (football) at Newcastle, Vinnie Jones is lauding it in Hollywood, Fash the Bash was Ian Wright’s predecessor as Gladiators host and Eric Young is probably still wearing a headband somewhere.

The club itself has been trough the wringer, losing their top-flight status in 2003 before their infamous move to Milton Keynes when they were rebranded as MK Dons, angering the majority of the football community. Phoenix club AFC Wimbledon were created and have been racing up the leagues, including a play-off win at the new Wembley stadium last month.

MK Dons have also had a day out under the new arches, as they bagged the Football League Trophy this season at the expense of Grimsby Town. Paul Ince has also lead them to the League 2 title, and we reckon this is karma in play, as earlier in the season they agreed to hand over 500 pieces of memorabilia to AFC Wimbledon.

See footage from Wimbledon’s cup run below and head over here for the tale of a final that was won with a goal that was fit for any occasion.

May 13 – The Match That Started a War

AT it’s best, football can act as a uniting force, bringing together communities and helping shape social and political tides. At it’s worst it can expose cultural fault lines, and inescapable ethnic tensions.

Never was this more evident than in 1990 when Dinamo Zagreb met Red Star Belgrade, sparking a mass riot that was symbolically seen as the first act of the Croatian War of Independence.

Matches between the two rivals have always been explosive affairs, but in 1990 Yugoslavia was on the verge of collapse. Two weeks before the clash at the Maksimir stadium in Zagreb, Croatia had just undertaken it’s first multi-party elections in almost fifty years, with pro-independence candidate Franjo Tudjman winning, escalating the tensions between Zagreb and Belgrade further.

Both teams had significant ultra followings, with Red Star’s gang, led by the warlord Arkan and named the Delije and Dinamo’s group going by the Anglicised name of Bad Blue Boys. In the war that was to follow a year later, these groups would make up the core of the two armies serving on the front line and both came to the game prepared, with the Croats of Zagreb bringing rocks and their Serbian opponents coming with acid to burn through security fences.

The build-up to the game saw numerous clashes between fans and as the game began the 3,000-strong Delije tried to provoke the home crowd, with chants such as ‘Zagreb is Serbian’ and ‘We’ll kill Tudjman.’ As the BBB began to simmer, the Delije tore up seats, threw them at home fans and began to charge at fans. The Yugoslav police made no attempts to stop them and a mass brawl soon broke out.

The fight spilled out onto the pitch and would rage for seventy minutes. Red Star players immediately returned to the dressing room and were removed from the stadium by helicopter, but many of the ultra-loyal and politicised Dinamo players stayed on the pitch.

The stage was set for the most iconic moment of the day, when Dinamo’s 21-year old captain Zvonimir Boban saw one of his side’s fans being attacked by a police officer and launched a Cantona-esque karate kick at him, knocking the officer down allowing the fan to get away. With an ad-hoc team of BBB bodyguards Boban retreated, becoming a national hero in the process. He would later say of the incident: “Here I was, a public face prepared to risk his life, career and everything that fame could have brought, all because of one ideal cause; the Croatian cause.”

The Yugoslavian FA suspended Boban for 6 months, meaning he would miss the 1990 World Cup, as he was vilified across Serbia. In 1991 he signed for AC Milan, enjoying great success in his nine seasons at the San Siro, during which time he would captain the newly independent Croatian national side to third place in the 1998 World Cup.

The Yugoslavian league would last for one more year, but when fighting and civil war gripped the region Yugoslavian football disintegrated, but not before Red Star Belgrade had a memorable European Cup win in 1991, weeks before the Croatian War of Independence broke out.

A statue of a group of soldiers stands in front of the Maksimir ground, with a plaque reading: ‘To the fans of the club, who started the war with Serbia at this ground on May 13, 1990.” Although it is an exaggeration to claim that this is true, it was certainly a litmus test of political and ethnic feelings in the region at the time and goes to prove that football is more than simply a game for many.

Footage from the riot can be seen below, with Boban’s infamous kick appearing after 6 minutes. Join us tomorrow for some more laid back fare as we look at one of the biggest FA Cup upsets of all-time.

May 12 – Rob’s Bad Day

MAY 12, 1993 was a pretty bad day all round for Robbie ‘Lily’ Savage. Then a young apprentice at Manchester United, Rob was called into Alex Ferguson’s office and told that he was being released. So a case of so long, and thanks for all the fish, but things were about to get worse for the young Welshman.

After five years in the Old Trafford youth set up, playing with the likes of David Beckham, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs, Sav was out on his ear and at his lowest ebb, and his mental state was surely a contributory factor when he had a lapse of concentration behind the wheel of his car and crashed.

“It was absolutely devastating. My heart was set on being a success at United,” he recalls. “I came out in a daze.

“I didn’t know how I was going to tell my mum and dad so I phoned some mates and arranged to meet them at a local snooker hall. I couldn’t stop thinking about my parents and I guess I wasn’t concentrating. The next thing I know I had crashed and was in hospital: broken bones, cut head, no feeling in my arm, the lot.”

Now that is a bad day, but Robbie’s fears that his professional career was over were unfounded and he soon found a new home at Crewe where he played 77 times before he fell out with Dario Gradi (not the first time he would clash with his bosses).

Martin O’Neill came to his rescue and snapped him up for £400,000 to take him to Leicester City where he really made his name as the scrappy midfielder that everyone loved to hate. Since then he has had spells at Birmingham, Blackburn and now at Derby County, as well as an international career with Wales that would surely still be ongoing if he hadn’t had one of his trademark feuds with John Toshack.

Here is a nice little selection of clips involving Savage getting hit in the face by balls, other players and even a referee. Enjoy, and come back tomorrow for a riot that Robbie didn’t start.