He was regarded as the best player to be playing in Europe but because there was no You Tube we rarely saw him play, apart from in the WC or European games when he was at Barcelona or Real Madrid.
But I remember when he wasn’t well before the WC final in 1998 and wasn’t going to play, it was a massive story then just before kick off, it was announced he would play but was clearly not fit and they lost to France because of it.
He was the equivalent of what Maradonna was to Argentina.
If he was playing then Brazil would usually win, if he wasn’t, they looked a level below.
He’s up there with Maradonna, Pele, Cruyff, Ronaldinho, Messi, Zidane and Christiano Ronaldo as the best players to have played the game.
I remember the news about his transfer to Barca being huge but even moreso then when he was joining Inter. With Football Italia on Channel 4 we were now going to get to see him on a regular basis and their viewership must have been at it’s highest that season. I thought of him as the world’s best footballer and had barely seen him play tbh.
I got put onto the welsh channel S4C and they had this Welsh speaking channel that covered highlights of games abroad.
Used to watch him a lot at PSV at the time and mix that with world soccer magazine his reputation was fairly well known for those who followed the game on the continent.
A lot of insular outlook I always found with a lot of fans in this country though at that time.
You can actually judge that in the game here by how Wenger basically exploited the ignorance when he first came.
When British players went abroad in the 80s, did it get a lot of coverage? I don’t imagine football was as easily accessible but had some very big names like Lineker, Keegan, Hughes, Hoddle who all went abroad to varying degrees of success
It was monitored and clips shown here and there. Always knew how they were doing.
It probably helped bring those Leagues into the conscience of the British public.
Brady to Juventus definitely done this in England for a lot.
Keegan going to Hamburg and becoming European footballer of the year in what was europes top League was a catalyst in probably the first success of a British player abroad. Law and Greaves in the 60s hadn’t worked out but Keegan broke that.mould of British players not being good enough.
From the other side of the coin when I was living in Italy in the 80s, I remember Mark Hateley and Trevor Francis being loved by their respective clubs Milano and Sampdoria, probably from the fans point of view the best English players to play in Italy that I remember.
What was the general consensus of the Milan revival when you lived in Italy? I’m obviously assuming you lived there during the early Berlusconi years through the Sacchi years.
We’re they considered to have bought their success? Or did people respect it at the time
I moved to Napoli as a youngster the same year as El Diego 1984, and you have to understand the hatred the rest of Italy has toward the south especially both milanos and juventus.
But putting any prejudice aside my opinion is Sacchi was the finest manager of all time as was his team.
His defence of Baresi, Maldini Tassoti and Costacurta was the greatest and the likes we won’t see again.
But to ask me if the money spent made a huge difference absolutely, from a Napoli point of view it was rubbed in their faces by fans and the media alike.
Also I may seem a bit biased but I think Napoli had the potential to be just as great as Milan at that period 1987/88 the title should have been Napoli’s but the Camorra put a stop to that.
Absolutely. Was a huge part of Hellas Verona’s Scudetto in 85 and is still considered a legend in those parts. Literally gets mobbed in the streets when he goes to visit, they still love him.
Was an integral part of the Euro 92 Denmark team and the story with his daughter is just so heartbreaking.
Missed the semi-final because she was terminal with cancer, but watched the semi with him in hospital and told him he had to go back to play the final where he then scored and she passed away a few weeks after.
He’s a cult hero in Denmark and still does a lot of punditry. All around super likeable guy.
You ever seen the Denmark v soviet union world cup qualifier 86.
I got someone video me that out of world soccer back in the day.
It’s on YouTube nowadays. One of the greatest games in world football that day. Everyone turned up that day on both sides and the noise and colour was immense.
I’ve never seen it myself but it’s a legendary game in Denmark that people still talk about.
It’s funny because my dad was at the game with my mum, he took her to it on their 2nd or 3rd date
My mum couldn’t give less of a shit about football so the significance of the game was completely lost on her, but she always says that she liked it for watching the players run around in their tiny little short shorts. My dad never lived down taking my mum to the game on a date in our family, to his very last days my grandad on my mum’s side would give him shit for not taking him instead of my mum lol
Maybe I should sit down and watch it now that it’s on YouTube. If I’m not wrong (at least this is what I’ve heard), the 86 World Cup was the tournament that cemented Denmark as the likeable underdog in world football. Not great technically but punchy and with a lot of spirit, and on our day could punch above our weight. Something that still rings true haha
