Belgium v USSR, 1986 World Cup
Belgium v USSR was a seven-goal thriller in the Second Round of the 1986 World Cup, played in León, Mexico. The two nations had progressed from the opening group stage in contrasting fashion – USSR topped their group, including an impressive 6-0 rout of Hungary; Belgium lost their opening game to hosts Mexico and only…
Liverpool v Tottenham Hotspur, 1982
On the 15th May 1982, Liverpool clinched another Football League title, their fifth in seven seasons, with a win over Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield. It had taken a phenomenal run in the second half of the season for them to reclaim the title from Aston Villa, confirming their status as the First Division’s dominant team…
Burnley v Wolverhampton Wanderers, 1983
Burnley v Wolverhampton Wanderers was a clash between founder members of the Football League, whose very first meeting was on 22 September 1888. The two sides have just met for the 130th time, in the Premier League, but this match at Burnley’s Turf Moor found them in the Second Division as they fell on hard…
Cardiff City v Real Madrid, 1971
Cardiff City v Real Madrid was a famous night at Ninian Park in March 1971, as the Second Division side took on the Spanish giants in the first leg of a European Cup Winners’ Cup quarter-final tie. Cardiff, who knocked out French side Nantes in the previous round, had cup pedigree – their 1927 FA…
Hull City v Scunthorpe United, 1983
Unthinkable today, but the BBC’s flagship highlights programme, Match of the Day, once regularly featured football from outside the top division. This snippet from February 1983 shows the cameras visiting Humberside for a Fourth Division encounter between Hull City (who commentator Tony Gubba insists on calling ‘Hull Tigers’ long before that was seriously proposed) and…
Sheffield Wednesday v Arsenal, 1979 FA Cup
Sheffield Wednesday v Arsenal – this Third Round FA Cup clash at a snowy Hillsborough in January 1979 was the first of a series of five games between Division Three side Wednesday and First Division Arsenal. At the time, Cup ties were played to the death, without penalty shoot-outs. It took four replays, three of…
Manchester United v West Bromwich Albion, 1978
Manchester United v West Bromwich Albion at the end of 1978 is regarded as one of the finest English League games of the decade. The match contained many of the characteristic elements of domestic football of the era: packed terraces, a muddy pitch, all-British line-ups and managers, no shirt sponsorship, players numbered 1-11. An ugly…
Southampton v Sporting Lisbon, 1981
This 1981-82 UEFA Cup tie brought a familiar face back to English football, as Malcolm Allison took his Sporting Lisbon side to The Dell to face Lawrie McMenemy’s Southampton. Allison had been assistant manager of Manchester City from 1965-71, taking charge of playing matters under Joe Mercer, the club’s veteran manager. This was a highly…
Arsenal v Bristol City, 1976 – Match of the Month
In the record-breaking summer temperatures of 1976, the Football League resumed on 21 August. Arsenal v Bristol City was one of the most intriguing fixtures on the opening day of the 1976-77 season, the Bristol club’s first game in the top division for 65 years, with manager Alan Dicks having built a successful side around…
Brazil v Italy, 1982 World Cup
This classic encounter was a re-match of the 1970 final, in which Brazil, inspired by Pele in his last international, swept aside the Italians and were acclaimed as the greatest team the world had seen. That claim can still be defended today, but had the 1982 Brazilians won the trophy, it would be a close…
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