Red cards, broken ribs and painkilling jabs. They all come flooding back to Mark Hateley at the mention of England and Spain in an Under 21 Euros showdown, along with the blur of goals that changed his life.
‘That final was the making of me,’ admits Hateley as he rewinds to 1984. ‘Playing in Division Two for Portsmouth then into a competition with the cream of Europe’s young players, and up against a strong, physical Spanish side.
‘The goalkeeper did me in the first 10 minutes of the first leg. I was a target because I’d scored a lot of goals in the competition. I went straight on to an elbow, cracked a rib and had to come off.’
The goalkeeper in question was Andoni Zubizarreta, then of Athletic Bilbao and later a legend of Barcelona. Two years earlier, Hateley had missed the Under 21s Euro final when England beat West Germany, ruled out after a red card against Scotland, in a semi-final at Hampden Park.
‘Ray Stewart kicked me in the nuts,’ says Hateley. ‘I’d chased down the pitch, was ushering the ball out and he came sliding through and kicked me. I just turned around and lamped him. Both sent off. Lesson learned. All part of my international education.’
Mark Hateley (left) celebrates with the U21 Euro trophy after England beat Spain in 1984
Healey (second right) believes the final win was ‘the making of’ him after a fine performance
He did not want injury to deny him a second chance. Not when he had been so integral to Dave Sexton’s team, scoring four in the first leg of the quarter-final against a France team featuring Basile Boli. ‘I had injections in my ribcage to play and scored a cracking goal,’ he says. ‘Nigel Callaghan put a long ball over the centre half and I hit it in full stride into the top corner.’
Howard Gayle added another that day and England won 3-0 on aggregate. Hateley was named player of the tournament and Bobby Robson called him straight into the senior squad. He won the first of his 32 full caps as a substitute against USSR.
‘The big prize was a place on the South America tour,’ says Hateley, who scored on his first England start, a 2-0 win against Brazil at the Maracana on the night of John Barnes’s solo goal. By the end of June, little more than a month after that goal for the Under 21s at Bramall Lane, his feet had barely touched the ground and he was leaving Portsmouth for AC Milan in a £1million transfer. ‘I could never have imagined any of that.’
Sheffield Wednesday’s Mel Sterland was the goal hero of the first leg in Seville. ‘It belted down with rain,’ recalls Sterland.
‘I picked up the ball playing right back, ran with it, played a one-two with Paul Bracewell and just hit it from 20-25 yards. It must’ve been a good strike because when we came back to play the second leg there were one or two Sheffield United fans giving me a bit of praise.’
Healey revealed that he had injections in his ribcage to play in the match, where he scored
Sterland has a portrait from the second leg of the final, framed on the wall of his home, and cherishes a photo of him celebrating with the trophy and Alan Smith, the Wednesday and England physio who died in May, aged 74. Sexton used 18 players across the two legs of the 1984 final.
Tottenham’s Gary Stevens and Danny Thomas started the first leg in Spain but not did not feature in the return because Spurs had the second leg of their UEFA Cup final against Anderlecht on the previous night, which they won on penalties. Confusingly, Everton’s Gary Stevens was among those who came in to appear in the second leg but not the first.
Thomas was the only player to feature in both the Euro U21 finals of 1982 and 1984. England beat West Germany in the first.
‘Dave Sexton would keep the nucleus of the side knowing there would always be players coming in and out,’ says Gary Owen, who scored twice in the home leg of the final in 1982, also at Bramall Lane.
‘Dave was a joy to work with. An absolute gentleman, very laid back and he gave you belief. It made for a great team with Terry Venables as his assistant. Terry was more technical and advanced.’
Justin Fashanu was also on target against West Germany as England took a 3-1 lead to Bremen, where they lifted the trophy despite losing 3-2 on the night.
Pierre Littbarski claimed a hat-trick and flew to London on the same plane as Sexton’s squad, to play for the seniors at Wembley, where he provided assists for both goals by Karl-Heinz Rummenigge in a 2-1 win the following day.
All these years later and England’s Under 21s go in search of another European title. ‘It seems an eternity,’ says Hateley. ‘It’s baffling we’ve not won it since 1984 when you think about some of the players we’ve had in that time.’
England’s starlets have the opportunity to lift the Euro U21 trophy for the first time since 1984
What happened to the players of 1984?
Peter Hucker (QPR): Keeper who came up the ranks at Loftus Road, reached the FA Cup final and won Division Two. Two loans at Manchester United without playing.
Mel Sterland (Sheffield Wednesday): Full back nicknamed Zico for his ability from long range and set-pieces. Won leagues with Rangers and Leeds. One full cap.
Gary Stevens (Tottenham): Defender joined Spurs from Brighton in 1983. The UEFA Cup final meant he could not play in the second leg. Seven full caps.
Dave Watson (Norwich): Centre half returned to his native Liverpool to join Everton, spending 15 years there including a spell as player-manager. Twelve full caps.
Danny Thomas (Tottenham): Full back and the only player to play in the 1982 and 1984 finals. Also missed second leg in 1984 due to the UEFA Cup final. Injury forced him to retire at 26. Two full caps.
Mark Chamberlain (Stoke): Winger who moved across the Potteries to Stoke from Port Vale with brother Neville. Father of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Eight full caps.
Paul Bracewell (Everton): Midfielder set to leave Sunderland for Goodison Park where he won a league title and European Cup Winners’ Cup. Three full caps.
Mel Sterland was the goal hero of the first leg in Seville and recalled the night in question
Steve Hodge (Nottingham Forest): Had eight clubs and 24 full caps. Swapped shirts with Diego Maradona at Mexico ‘86 and sold it last year for more than £7million.
Kevin Brock (Oxford): Had just won the Division Three title with Oxford, where he spent eight years, helping them to the top flight before joining QPR and Newcastle.
Howard Gayle (Birmingham): At the end of a strong season after leaving Liverpool, where he impressed off the bench against Bayern Munich in the 1981 European Cup semi-final. Three full caps.
Mark Hateley (Portsmouth): Left Pompey for AC Milan, where a header to win the derby against Inter made him a legend. Won titles with Monaco and Rangers as well as 32 full caps.
Mich D’Avray (Ipswich): Striker born in Johannesburg, made more than 200 appearances for the Tractor Boys before playing in Holland, Australia and South Africa. Came on for Hateley in first leg.
Gary Bailey (Man United): Keeper born in Ipswich and raised in South Africa. Made 375 appearances for United. Two full caps. Injured knee forced him to retire.
Derek Mountfield (Everton): Centre half signed from Tranmere winning his only Under 21 cap. Won two titles at Goodison, leaving for Aston Villa in 1989.
Nick Pickering (Sunderland): Left-sided player comfortable at full back or on the wing. Moved to Coventry, where he won the FA Cup in 1987, and Derby. One full cap.
England’s U21 stars of 1984 pictured posing with the trophy. Back (L-R): Gary Stevens, Derek Mountfield, Gary Bailey, Mark Hateley, Mel Sterland, Dave Watson, Nick Pickering, Howard Gayle. Front (L-R): Paul Bracewell, Rod Wallace, Steve Hodge Nigel Callaghan, Kevin Brock
Nigel Callaghan (Watford): Winger was part of the side that rose through the leagues to finish runners-up to Liverpool in 1983. Moved on to Aston Villa and Derby.
Danny Wallace (Southampton): Winger on for Callaghan in second leg. Left Saints for Manchester United in 1989. One full cap.
Gary Stevens (Everton): Right back who won league twice in England and six times with Rangers. Won 46 full caps.
Manager — Dave Sexton: A forward at five clubs including West Ham. Manager of Leyton Orient, Chelsea, QPR, Manchester United and Coventry. In charge of the Under 21s for 16 years in two spells. Died in 2012, aged 82.
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