Mark Hateley went from playing for Pompey to U21 hero as England beat Spain in 1984

Red cards, broken ribs and pain-killing punches. They all come back to Mark Hateley at the entry of England and Spain in an Under 21 Euro showdown, along with the haze of goals that changed his life.

‘That final was the making of me’ admits Hateley as he rewinds to 1984. ‘When I played for Portsmouth in Division Two in a competition with the cream of Europe’s young players, and 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 scored a lot of goals in the league. I went straight to an elbow, broke a rib and had to come off.”

The goalkeeper in question was Andoni Zubizarreta, then of Athletic Bilbao and later a Barcelona legend. Two years earlier, Hateley had missed out on the Under-21 Euro final when England defeated West Germany, ruled out after a red card against Scotland, in a semi-final at Hampden Park.

“Ray Stewart kicked me in the balls,” says Hateley. “I had been chasing down the pitch, was pushing the ball out and it came sliding through and kicked me. I just turned around and put it in the lamp. Both broadcast. Lesson learned. All part of my international education.’

He didn’t want an injury to deny him a second chance. Not when he had been such an integral part of Dave Sexton’s team, scoring four times in the quarter-final first leg against a France team featuring Basile Boli. “I got injections in my ribcage to play and scored a great goal,” he says. “Nigel Callaghan put a long ball across the center half and I shot it into the top corner with full stride.”

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 to the senior team. He won the first of his 32 full caps as a substitute against the USSR.

“The big prize was a place on the South American tour,” said Hateley, who scored on his first start in England, a 2-0 win against Brazil at Maracana on the night of John Barnes’ solo goal. At the end of June, just over a month after that goal for the Under 21s at Bramall Lane, his feet had barely touched the ground and he left Portsmouth for AC Milan in a £1 million transfer. “I could never have imagined that.”

Sheffield Wednesday’s Mel Sterland was the goalscorer of the first leg in Seville. ‘It rained in buckets’, Sterland remembers.

“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 have been a good attack because when we came back to play the second leg there were one or two fans from Sheffield United who praised me.’

Sterland has a portrait of 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 over the two legs of the 1984 final.

Tottenham’s Gary Stevens and Danny Thomas started the first leg in Spain, but did not feature in the return as Spurs had the second leg of their UEFA Cup final against Anderlecht the previous night, which they won on penalties. Confusingly, Everton’s Gary Stevens was one of those who came in to appear in the second leg, but not the first.

Thomas was the only player to play in both the 1982 and 1984 Euro U21 finals. England defeated West Germany in the first.

‘Dave Sexton would let the core of the side know there would always be players coming and going,’ said Gary Owen, who scored twice in the home game of the 1982 final, also at Bramall Lane.

Dave was a pleasure to work with. An absolute gentleman, very laid back and he gave you faith. 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.

Claiming a hat-trick, Pierre Littbarski flew on the same plane as Sexton’s side to London to play for the senior side at Wembley, assisting both Karl-Heinz Rummenigge’s goals in a 2–1 win the following day.

All these years later, England’s Under 21s go in search of another European title. “It seems like an eternity,” says Hateley. “It’s mind-boggling that we haven’t won it since 1984 when you think about some of the players we’ve had in that time.”

What happened to the players of 1984?

Peter Hucker (QPR): Goalkeeper who came on at Loftus Road, reached the FA Cup Final and won Division Two. Two loan spells at Manchester United without playing.

Mel Sterland (Sheffield Wednesday): Full defender was nicknamed Zico for his skill from long range and set pieces. Won leagues with Rangers and Leeds. A full cap.

Gary Stevens (Tottenham): Defender transferred from Brighton to Spurs in 1983. The UEFA Cup Final prevented him from playing in the second leg. Seven full hoods.

Dave Watson (Norwich): Center Half returned to his native Liverpool to join Everton where he spent 15 years, including a stint 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 UEFA Cup final. An injury forced him to retire at the age of 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 leaves from Sunderland for Goodison Park, where he wins the league title and European Cup II. Three full caps.

Steve Hodge (Nottingham Forest): Had eight clubs and 24 full caps. Swapped shirts with Diego Maradona in Mexico ’86 and sold for over £7 million last year.

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 from 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): Attacker born in Johannesburg, made over 200 appearances for the Tractor Boys before playing in the Netherlands, Australia and South Africa. Came in the first leg for Hateley.

Gary Bailey (Man United): Keeper born in Ipswich and raised in South Africa. Played 375 games for United. Two full caps. An injured knee forced him to retire.

Derek Mountfield (Everton): Central half signed by Tranmere and won his only Under 21 cap. Won two titles at Goodison and left for Aston Villa in 1989.

Nick Pickering (Sunderland): Left sided player comfortable as a full back or on the wing. Moved to Coventry, where he won the FA Cup in 1987, and to Derby. A full cap.

Nigel Callaghan (Watford): Winger was part of the side that climbed through the leagues to finish runners-up to Liverpool in 1983. Moved to Aston Villa and Derby.

Danny Wallace (Southampton): Winger for Callaghan in 2nd leg. Left Saints for Manchester United in 1989. One full cap.

Gary Stevens (Everton): Right-back who won the league twice in England and six times with Rangers. Won 46 full caps.

Manager — Dave Sexton: A striker at five clubs including West Ham. Manager of Leyton Orient, Chelsea, QPR, Manchester United and Coventry. Responsible for the Under 21’s for 16 years in two terms. Died in 2012, aged 82.

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