The 1990s Sports Blog

Welcome back to the 1990s sports blog. In this piece we're going to take a look back at Graeme Souness' short time in charge of Portuguese giants Benfica and the band of British players he took with him to the Estadio da Luz.  It might have come as a surprise to many in the football fraternity in the late autumn of 1997 when Graeme Souness was unveiled as manager of Benfica. While he had won almost every honour possible during his stellar playing career with Liverpool and Rangers, his CV in management left a little bit to be desired. Despite being at the beginning of the David Murray-bankrolled era and re-establishing Rangers as a force to be reckoned with in Scotland, his spell as Liverpool manager ended in disaster while a short reign at Galatasaray is probably best remembered for his flag-planting antics that almost sparked a riot while the less said about his time at Southampton and Ali Dia the better.  Despite his legendary status as a Liverpool player, Graeme Souness was

In this piece, we travel back to 1995 and take a look at the inaugural season of Rugby Union's European Cup, now known as the European Champions Cup.  In the late 1890s, as the bitter civil war regarding the game of Rugby was at it's height and the wheels were in motion for the northern clubs to break away and form their own game, the staunchly amateur southern clubs and ultimately the union shied away from establishing cross-country competitions in fears that it would lead to professionalism.  Fast forward 100 years and times and attitudes have changed immeasurably. Rugby Union was now professional with Francois Pienaar holding aloft the World Cup in South Africa not just being a poignant moment in the country's post-apartheid reaccepting to the rest of the sporting world but also a signifier of the end of Rugby's amateur era.  By this point, the Five Nations committee had begun exploring avenues for a club competition similar to the annual international tournament and

Welcome back to the 1990s sports page. As excitement grows for a proposed super-fight between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury, in this piece we step between the ropes and take a look at a golden age for British heavyweight boxing.  March 17th 1897. Carson City, Nevada British former middleweight world champion Bob Fitzsimmons goes up against widely recognised world heavyweight champion James J.Corbett. Despite suffering facial damage and being knocked to the canvas in the sixth round, Fitzsimmons unleashed a body shot on his opponent that sent the American collapsing in pain. The fight was over in the 14th round and for the first time ever the world heavyweight boxing champion was a Briton. It would be 96 years before another British fighter ruled the world.  It wasn't for the want of trying, the likes of Henry Cooper, Joe Bugner and Brian London had all challenged for the world title but found themselves falling short as the division became dominated by stellar names such as Joe Fra

As England prepare to face Poland in the final World Cup qualifier of this international break, let's take a look at meetings between the two sides that occurred during the 90s.  October 17th 1990: England 2-0 Poland (Euro 92 qualifier)  After England's exploits at Italia 90 and Bobby Robson's abdication, England strode out at Wembley for their first competitive game under Graham Taylor's management with a new era dawning. They do say though that the more things change, the more they stay the same and this became clear as Gary Lineker and Peter Beardsley got their names on the scoresheet. Lineker's goal came from the penalty spot in the latter stages of the first half while Beardsley made the points safe in the last minute of the second half after he had replaced the injured Lineker. It was so far, so good for Graham Taylor's England.  November 13th 1991: Poland 1-1 England (Euro 92 qualifier) Needing just a point to secure their qualification for the finals in

As we await the start of the 2021 Super League season, let's take a look at one of the most drastic changes to the game in it's (at the time) 100 year history.  By 1995, the game of Rugby League in Britain was on it's knees. Harsh winters caused postponements across the board putting financial pressures on clubs while on the field, Wigan had blazed new trails and were almost invincible. After turning professional in the mid-1980s, the Central Park club had monopolised the Challenge Cup (winning the trophy eight times in a row between 1988 and 1995), taken a stranglehold on the league championship and even done the business on foreign fields by beating the mighty Brisbane Broncos in their own backyard to win the 1994 World Club Challenge.  Change was needed in order for the game to survive, both on and off the field.  While Wigan were dominating the game in Britain, a bitter civil war was being fought in the Southern Hemisphere over television rights. Rupert Murdoch's Ne

  It was a year that saw the 'Carnival Of Cricket' roll into town but ended in despair, dismay and humiliation as England tumbled out of the World Cup and face further ignominy in the test arena. This is the sorry tale of English cricket's 'annus horribilis'.  The trouble was, it all seemed to start so well. Despite having been dumped out of the previous World Cup by host nation and eventual champions Sri Lanka in 1996, hope was high going into the 1999 tournament following England's triumph in the 1997 Sharjah Cup. The team, captained by Adam Hollioake, was filled with one-day specialist players who should have formed the backbone of the squad ready to take the field for the World Cup on home soil.  Captain Adam Hollioake celebrates with the trophy after England's win in the 1997 staging of the Sharjah Cup.  What happened instead saw several of England's test players shoe-horned into the squad in a poor display of muddled selection. Esteemed white-ball