Short International Careers, Part Thirteen

1- Ivan De La Pena

Bald-headed young Spanish midfielder Ivan De La Pena ‘Little Buddha’ was a highly rated player at Barcelona and many believed it was just a matter of time before he would be a mainstay in the National Team. However, he failed to make the most of his opportunities at Lazio and Olympique Marseille. It was almost a decade after making his debut that he was called up by Luis Aragones for the National team in 2005. All his five caps were in 2005, while he was a RCD Espanyol player.

Photo From: World Soccer, November 1995

(Ivan De La Pena at Barcelona)

2- Roberto Galia

Italian midfielder Roberto Galia was called up by Arrigo Sacchi in the summer of 1992 for the US Cup Tournament held in USA. He had just finished a solid season with Juventus.

He played in all three matches:

May 31, 1992, Italy 0-Portugal 0 (Came on in the 77^th minute for Luca Fusi)

June 4, 1992, Italy 2-Republic of Ireland 0

June 6, 1992, USA 1-Italy 1 (was substituted in the 65^th minute by Luca Fusi).

He was not called up again after this tour.

Photo From: Onze-Mondial, Issue 16, May 1990

(Roberto Galia at Juventus, 1989/90)

3- Juul Ellerman

Dutch forward Juul Ellerman joined PSV Eindhoven in the summer of 1988 from Sparta Rotterdam. His solid displays earned him a first cap in 1989.

He would add four further caps, earning his last in 1991.

Photo From: de Internationals, de Historie van Oranje, Authors Matty Verkamman, Henri van der Steen, John Volkers

(Juul Ellerman)

4- John Scales

English defender John Scales had a long spell with Wimbledon in the late 80s and early 90s. He was one of Roy Evans’ first signings for Liverpool in 1994.

He earned all his three caps in 1995.

Photo From: Football International, April 1996

(Liverpool’s John Scales)

5- Christian Schreier

West German midfielder Christian Schreier had a successful spell with Bochum in the early 80s, which led to a transfer to Bayer Leverkusen in 1984.

Shortly after his transfer, he earned his solitary cap vs. Argentina at Dusseldorf in Franz Beckenbauer’s inaugural match as National Team Manager. (September 12, 1984, West Germany 1-Argentina 3)

He came on as a substitute replacing Franck Mill in the 73^rd minute.

He did not earn any more caps, though he did play in the 1984 and 1988 Olympics.