Second Acts and comebacks, Part Thirteen

1- Dion Dublin and Coventry City, 1994/1998

English striker Dion Dublin was signed by Alex Ferguson for Manchester United in the summer of 1992. However, an early season injury ended his season and despite recovering he was unable to break into the team in the following seasons. His transfer to Coventry in 1994 gave him a new lease on life and he rediscovered his scoring touch. The 1997/98 season would be his most successful. He would become joint top goalscorer in the English Premier League and would also earn his first caps for England. He would narrowly miss the Finals cut for the 1998 World Cup.

Photo From:  Calcio 2000, Issue 14, December 1998

(Dion Dublin)

2- Terry Venables and England 1994

Terry Venables had been tipped as a future England Manager for years. When Graham Taylor was appointed England Manager in 1990, it appeared that the opportunity might have passed him by for good. However, unexpectedly he got the call in 1994. He was tasked to rebuild an England side that had just been eliminated from the 1994 World Cup qualifiers, as well as preparing for the 1996 Euros that were to be hosted in England.

Photo From:  World Soccer, March 1994

(Terry Venables)

3- Ivan Zamorano and Real Madrid, 1994/95

When Jorge Valdano took over as Real Madrid Manager in 1994, he openly wanted to remove Chilean striker Ivan Zamorano after a poor season. In the end, Zamorano remained and gained Valdano’s trust. He regained his scoring form and led Real Madrid to the League title in 1994/95 season by finishing as the League’s Pichichi.

Photo From:  Onze-Mondial, Issue 54, July 1993

(Ivan Zamorano)

4- Ivan De La Pena and Espanyol Barcelona 2004/05
Barcelona midfielder Ivan De La Pena was once tipped as one of Spain’s brightest future prospects and had shone at youth level. However, he stagnated after a transfer to Lazio in 1998 and his loan to Olympique Marseille the next season did not improve his prospects. He rarely played in the following seasons. In 2002, he was released by Lazio and joined Espanyol. He slowly regained his form as he started to get more first team action. The 2004/05 season would be a very good season for him as he led the club to a fifth place finish. He also finally achieved International recognition and gained all of his 5 caps in that calendar year of 2005.

Photo From: World Soccer, November 1995

(Ivan De La Pena)

5- Alain Giresse and Olympique Marseille 1986/88

Loyal Bordeaux Captain Alain Giresse was regarded on his way down in 1986 (aged 34). Bordeaux prepared to replace him by signing young midfielders Jean-Marc Ferreri and Phillipe Vercruysse. However, instead of winding his career quietly he was enticed away by Bernard Tapie’s new project at Olympqiue Marseille. Tapie, along with former France Manager Michel Hidalgo, were laying down the foundations to create an excellent team in Marseille and Giresse was seen as a much-needed experienced player in the project. Giresse would have two good seasons before retiring in 1988 aged 36.

Photo From:  Onze, Issue 133, January 1987

(Alain Giresse)

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.