The
Fifth (and ultimately the last) Rous Cup took place in May 1989.
For
the third straight time a South American opposition was invited to join England
and Scotland.
Chile
came on board after Argentina had declined due to its ongoing League matches.
This
Tournament would be overshadowed with the Liverpool-Arsenal match that was to
decide that season’s League title in dramatic fashion.
As
a result, England would be weakened with the absences of the two clubs’
contingent. Liverpool stars John Barnes and Peter Beardsley and Arsenal’s David
Rocastle would be absent.
England
Manager Bobby Robson had his eye on a World Cup qualifier on June 3rd
vs. Poland and would field experimental squads, as star striker Gary Lineker
(Barcelona) would also be unavailable.
Chile
were an unknown quantity and had been absent from International Competitions
since the 1982 World Cup.
They
were preparing for the 1989 Copa America as well as the World Cup qualifiers
afterwards,
They
had last faced England in 1984 on home soil, in a scoreless match, where the
Chile goalkeeper and captain Rojas had stood out for his many saves.
Scotland
did not have any upcoming matches in the coming month and were therefore
waiting for the season to end for much needed rest.
The
Rous Cup kicked off on May 23rd at Wembley with England hosting
Chile.
Unfortunately,
there was a Tube Train strike that day, and this reduced the attendance to a
record low of 15,628. This was the lowest attendance ever at Wembley for an
International match.
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Photo
From: Official Match Programme, England v Chile, 1989
The
fans did not miss much as the match would be forgettable.
In
the absence of his regulars, Bobby Robson would give International debuts to
the strike force of Nigel Clough (son of Brian) and John Fashanu.
Fashanu
became the first ever Wimbledon player to be capped by England.
Clough’s
selection made it the first father-son combination since George Eastham Senior
and Junior.
In
this weakened England side, QPR defender Paul Parker was also earning only his
second cap (playing in regular right-back Gary Stevens’ position).
Robson
also gave a start in midfield to England’s new sensation Paul Gascoigne.
The
new-look England side failed to gel, most notably the front line of Fashanu and
Clough.
Nevertheless,
the English had most of the play but found Chile goalkeeper Rojas in impressive
force (just like the 1984 match).
Shilton
was rarely troubled and only managed a couple of saves.
Perhaps
frustrated by a difficult debut, Fashanu would be booked after an off the field
incident where he elbowed Astengo.
England
nearly scored right before the end when Contreras cleared Cottee’s effort off
the line.
The
English later complained of Chile’s time wasting and un-sportsmanlike behavior
as the players repeatedly fell at the slightest challenge.
For
their part the Chileans underlined their inexperience to the European style of
play.
Afterwards
Bobby Robson stated, “Chile got away
with certain things. But you punish them by beating them and we didn’t manage
that although we had most of the play, most of the chances.”
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Photo
From: Magazine Source Unknown
(May
23, 1989, Rous Cup, England 0-Chile 0)
|
 |
Photo
From: partidosdelaroja.blogspot.com
(England
squad, May 23, 1989, Rous Cup, England 0-Chile 0)
|
Four
days later at Glasgow, the annual Scotland-England match took place. It was
hard to envision that this would be the last encounter between the two for
years to come.
As
had been the hallmark of the matches between the sides for the last many years,
the police were kept busy. Ninety-six arrests were made inside the stadium
while 150 more were arrested outside.
Bobby
Robson made a few changes to the English side. Gary Stevens took his usual spot
at right-back (replacing Parker), while Trevor Steven started in midfield (in
place of Gascoigne).
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Photo
From: Official Match Programme, Scotland v England, 1989
Shilton’s
selection earned him his 106th cap, thus overtaking Bobby Charlton
and remaining just one cap behind Bobby Moore.
Upfront,
Tony Cottee started in place of Clough, partnering Fashanu.
Scotland
Manager Roxburgh awarded new caps to Stewart McKimmie and Peter Grant.
The
match itself was livelier than the first match and both sides attacked in the
early going.
England
gradually took control of midfield with Steven and Robson exerting their
authority.
England
took the lead in the 20th minute, with Waddle heading in Stevens’
cross.
After
this Scotland pressured for an equalizer before the break but Shilton was in
good form.
Fashanu
would be subbed off in the 31st minute due to injury. This would
turn out to be his last cap as well.
He
was replaced with Wolves’ Steve Bull, who was remarkably a Third Division
player.
Scotland
pressured furthermore in the second half and appeared close to tie the match.
There
was less than ten minutes left, when debutant Bull scored a superb goal to seal
the win for the English.
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Photo
From: Panini England 1990/91
(May
27, 1989, Rous Cup, Scotland 0-England 2)
|
Bull
took much of the plaudits given his status as a lower League player, but many
credited Shilton’s superb performance in goal as the key factor.
In
addition to Fashanu, Cottee also earned his last ever cap for England.
Fashanu
and Clough failed to grab their opportunity and their International prospects
faded. On the other hand, Bull fully took advantage of the chance afforded to
him with the absences. It is unlikely that he would have been selected had the
likes of Lineker, Alan Smith, Barnes and Beardsley been available. He put
himself in frame and eventually made the 1990 World Cup squad (still as a Lower
League player).
 |
Photo
From: Match, June 3, 1989
(May
27, 1989, Rous Cup, Scotland 0-England 2)
|
 |
Photo
From: Onze-Mondial, Issue 16, May 1990
(May
27, 1989, Rous Cup, Scotland 0-England 2)
|
Three
days later (May 30th), Scotland hosted Chile for the last match of
this Rous Cup and ultimately Rous Cup in general. Just like their first match
vs. England, there was general disinterest from the locals and once again a low
turnout.
The
attendance of just over 9,000 was the record lowest crowd at Hampden vs. a
foreign opposition.
Between
their match vs. England and this match vs. Scotland, Chile had kept themselves
fit by playing a friendly at Belfast vs. Northern Ireland (May 26th,
1-0 Chile win).
Scotland
quickly took the lead in the 4th minute through Alan McInally (soon
to be on his way to Bayern Munich).
Murdo
McLeod, creator of the first goal, scored the second from a long distance shot
early in the second half.
After
this goal, both teams generally lost interest. The minutes ticked away and at
the end the curtain fell for the Rous Cup.
Scotland’s
win handed England the title as the last winners of this Cup.
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Photo
From: Official Match Programme, Scotland v Chile, 1989
 |
Photo
From: deporte total, from partidosdelaroja.blogspot.com
(May
30, 1989, Rous Cup, Scotland 2-Chile 0)
|
A
Tournament created out of the ashes of the British Home Championship to maintain
the England-Scotland annual fixture had become a nuisance in an overcrowded
fixture and viewed with general indifference.
Although,
the most concerning aspect were the security concerns due to crowd behavior.
That
year’s matches took place just a month after the Hillsborough Disaster and a
few short years after Heysel and Bradford.
In the end the Rous Cup died
with whimper not a bang. The competition itself was not disbanded with immediate effect. There
were some faint hopes that it could be organized in 1990, but the Scottish
Federation decided in December 1989, that they would skip the Cup for at least
one season.
England
attempted to invite Argentina and/or Uruguay, but Argentina’s refusal for the
1990 Edition, scrapped that year’s Cup.
In
September 1990, the English FA also announced that they would skip their annual
fixtures with Scotland. They were more pre-occupied to getting all their clubs
back in European Competitions and did not want to have further incidents of
crowd trouble.
Rous
Cup was finished and with it their traditional clash with Scotland.
The
two sides that had faced one another annually since 1872 (War years excluded)
would not face one another for seven years, until their match-up in the 1996
Euros.
Note:
1-In
another source, it was reported that in addition to the original choice of
Argentina, other nations such as Spain, France, Sweden and Mexico had also been
invited as replacements.
2-
During this Tournament, on May 26th, 1989, former England manager
Don Revie passed away due to motor neurone disease.
3- On September 3rd that year, Chile would be
involved in the controversial World Cup qualifier in Rio vs. Brazil where
goalkeeper Roberto Rojas would feign an injury and the entire squad would walk
off.
On October 25, 1989, Rojas was banned for life for his
trickery attempt by feigning injury in the Brazil-Chile match.
On
December 8, 1989, FIFA excluded from the 1994 World Cup.
International bans were handed out against Coach Orlando
Aravena and Fernando Astengo for leading the team out of the pitch.
References:
Match,
June 3, 1989
Deporte
Total
England,
The Complete Post-War Record, Author Mike Payne
Official
Match Programme, England v Chile, 1989
Official
Match Programme, Scotland v England, 1989
Official
Match Programme, Scotland v Chile, 1989
Scotland,
the complete international Football
Record, Author Richard Keir
World
Soccer, July 1989
