The 80s saw England and Scotland both qualify for two World Cups, while English sides dominated the European game.
Unsurprisingly, then, it was a period teeming with top talent from the home nations, from heroic goalkeepers to prolific strikers.
Here, we run through the very best British players of the 80s…
Steve Archibald
Top scorer in the 1980/81 First Division with 20 goals for Tottenham, Scottish striker Steve Archibald found the net freely for much of the first half of the 80s.
Part of his country’s 1982 and 1986 World Cup squads, he joined Barcelona for £1.15m in 1984 and helped them to their first LaLiga title in 11 years, notching 15 times in his debut season in the Spanish top flight.
Ray Wilkins
A graceful and metronomic deep-lying midfielder, Ray Wilkins was one of England’s key players at the 1982 and 1986 World Cups, helping them to the quarter-finals of the latter.
At club level, he starred in Manchester United’s 1982/83 FA Cup triumph and won the 1988/89 Scottish title with Rangers, following spells abroad at Milan and PSG.
Davie Cooper
“God gave Davie Cooper a talent. He would not be disappointed with how it was used.”
Those were the words of legendary Rangers and Scotland manager Walter Smith – and he wasn’t wrong: Cooper was one of the most supremely talented Scottish players of all time.
A devastating winger whose left foot was so good that it was said he didn’t need a right, he spent the best years of his career with Rangers, winning three league titles, and featured for Scotland at the 1986 World Cup.
Peter Shilton
England’s number one throughout the 80s, Peter Shilton ended his epic international career with a Three Lions-record 125 caps.
He began the decade by starring for Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest as they retained the European Cup, when he also made his third of nine consecutive PFA First Division Teams of the Year – being named in the last two while playing for Southampton.
Gordon Strachan
A skilful and aggressive right-sided midfielder, Gordon Strachan established himself as one of Scotland’s finest players during a trophy-laden first half of the 80s.
Among the main men in Alex Ferguson’s 1982/83 Cup Winners’ Cup-winning Aberdeen side, Strachan went on to lift the 1984/85 FA Cup with Manchester United.
He played at the 1982 and 1986 World Cup, scoring against West Germany at the latter.
Kevin Keegan
Ballon d’Or winner two years running at the end of the 70s, Kevin Keegan remained a top player into the early 80s, earning the last of his 63 England caps in 1982.
Having returned to his homeland from Hamburg in 1980, the Liverpool legend scooped the 1981/82 PFA Player of the Year award thanks to a prolific 26-goal top-flight campaign for Southampton.
Bryan Robson
Manchester United and England legend Bryan Robson led by example for club and country, captaining both the Red Devils and Three Lions.
Scorer of one of the quickest-ever World Cup goals after 27 seconds against France in 1982, the box-to-box midfield maestro was named in five successive PFA First Division Teams of the Year between 1982 and 1986, winning his first of three FA Cups with United in 1983.
Graeme Souness
Much more than just a hardman, Graeme Souness was a vitally important midfield cog for Liverpool, Sampdoria, Rangers and Scotland during the 80s.
Skipper for both the Reds and his country, leading the Reds to multiple major honours – including the 1983/84 European Cup, his third with the club – wearing the armband at the 1986 World Cup, Souness proved his attacking credentials by finishing as joint top scorer with six goals in the 1980/81 European Cup.
Gary Lineker
England’s first World Cup Golden Boot winner, collecting the accolade after helping his country to the quarter-finals of Mexico ’86, Gary Lineker was one of the most instinctive strikers of his era.
First Division top scorer with 24 goals for hometown club Leicester in 1984/85 and 30 for Everton the following season – when he also won both PFA Players’ Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year – Lineker completed a £2.8m move to Barcelona in 1986 and went on to net 52 times, lifting the Copa del Rey and Cup Winners’ Cup.
Alan Hansen
A defensive Rolls-Royce regarded as one of the game’s all-time great centre-backs, Alan Hansen performed with distinction for Liverpool throughout the 80s, winning six First Division titles, two FA Cups, four League Cups and two European Cups.
Later known for his scathing assessments of “diabolical” defending as a pundit on Match of the Day, Hansen featured for Scotland at the 1982 World Cup.
Chris Waddle
Named in the PFA First Division Team of the Year in his final seasons at both Newcastle and Tottenham, Chris Waddle was among Europe’s finest attacking midfielders of the 80s.
A sensationally tricky dribbler who delighted fans on the club and international stages, he won his first of 62 England caps in 1985 and ended the decade with French giants Marseille, becoming one of the most expensive players ever when he arrived for £4.5m from Spurs.
John Barnes
Making a name for himself at Watford, John Barnes had firmly established himself as one of the English game’s most exciting stars by the latter half of the 80s, earning a big move to Liverpool in 1987.
A 1987/88 First Division champion with the Reds, scoring 15 goals and doing the double of PFA Players’ Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year, Barnes might just be the greatest left-footed English player of all time, as he exhibited in stunning fashion with his iconic solo goal against Brazil at the Maracana in 1984.
Glenn Hoddle
Up there among the most naturally gifted English footballers of all time, Glenn Hoddle dazzled with his silky midfield play.
An exceptional passer of the ball with superb long-range shooting ability, Hoddle was at the heart of Tottenham’s back-to-back FA Cup triumphs and UEFA Cup victory during the early 80s, making five PFA First Division Teams of the Year before leaving for Monaco – where he played an integral role in winning the 1987/88 French title.
Neville Southall
In his 80s prime, Welsh icon Neville Southall was arguably the best goalkeeper on the planet, especially excelling with his quick reactions and ability in one-on-one situations.
A studious player who constantly strived to better himself, reading up on golf and boxing to improve his balance and spring, the 1985 FWA Footballer of the Year enjoyed great success with Howard Kendall’s Everton, winning two First Division titles, two FA Cups and the Cup Winners’ Cup.
Ian Rush
Another of Wales’ finest-ever players, Ian Rush enjoyed the best years of his career at Liverpool, banging the goals in for fun as one of the most formidable centre-forwards of the 80s.
Rush hit the 30-goal mark in the First Division twice during the decade, scooping the 1984 European Golden Shoe and doing the double of PFA Players’ Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year.
A winner of 12 major trophies with the Reds between 1981 and 1989, he also netted seven times in his one season at Juventus, 1987/88.
Kenny Dalglish
Undoubtedly one of the best British footballers of all time, never mind the 80s, Kenny Dalglish indelibly etched his name into Liverpool history during a goal- and trophy-laden decade.
PFA Players’ Player of the Year, FWA Footballer of the Year and Ballon d’Or runner-up in 1983, Scotland’s greatest-ever player had a profound influence on numerous major successes for the Reds – among them the 1980/81 and 1983/84 European Cups – whose fans christened him ‘King Kenny’.
Capped a record 102 times by his country, Dalglish’s 30 international goals included one against New Zealand at the 1982 World Cup.
