The 1980s were a decade of great success for English clubs on the continent, as Nottingham Forest, Liverpool and Aston Villa all lifted the European Cup. Meanwhile, the national team reached the quarter-finals of the 1986 World Cup, having come close to the semis four years earlier.
And plenty of top English players made their mark at club and international level from 1980 to 1989, ranging from heroic goalkeepers to prolific centre-forwards.
Here, we count down the very best of them...
32. Steve Hodge
Bookending the 80s with spells at hometown club Nottingham Forest and turning out for Aston Villa and Tottenham in between, Steve Hodge was a reliable midfielder who featured prominently in England’s run to the 1986 World Cup quarter-finals.
And it was at that tournament in Mexico that Hodge’s most (in)famous moment came: he got the last touch before Diego Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ goal – and finished the game with the Argentina captain’s shirt.
31. Craig Johnston
Liverpool favourite Craig ‘Skippy’ Johnston was born in South Africa to Australian parents, but he spent almost his entire career in England and once remarked that playing football for Australia would be “like surfing for” his adopted home.
A two-time Three Lions U21 international, the midfielder helped the Reds to five First Division titles during the 80s, as well as starring in their 1983/84 European Cup triumph.
30. Sammy Lee
A midfield teammate of Craig Johnston’s at Anfield, Sammy Lee rose through the Liverpool youth ranks to make almost 300 appearances for his local club and win two European Cups.
The tenacious little midfielder – who won 14 England caps – finished the decade with spells at QPR and Spanish outfit Osasuna.
29. Chris Woods
Goalkeeper Chris Woods had to play second fiddle to Peter Shilton for a good while but ultimately featured 43 times for his country.
Part of Norwich City’s 1984/85 League Cup-winning side, Woods moved north of the border to Rangers in 1986 and helped the Old Firm giants to two Scottish top-flight titles within three years.
28. Alvin Martin
The Liverpudlian who became a bona fide legend at West Ham, Alvin Martin spent almost two decades at Upton Park – taking in the entirety of the 80s, a decade which began with FA Cup success.
Capped 17 times by England, the immensely influential centre-back made history in 1986 by scoring a hat-trick for the Hammers against Newcastle past three different goalkeepers: Martin Thomas, Chris Hedworth and… Peter Beardsley.
27. Phil Thompson
Phil Thompson’s hugely successful Liverpool career drew to a close in 1984, but the 42-cap England centre-back remained an important player for the Reds and his nation at the start of the decade.
Thompson – who captained the Three Lions on three occasions – won three First Division titles, three League Cups and a European Cup in his last five years at Anfield.
26. Phil Neal
The only English player to get their hands on the European Cup / Champions League four times, Phil Neal was crucial to Liverpool’s 1980/81 and 1983/84 continental successes – scoring in the 1984 final against Roma, such was his habit of nabbing important goals.
A winner of almost every major trophy available with the Reds, Neal was a classy full-back who featured at the 1982 World Cup and earned the last of his 50 England caps the following year.
25. Tony Adams
In November 1983, 17-year-old Tony Adams made his Arsenal debut; barely four years later, he was named club captain.
A prodigious talent who would go down as one of the greatest English defenders of all time, the towering and commanding centre-back led the Gunners to his first of four league titles in 1989 – having featured in all of England’s games at the previous year’s European Championship.
24. Clive Allen
Tottenham legend Clive Allen did the 1986/87 double of PFA Players’ Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year, amassing a veritably prolific 49 goals in 54 outings that season.
The ex-QPR striker found the net 112 times for Spurs in all, before leaving in 1988 to join Bordeaux – for whom he averaged better than a goal every other game in Ligue 1.
23. Kerry Dixon
Joint top scorer with 24 goals in the 1984/85 First Division as Chelsea returned to the top flight with a bang, Kerry Dixon was up there with the most prolific English strikers of his generation.
One of the Blues’ all-time leading marksmen, Dixon featured at the 1986 World Cup and struck four times in eight Three Lions outings overall.
22. Steve McMahon
A popular figure at Anfield, Steve McMahon joined Liverpool from Aston Villa in 1985 – having begun the 80s, and his career, across Stanley Park at Everton.
Capped 17 times by England – making one appearance at Euro 1988 – McMahon made the 1987/88 PFA First Division Team of the Year, having played a key role in the Reds regaining the title from their local rivals.
21. Trevor Steven
An England regular during the latter half of the 80s, wide midfielder Trevor Steven was integral to Everton’s huge success under the great Howard Kendall – winning two First Division titles, the FA Cup and Cup Winners’ Cup with the Toffees.
At international level, he played a particularly important part in his country’s 3-0 victory over Poland at the 1986 World Cup – a result which saw Bobby Robson’s men advance from the group stage.
20. Mick Mills
England skipper at the 1982 World Cup in the absence of the injured Kevin Keegan, iconic Ipswich full-back Mick Mills began the decade by captaining the Tractor Boys to their historic UEFA Cup triumph.
Adept on both sides of defence, Mills left Ipswich for Southampton in 1982 and starred as the Saints finished as 1983/84 top-flight runners-up, just three points behind champions Liverpool.
19. Gary Stevens
Quite humorously one of two defenders named Gary Stevens in England’s 1986 World Cup squad, Michael Gary Stevens broke into the Everton first-team in the early 80s and went on to star in all of the Toffees major triumphs during the decade.
Included in three PFA Teams of the Year between 1985 and 1988, the right-back earned 46 international caps in all, making the right-back position his own at Mexico 86 and Euro 1988.
18. Mark Hateley
Having caught the eye at Portsmouth, Mark Hateley spent his peak years abroad, scoring 21 goals across an injury-hit three-season stay at Milan – before firing Monaco to the 1987/88 Ligue title.
An imposing target man with great aerial ability, Hateley found the net nine times for his nation and was nominated for the Ballon d’Or on three occasions.
17. Tony Woodcock
After helping hometown side Nottingham Forest to European Cup glory at the end of the 70s, striker Tony Woodcock spent most of the 80s in the Bundesliga – where he scored 39 goals across two spells with 1. FC Koln, before retiring at Fortuna Koln.
A 42-cap England international who netted 16 times for the Three Lions, Woodcock also had a successful four-year stint at Arsenal, bagging 68 goals – including five in a 6-2 thrashing of Aston Villa in 1983.
16. Steve Coppell
A superbly well-rounded winger who became an England regular in the late 70s, Manchester United great Steve Coppell had his career cruelly cut short aged just 28 by a horrific injury which obliterated his knee.
Astonishingly, Coppell soldiered on through the Three Lions’ 1982 World Cup campaign and continued to star for United the following season – but no amount of operations could completely fix the damage, and the English game was robbed of one of its top talents of the time.
15. Kenny Sansom
Consistency personified at left-back, Kenny Sansom made every PFA Team of the Year from 1980 to 1987 – the first while playing for Crystal Palace; the remaining seven at Arsenal, where he gained legendary status.
A 1986/87 League Cup winner with the Gunners, Sansom’s 86 England appearances – which included outings at two World Cups and two Euros – make him one of the Three Lions’ most-capped full-backs.
14. Viv Anderson
One of the greatest players in Nottingham Forest’s history, iconic right-back Viv Anderson began the decade in style by playing a key role in Brian Clough’s side’s retention of the European Cup (having starred in their first triumph in the competition).
A fine tackler who contributed significantly going forward, Anderson – who also had spells with Arsenal and Manchester United during the 80s – was the first black player to represent England, for whom he somewhat surprisingly only featured at one of the four major tournaments he went to.
13. Peter Reid
Voted PFA Players’ Player of the Year as Everton were crowned champions of England in 1985, Peter Reid is nothing short of a legend at Goodison Park – where he also enjoyed FA Cup and Cup Winners’ Cup success.
An excellent defensive midfielder, Reid was one of England’s most important players en route to the last eight of the 1986 World Cup.
12. Peter Beardsley
Among the most entertaining English footballers of his era, Peter Beardsley made his mark for boyhood club Newcastle and Liverpool during the latter part of the 80s – having begun the decade with stints at Carlisle United and the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Having established himself in the England team at the 1986 World Cup, the dribble-loving forward made successive PFA Teams of the Year and starred in the Reds’ 1987/88 First Division title triumph.
11. Ray Clemence
Up there with the finest goalkeepers ever to pull on the gloves, Ray Clemence earned the last of his 61 England caps in 1983 – having served as the Three Lions’ number one at Euro 1980.
His glittering Liverpool career had come to an end in 1981, but Clemence continued to exude class between the sticks after joining Tottenham – who helped to FA Cup and UEFA Cup glory in 1982 and 1984 respectively.
10. Terry Butcher
The subject of one of the most famous football photos of all time, Terry Butcher invariably showed complete and utter commitment to the England cause (whether it left him drenched in blood or not).
An integral member of Ipswich’s 1980/81 UEFA Cup-winning team under Bobby Robson – who he linked back up with at international level – Butcher was the archetypal no-nonsense defender, taking those qualities north of the border to Rangers in 1986.
9. Ray Wilkins
A cultured deep-lying midfielder who kept things ticking with class and poise, Ray Wilkins was a key man for England at several major tournaments during the 80s.
In between lifting the 1982/83 FA Cup with Manchester United and winning the 1988/89 Scottish top-flight title with Rangers, Wilkins spent three-and-a-half years abroad – most notably making 105 appearances for Milan, before a brief stint at PSG.
8. Trevor Francis
Trevor Francis made history in 1979 when he became Britian’s first £1m footballer by switching from Birmingham City to Nottingham Forest – and he remained a fine player indeed well into the 80s.
A European champion with Forest and a Coppa Italia winner with Sampdoria in the first six years of the decade, the lighting-fast forward scored against Czechoslovakia and Kuwait at the 1982 World Cup.
7. Kevin Keegan
Kevin Keegan’s main decade was the 70s, but the permed England icon was still up there with the very best players in the world at the turn of the decade, earning the last of his 63 Three Lions caps in 1982.
Beginning the 80s by reaching the European Cup final with Hamburg, the 1978 and 1979 Ballon d’Or-winning forward returned to his homeland to help Southampton to sixth in the First Division – the Saints’ highest-ever league finish – then tear up the Second Division with 48 goals in two seasons for Newcastle.
6. Peter Shilton
Retiring from international football with an England record 125 caps to his name, Peter Shilton was hic country’s undisputed first choice in goal for most of the 80s, fulfilling the role at the 1982 and 1986 World Cups.
A superb shot-stopper who was among the best ‘keepers in world football during that era, Shilton started the decade with European Cup glory at Nottingham Forest and made seven straight PFA Teams of the Year from 1980 to 1986.
5. John Barnes
Still playing non-League football for Sudbury Court at the start of the 80s, John Barnes’ rose – via a quality-confirming spell at Watford – to superstardom for Liverpool and England by the end of the decade, bamboozling opposing full-backs and delighting fans with his electric wing play.
Probably the greatest left-footed player ever to don a Three Lions shirt, Barnes claimed both the PFA Players’ Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year awards in 1988, as he inspired the Reds to the First Division title in his first campaign at Anfield.
4. Bryan Robson
Dubbed ‘Captain Marvel’ by Manchester United fans, Bryan Robson wore the armband for club and country with distinction.
England skipper at the 1986 World Cup and Euro 1988, the 1982/83 and 1984/85 FA Cup winner earned widespread plaudits for his tireless box-to-box midfield play which featured plenty of goals – including one of the quickest in World Cup history, after just 27 seconds against France in 1982.
3. Chris Waddle
By the late 80s, Chris Waddle stood out as one of the best attacking midfielders in Europe, becoming one of the most expensive players in history when he joined Marseille from Tottenham for £4.5m in 1989.
Unmistakable with that magnificent mullet of his, the former Newcastle prodigy – whose versatility allowed him to bring his devastating technical ability to a wide role, too – featured prominently for England at the 1986 World Cup and Euro 1988.
2. Gary Lineker
In 1986, Gary Lineker became England’s first World Cup Golden Boot winner and finished second in the voting for the Ballon d’Or – a sign of the elite goalscoring prowess which made him one of the Three Lions’ all-time leading marksmen.
Finding the net freely wherever he went over the course of the decade, the future Match of the Day anchor finished as First Division top scorer with hometown club Leicester in 1984/85 and Everton the following campaign – before starring in Barcelona’s 1988/89 Cup Winners’ Cup success.
1. Glenn Hoddle
A quite mesmerising midfielder who could just about do it all, Glenn Hoddle was one of the most eminently watchable footballers of the 80s, boasting technical ability and tactical astuteness in abundance.
Between 1981 and 1984, the 53-cap England international – who made five PFA Teams of the Year between 1980 and 1987 – lifted two FA Cups and the UEFA Cup with Spurs – and he later helped Monaco to the 1987/88 Ligue 1 title, having aptly taken his ‘continental’ style onto the continent.
