The Big Matches Of The Day – 1980s

A look back to all the domestic successes for English clubs in the 1980s, plus the ones in Europe in the first half of the decade, as well as the Home International Championships, two World Cups and the Euros of 1980, 1984 and 1988.

Triumph and disaster were common themes for football during the 1980s. The decade began with success for English clubs in the European Cup before the scourge of soccer for many years, hooliganism, resulted in the Heysel tragedy and a long ban from UEFA competitions, with the events in Brussels occurring in the same month as the horrific Bradford fire.

Liverpool carried on where they left off in the 1970s by winning trophy after trophy, but Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa, Tottenham, Manchester United and Everton supporters all had plenty to cheer, too, while in Scotland, the astute management of Alex Ferguson at Aberdeen and Jim McLean at Dundee United shook up the domination of the Old Firm.

On the international front, the final British Home Championship took place, while Paolo Rossi, Michel Platini, and Marco van Basten lit up the major tournaments, as did Diego Maradona, though he also displayed the darker side of his game.

The last year of the decade witnessed the return of 'those two imposters', with the devastating disaster at Hillsborough followed by Arsenal's triumph at Anfield in one of the most dramatic conclusions to a football season ever.

This unusual book features dozens of original teletext pages from Ceefax and Oracle for these games which have not been seen for forty years. Published in 2025.

Size: 210mm x 297mm – 152 pages.