As the summer arrived it was fair to say that 1981 was not going well for England manager Ron Greenwood. Just a year before hopes had been high as England prepared for the reformatted European Championship finals, but events on and off the pitch proved a pointer to the future.
Finishing third in their group behind Belgium and hosts Italy, sadly the main mark England left on the tournament were the images of rioting fans and tear gas during their 1-1 draw against the Belgians. But at least Greenwood had managed to get England into the finals of a major tournament, a crumb of comfort to provide after the setbacks of the 1970s.
With an expanded 24-team tournament planned for the 1982 World Cup, the press predicted an easy trot for Greenwood and his men after the qualifying draw was made in Zurich in October 1979. "For England the road to the World Cup finals can rarely have been so broad and straight as that laid down for them in Zurich yesterday by the draw for the next qualifying competition," David Lacey noted in the Guardian.
Lacey was not alone in assuming England would stroll the group. With two teams qualifying out of a group containing Hungary, Romania, Switzerland and Norway, the confidence was understandable. Yet nothing is ever that easy, and as the group progressed the pressure mounted on Greenwood.
Home wins over Norway and Switzerland followed, but a defeat to Romania in Bucharest gave an early indication that English expectations had once again been wildly off the mark. And then came a disastrous run in 1981 that led to Greenwood offering to retire from his role.
A 2-1 friendly defeat against Spain at Wembley was then followed by a damaging 0-0 draw in the return match against Romania, before three more toothless performances in 1-0 defeats to Brazil and Scotland, and a 0-0 draw against Wales watched by just 34,280 spectators at Wembley.
But it would be the 2-1 reverse in Basel that left Greenwood and England on the point of no return. Not only were the team soundly beaten by Switzerland, more trouble on the terraces also left England's already damaged reputation in tatters. Calls for Greenwood to step down and for England fans to be banned from travelling abroad intensified.
Little did the press know, but Greenwood had actually taken the decision out of the hands of the FA. Before the Hungary match, played a week after the Switzerland defeat, the England manager informed Dick Wragg (FA International Committee Chairman) and Ted Croker (FA Secretary) that he was going to retire. Despite protests from his employers, Greenwood insisted an announcement would be made on England's return, hopefully after a win in Budapest.
With Romania topping the group - a point ahead of England in the age of two points for a win - and Hungary level with Greenwood's team having played two fewer matches, a defeat at the Nepstadion was simply out of the question for England. Greenwood had targetted three points from the Switzerland and Hungary matches; he had now revised this, suggesting a point in Hungary would not be a disaster.
Winning in Hungary was seen as an unlikely outcome in most of the match previews. The Hungarians were unbeaten in the group, had qualified for the 1978 World Cup, and although they were not as intimidating as their vintage team of the 1950s, manager Kalman Meszoly was confident ahead of the match.
"I now have my ideal team and I aim to stick to it," Meszoly stated, as his opposite number was forced to shuffle the pack once more. Out went Kenny Sansom, Russell Osman, Ray Wilkins, and Trevor Francis from the Switzerland defeat. Phil Neal, Phil Thompson, Terry McDermott, and Trevor Brooking returned to the starting XI.
"We have gone for character, attitude and experience, all the things that we are going to need a lot of tomorrow night," Greenwood announced. The hostile atmosphere as the teams walked out at 7pm on Saturday June 6 was noted by ITV commentator Brian Moore, the match being screened live to the nation.
Greenwood's faith in experience would be justified as the evening progressed. Far from shrinking, England took control of the match, the midfield, and Bryan Robson in particular, winning the battle and keeping the lively Tibor Nyilasi quiet. After 19 minutes, England got the goal they deserved.
Neal, Steve Coppell, and McDermott combined down the right to provide Brooking with a chance that he struck home, albeit with a mishit shot. Both Moore and his co-commentator John Bond sounded a little surprised as the ball hit the back of the net, which was matched by the silence in the stadium, bar the England contingent celebrating the opener.
Robson continued to dominate, displaying the attributes that would become familiar for England supporters throughout the decade, but for all his good work the teams would go to the break level. Nyilasi had struck the crossbar with a header, but right on the stroke of half-time the Hungarians scored through Imre Garaba, after a terrible mistake from Ray Clemence.
For a team low on confidence, the deflation felt at conceding a goal with the last kick of the half could have been overwhelming. But as the second half developed, England continued to dominate. McDermott and Brooking went close, before the latter scored a memorable goal on a night of rare English joy.
Kevin Keegan's lay off to Brooking was a thing of beauty, but the rasping left-footed finish is always remembered for the fact that the ball wedged into the stanchion of the Hungarian goal. "If ever one moment provided Greenwood with the perfect retort to his critics this was it," Lacey wrote in his match report.
With half an hour remaining, England continued to swarm forward. Paul Mariner missed a golden opportunity when through on goal, but despite England's dominance, Laszlo Kiss should have equalised with just Clemence to beat. Fortunately he sliced his effort into the side-netting; it would prove a vital miss.
A Keegan penalty with 17 minutes remaining put the game to bed. In truth the penalty decision looked little harsh. Yet the two-goal cushion was fully justified for an England team that was completely transformed from their previous displays in 1981.
The win had seemingly saved Greenwood, although he still intended to go through with his retirement plan. Announcing the news to his stunned players on the plane home, there was initially silence, followed by protestations. The euphoria of the win in Hungary and the persuasive nature of his players convinced Greenwood to stay on.
He may have regretted his U-turn come September. A disastrous "helluva beating" at the hands of Norway left England on the brink of failure once more. It would take a shock win for Switzerland in Romania to give England one final chance against Hungary at Wembley; this time they would get it right.
"We will now play in Spain, I promise that," Greenwood declared bullishly after the triumphant 3-1 win in Budapest. He would be true to his word. But in a group where you could take little for granted, Greenwood's allowed his relief to spill out, temporarily letting his mask slip. However, after the year he had been through, you could hardly blame him for that.
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