1981: Hungary v England

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.

1980 European Cup final: Nottingham Forest v Hamburg

“You win something once and people say it is all down to luck,” Brian Clough said after Nottingham Forest had successfully defended the European Cup on May 28, 1980. “You win it twice and it shuts the buggers up.”

Winning the 1979 European Cup was hardly a fluke. Defeating Liverpool and Cologne on their way to the final in Munich, Nottingham Forest could not be accused of having things easy. Admittedly, Malmo were not the most testing of opponents in the final. But a year on, Forest’s opponents in the final at the Bernabeu could not be dismissed so lightly.

1980s sporting retirements

Nico Rosberg recently made the shock decision to retire from Formula One after winning the World Championship title. So this week I am taking a look back at some sporting retirements of the 1980s, including an England rugby union captain forced to quit the sport, a triple blow for the Australian cricket team, and a future England manager saying his goodbyes before leaving the scene Anneka Rice style.