Graeme Souness

Graeme Souness (born Edinburgh, Scotland, May 6, 1953) was the captain of the all-conquering Liverpool football team of the early 1980s who later returned to the club as manager.

Footballing career

One of the hardest, most committed players of his generation, Souness won five League championships, three European Cups and four League Cups during seven eventful seasons at Anfield.

Related Topics:
League championships - European Cup - League Cup - Anfield

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He started his career as an apprentice at Tottenham Hotspur under Bill Nicholson but grew impatient at his lack of first team chances even though he was only a teenager, famously telling Nicholson that he thought he was the best player at the club and should be in the first team.

Related Topics:
Apprentice - Tottenham Hotspur - Bill Nicholson - Teenager

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Souness had played just once for Spurs prior to a move to Middlesbrough in 1973 and he became a much-admired and feared, hard-as-nails midfielder who led a strong side over five seasons. In 1974, he won his first cap for Scotland in a 3-0 victory over East Germany.

Related Topics:
Middlesbrough - 1973 - 1974 - Scotland - East Germany

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After winning their first European Cup in 1977, Liverpool decided to seek reinforcements for defending their crown, not to mention the League title they'd also just won, and three Scottish players in their 20s were all purchased by manager Bob Paisley over the next six months. First came Alan Hansen, then Kenny Dalglish, and then finally Souness, who cost 350,000 pounds in January 1978. These three would supply a superb spine in the side for seven glory-filled campaigns to come.

Related Topics:
1977 - Bob Paisley - Alan Hansen - Kenny Dalglish - January - 1978

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Souness settled in at Anfield quickly as Liverpool stoutly defender their European crown. He didn't feature in their European campaign until the semi-final, but was instrumental in the final at Wembley when his delicate pass set up Dalglish for the only goal of the game against FC Bruges.

Related Topics:
Anfield - Wembley - FC Bruges

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That summer, Souness was selected by Ally McLeod for Scotland's squad for the World Cup in Argentina. He had only won six caps by this stage and injury robbed of him of a place in Scotland's first two group games against Peru and Iran. With a defeat and a draw in his absence, his return was crucial as Scotland chased a victory by two goals or more in their final group match against the Netherlands but a 3-2 victory turned out not to be enough.

Related Topics:
Ally McLeod - World Cup - Argentina - Peru - Iran - Netherlands

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The following year Souness picked up his first League title medal as Liverpool coasted to victory and then retained it with equal aplomb in 1980. In 1981, Liverpool lost their League title to Aston Villa but won their first League Cup and their third European Cup with victory over Real Madrid; Souness scored a hat-trick in the quarter-final against CSKA Sofia.

Related Topics:
1980 - 1981 - Aston Villa - Real Madrid - CSKA Sofia

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Paisley decided to move the captaincy that summer and, much to incumbent Phil Thompson's disappointment, he lost the armband to Souness, who duly lifted two trophies the following summer as Liverpool got the League championship back and regained the League Cup. Souness went to the 1982 World Cup in Spain with Scotland and played in all three group games - versus New Zealand, Brazil and the USSR. He scored his first international goal in the game against the USSR but again Scotland failed to progress.

Related Topics:
Phil Thompson - 1982 World Cup - Spain - New Zealand - Brazil - USSR

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Also in 1982, Souness played a cameo role, as himself, in an episode of Liverpudlian drama series Boys From The Blackstuff on the BBC.

Related Topics:
Cameo - Boys From The Blackstuff

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The following year Liverpool again won the League championship and League Cup but Souness relinquished his right as captain to lift the League Cup at Wembley after the 2-1 win over Manchester United, instead insisting that Paisley collected the trophy in his retirement season.

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In 1984, Souness lifted three trophies as Liverpool retained the League title and won the League Cup against fierce Merseyside rivals Everton. A goalless first game was followed by a 1-0 win in the replay, with Souness hitting the only goal with a fabulous long-range strike. The European Cup was regained after a penalty shoot-out win over AS Roma before Souness, who had publicly expressed his wish to play abroad, was sold to Sampdoria for 650,000 pounds. His Liverpool career ended after 358 appearances and 56 goals.

Related Topics:
1984 - Merseyside - Everton - AS Roma - Sampdoria

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Souness stayed in Italy for two seasons and wound down his international career at the same time as his flirtation with continental football. Caretaker manager Alex Ferguson put Souness in his squad for the 1986 World Cup in Mexico and Souness played in two of the group games against Denmark and West Germany, both of which Scotland lost, again resulting in an early exit. Souness had crucially been unfit for the game against Uruguay, a team whose tactics relied almost entirely on kicking the opposition as much as the ball - many feel that Souness' own reputation as a hard player may have helped Scotland's cause. That said, others felt his absence was a good thing as his temperament may have got the better of him in such volatile circumstances.

Related Topics:
Alex Ferguson - 1986 World Cup - Mexico - Denmark - West Germany - Uruguay

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Souness had scored the only goal of the game in a tremendous Scotland win over England just before that World Cup - two caps later and his international career was over after 54 appearances and four goals in almost 12 years.

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