47: David Platt, England, Panini England European Football Championship ’96

Richard Allinson transports us all the way back to three and a half weeks ago when Gareth Southgate’s young charges came so close to bringing football home that even the most cynical of us genuinely believed that the Three Lions could do it. Alas it was not to be but for a brief moment people had been brought together by the admirable achievements of the England football team. Still, just over a year to go until Qatar 2022 and you can do it all again. Time to practice your Luke Shaw wonder goals. Over to Rich.

I’m writing this blog on Saturday 3rd July 2021 as the hours tick down to England v Ukraine in Euro 2020. As an almost forty year old I’m quite surprised as to how excited I am about the match but there you are, football does funny things to a man. The anticipation involved in a big England game has got me thinking back to the major international tournaments of my youth, and particularly Italia ‘90 (perhaps unsurprisingly as it is the greatest sporting spectacle of all time). Even more particularly, as it the knockout stages, it has got me thinking of David Platt’s goal against Belgium. 

Belgium at the time weren’t a great side and one that England were expected to beat, so basically, the Ukraine with better waffles and beer. However, England, as England do, made hard work of it and as time ticked on without either side breaking the deadlock it was looking like penalties were inevitable, David Platt though had other ideas. Presumably aware that Peter Shilton had the reflexes of a brick and that penalties would be an unmitigated disaster, Platt pulled out an overhead kick/scoop volley and, as John Motson put it, England had done it, in the last minute of extra time. 

My parents, clearly realising that the match was the most important thing on planet Earth, had let me and my brother stay up to watch it and so I got to see Platt’s goal in glorious technicolour. Obviously most other kids’ parents had done the same because at school the next day it was all anyone could talk about, and come the lunch break me and my friends headed out into the playing fields to recreate Platt’s moment of genius. How I didn’t end up in A&E with a broken back is beyond me. Ball after ball was chipped into me by a lad playing the Gazza role; each time I took flight ready to volley; each time I missed the ball completely; each time I came crashing onto the turf with a bone breaking thud; and each time the lad playing Michel Preud'homme looked bored. On reflection, this was probably one of those defining moments where I should have realised I might not make it as a professional footballer.  

David Platt’s career definitely isn’t defined by this goal though. He started out at Crewe Alexandra in 1985 and 56 goals in 134 games saw him secure a move to Aston Villa in 1988. It was this transfer that brought him to the attention of Bobby Robson and Platt was soon involved in the England set up. Platt went into Italia ‘90 as back up to Bryan Robson, but a recurrence of Achilles and toe injuries for Captain Marvel saw Platt replace Robson midway through the group game against Holland. Platt’s performances throughout the tournament go a bit under the radar due to Gazza’s genius being the standout in everyone’s minds, but Platty’s contribution to England’s run to the semis can’t be underestimated. Not least because he scored his penalty against Germany rather than zinging it seventeen miles high and wide. 

Platt’s performances at the World Cup brought him to the attention of the Italian nation and in 1991 he signed for Bari for £5.5m, which was a hell of a lot of money in 1991 thinking about it. After one season he was on the move again, this time to Juventus for £6.5m. Despite only playing sixteen games for the Old Lady, he managed to win the UEFA Cup and Serie A. Minimum input, maximum output. Result! From here it was on to Sampdoria, which was a move long in the making and largely down to Roberto Mancini’s persistence with pushing a man he barely knew into signing for the club. Following two seasons and a Coppa Italia with Sampdoria he was back on his way to England, where he signed for a pre-Arsene Wenger Arsenal. In total, he played 88 games for the Gunners, scoring thirteen goals. After this he went back to Sampdoria as manager which went a bit tits up, before signing for Nottingham Forest as player-manager in 1999. This also didn’t really go very well and he retired from playing in 2001. Platt has since had a lengthy career as a coach, but I don’t really have the room to go into depth about that. 

So David Platt then, a great career that saw him play in the semi-finals of two major international tournaments and was one of those rare things - an Englishman that did well abroad. Question is, will we need Mason Mount to find a similarly acrobatic finish to win it for England against Ukraine? For the sake of eight-year-old boys trying to recreate goals across the land, I bloody hope so.