254: Steve McManaman, Liverpool, Merlin’s Premier League 97 Official Sticker Collection

Today I am taking on a request post of sorts for my sister Maria. Regular readers may have noticed her eye for a talented footballer in previous posts on Andy Carroll and Alessandro Del Piero and today’s subject would have complimented both of these players with his mazy runs, pinpoint crosses and popstar good looks. The latter allowed my sister to indulge in some “post Ronan Keating sophistication” on her bedroom wall while the former saw him win the Champions League twice among a host of other honours. Hope this does the trick mate.

The print magazine may well have had its day. It was always an indulgence of mine for a long train journey but gone, it seems, is the array of choice there once was with publications reduced in number and replaced with more commemorative or anthology style products. This is all well and good in an age of rapid technological advancement but perhaps the buyers at WH Smith’s might want to consider that not every football fan wants to reminisce on Manchester City’s Treble or endure a hagiography of Argentina’s favourite tax evader. Thankfully the likes of FourFourTwo continue to plough on but for how long remains to be seen.

The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there. Amidst the pop culture explosion of the 1990s an array of magazines aimed at teenagers hit the newsagents’ shelves to ensure that the nation’s youth could stay up to date with the latest fashion, TV and what Jason Orange had for breakfast. The holy trinity of magazines aimed at teenage girls were Just Seventeen, Bliss and Sugar which covered all the bases mentioned above with a sprinkling of suggestive content. The latter meant that, despite my parents’ general support of all things printed, my sister had to rely on her classmates to finally find out that John was the messiest member of East 17. Sugar’s ‘Lad Mag’ insert provided Maria’s classmates with a plethora of glossy posters and, on one fateful day in 1996, one girl in her class showed her the image below on the right. With my Mum convinced that she wanted the magazine “just for the poster” she was allowed to break the Hawks’ family’s rigid censorship rules to give Liverpool and England midfielder Steve McManaman pride of place on her bedroom wall.

‘Macca’ had made waves at Anfield from a young age with his cross-country running background providing him with seemingly endless stamina and pace. Under the tutelage of John Barnes he broke into the first team, making over fifty appearances in the 1991/92 campaign, and was man of the match in the Reds’ FA Cup Final victory over Sunderland where he provided the assist for Michael Thomas’ opening goal. He continued to show his potential in the early stages of the Premier League before flourishing in a more central role under new manager Roy Evans in the 1994/95 season. McManaman scored twice in the League Cup Final, impressing the great Sir Stanley Matthews in the process, and racked up an incredible fifteen assists in the following Premier League season. Such form earned him a place in the England squad for Euro 96 where he was named in the team of the tournament and picked out by none other than Pele as the Three Lions’ best player.

Steve McManaman’s on field success catapulted him to wider fame and on to the pages of teen magazines. He was one of a handful of Liverpool players dubbed the Spice Boys in light of various advertising campaigns, popstar girlfriends and the infamous white Armani suits selected by David James for the squad ahead of the 1996 FA Cup Final. The Premier League’s increased dalliance with celebrity culture meant that the photogenic and charismatic McManaman, Robbie Fowler and Jamie Redknapp were tabloid regulars a good year before anyone was chasing David Beckham with a camera. While he continued to impress on the pitch the fickle tabloid press turned on him over his desire to play abroad, with a protracted transfer to Barcelona never materialising, and affiliation with talent agent Simon Fuller. In 1999 he moved to Real Madrid.

His first season in Spain culminated with victory in the Champions League Final with many pundits naming McManaman as man of the match in part due to his spectacular volleyed goal in their 3-0 victory over Valencia. In the 2000/01 season he helped Real to the La Liga championship before picking up another Champions League winner’s medal in the following campaign. As the club looked to add to its ever-growing collection of midfield ‘Galacticos’ McManaman became increasingly marginalised and, having helped England team mate David Beckham bed in at the Bernabeu, was transferred to Manchester City in the 2003/04 season. After a strong start injuries and a loss of form made him the target for the boo boys and, after some off-field sex scandal shenanigans, he called time on his career in 2005 having fallen out of favour with new manager Stuart Pearce.

Steve McManaman moved seamlessly into a media career following retirement and was a regular in veterans’ matches alongside his former Liverpool and Real Madrid colleagues until 2017. Despite the slightly sour end to his time at Manchester City many of the club’s younger players praised him for his work with them on the training ground and he took up a coaching role at Liverpool in 2013 where he proved influential in the development of Trent Alexander-Arnold among others. Nowadays the boyish good looks have been replaced with a fair few greys and wrinkles but he remains a mainstay in football punditry. He may not be gracing too many bedroom walls these days but it’s a small price to pay for such an impressive career on and off the pitch.