Mark Hateley

[Uilleam 5,682]

Here is an interesting piece on Mark Hately (with incidental participation by Butch Wilkins) at AC Milan.

 

Hately was a terrific centre forward for Rangers, aggressive, powerful, combative, and a player who seemed to want to impose his will on the opposition, succeeding, more often than not.

 

From The Guardian/ Observer: https://www.theguardian.com/football/the-gentleman-ultra/2016/nov/20/milan-internazionale-mark-hateley-serie-a-derby

 

Milan v Internazionale: the game that made Mark Hateley a Rossoneri hero

In the space of six months in 1984, Mark Hateley went from playing for Portsmouth in the Second Division to scoring the winner in the Milan derby

By Luca Hodges-Ramon for The Gentleman Ultra, of the Guardian Sport Network

 

Mark Hateley’s goal gave Milan their first win in the derby for six years. Photograph: Bob Thomas/Getty Images

Luca Hodges-Ramon

Sunday 20 November 2016 10.00 GMT

 

Italian football can be an unforgiving world for British players. The methodical practices, tactical rigours and conformist culture have alienated some of Britain’s finest exports. Jimmy Greaves, Denis Law, Joe Baker and Ian Rush all struggled to adapt to the hard-line approaches of their coaches and the panopticon surveillance of the unrelenting media. Few British footballers have been entirely successful in Italy. John Charles’ prolific time at Juventus between 1957 and 1962 – winning three Scudetti and scoring 108 goals in 155 games – remains an exception.

 

Other players have enjoyed cult status without truly delivering on the pitch. Despite his career-stymieing injuries and psychological battles, Paul Gascoigne’s gregarious, mischievous and down-to-earth personality ensured he was loved by Lazio fans – that and the small matter of his late equaliser in the Rome derby in 1992. Indeed, making a name for yourself in the derby can be a surefire way to endear yourself to Italian fans. For Mark Hateley, this certainly proved the case at Milan.

 

In the summer of 1984, two of football’s most distinguished names earned record-breaking moves to Serie A. Diego Maradona left Barcelona to join Napoli for £6.9m (then a world record fee) and Internazionale paid Bayern Munich £4.7m for Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. Accompanying the duo, and joining the likes of Zico (Udinese), Socrates (Fiorentina) and Michel Platini (Juventus) in Serie A’s star-studded cast, was Mark Hateley, who arrived from Portsmouth.

 

Milan paid the Second Division club £1m for the 23-year-old English forward. Hateley was bought to replace his compatriot Luther Blissett, who had spent one dismal season at the club and earned cult status among fans for being a super-bidone (rubbish). Though Hateley had enjoyed a prolific season on the south coast, scoring 22 goals in 38 games, the fact that Milan plundering the English second tier for attacking talent shows how badly they were struggling.

 

The club were recovering from one of the darkest periods in their history at the time. In 1980, they had been relegated to Serie B due to their involvement in the Totonero betting scandal – just one year after winning their 10th Serie A title. Two years later, having bounced straight back to Serie A, they were relegated once again – this time due to desperately poor performances on the field.

 

Their problems were accentuated by the comparative success of their city rivals, Internazionale, who had been crowned Serie A champions during Milan’s first relegation and Coppa Italia champions during their second. Inter’s supremacy was most conspicuous in the Milan derby, in which they had enjoyed a six-year unbeaten run between 1979 and 1984. Throughout these years, Milanisti suffered while their rivals revelled in schadenfreude. That was until Hateley stemmed the tide of blue and black dominance, etching his name into Milan folklore.

 

Hateley was not the only English player who moved to Italy’s fashion capital in the summer of 1984. Ray Wilkins left Manchster United to join Milan and the two players helped each other settle, albeit at the expense of their Italian language skills. Benefiting from his compatriot’s company, Hateley’s impact was instant. In the run-up to the season’s first Derby della Madonnina, the languid forward struck four times as Milan went unbeaten in their opening six games. The Italian press and Hateley’s team-mates were suitably impressed. “He really surprised me,” said Milan captain Franco Baresi. And with the derby approaching, the scene was set for the Englishman’s finest hour in red and black stripes.

 

Six years without a win against your fiercest rivals is an eternity in footballing terms. On 28 October 1984, the Rossoneri were not favourites to change this statistic. They were facing a formidable Inter side, led by a number of influential figures. Walter Zenga played in goal, World Cup winners Beppe Bergomi and Fulvio Collovati led the defence, Liam Brady was in midfield, and Alessandro Altobelli and Rumenigge were up front. Despite Milan’s promising start to the season, they were a side in transition, most notable for the bourgeoning brilliance of Baresi.

 

For Hateley and Wilkins, the tumult that greeted them as they emerged from the San Siro’s tunnel left them under no illusions about the size of the fixture. Wilkins later described the feverish atmosphere: “Blue and black at one end, red and black at the other, the smoke meeting in the middle, it was something quite fantastic.” His side were initially overawed as Inter took an early lead through Altobelli’s diving header. After withstanding further pressure, Milan equalised through Agostino Di Bartolomei, who volleyed home after some intricate build-up play between Hateley, Wilkins and Pietro Paolo Virdis.

 

Then, with 25 minutes remaining, Hateley’s moment arrived. Baresi made a characteristically well-timed tackle to rob Altobelli of possession deep inside Inter’s half. As the ball broke to Virdis, he took a couple of touches to compose himself and curled a cross towards his strike partner. Hateley, who was floating around the penalty spot, towered above Fulvio Collovati – a defender renowned for his aerial ability – and crashed a header past the flailing dive of Walter Zenga. Hateley made it 2-1, and that is how it finished.

 

Praise was heaped on the performances of Milan’s two Englishmen. The most flamboyant tribute was voiced by the Italian director and screenwriter, Ugo Tognazzi, who described Wilkins and Hateley as “two rare and refined English species in a divine dish.” But it was the latter’s goal that entered into the realms of myth.

 

For more than 80 years, the team who had taken the lead in the derby had, at the very least, secured a draw. Hateley’s leap had delivered the Rossoneri divine intervention. Inter fan Tommaso Pellizzari called it an “epoch-making goal”, one that broke Inter’s hegemony in the city. Meanwhile, one Milan fanzine writer declared: “For years I had a gigantic poster of Hateley’s goal by my bed. For us, that game meant a return to winning ways after years of purgatory.”

 

The defeat did not sit well with Inter’s president, Ernesto Pellegrini. In the aftermath, he bumped into his opposite number, Giuseppe Farina, and apparently said: “Congratulations, you won the battle, but the war will be ours.” Inter finished third, two places above their city rivals, but the ultimate prize eluded them and they were helpless to stop the inexorable rise of Osvaldo Bagnoli’s Verona, who won a miraculous first Scudetto title.

 

The image of Hateley climbing above Collovati was also one for the ages. “I was in awe,” said Mauro Tassotti after the game. “Hateley’s leap was incredible, demonstrating his timing and strength.” The former Milan defender was stood just yards away from the goal and he drew parallels between Hateley and Italy’s last great British success, John Charles. “It was the quintessential English forward’s goal, just like John Charles. And against an uncompromising defender like Collovati … it was a moment of incredible athleticism.”

 

Charles himself added to the hyperbole by claiming: “Mark’s fame will surpass my own. Italian defenders are good, but against British forwards like Hateley, their tactical astuteness is not enough.” The goal had embodied the Englishman’s finest attributes: his power, combative nature and clinical finishing. His dishevelled appearance and long hair fit the “warrior” blueprint and the Milan faithful promptly nicknamed him “Attila”, after the fearsome leader of the Hunnic Empire.

 

The Gazzetta dello Sport milked this symbolism, publishing photos of the goal under headlines such as “Mark Attila has struck again.” One reporter wrote: “He is like Conan, the mythical, invincible barbarian. Like a barbarian, Hateley looks his opponents in the eye, like a barbarian he throws himself into the most furious of battles and like a barbarian, he celebrates when his rivals are destroyed.”

 

Physical prowess was not the only weapon in Hateley’s armoury. He was an intelligent operator who was constantly aware of his surroundings and his opponents’ flaws. “Top strikers try to identify the weakest link in a defence,” Hateley later told Scottish journalists during his time at Rangers. This shrewd and ruthless streak made him an especially troublesome opponent for defenders.

 

In Italy, Hateley will forever be remembered for his derby-day heroics. Despite auspicious beginnings, Hateley’s progress was curtailed by injuries throughout his three-year stay in Milan. He went on to score 17 goals in 66 games and his fitness problems irked Milan’s president, Giuseppe Farina. In 1987, the arrival of media magnate Silvio Berlusconi heralded the dawn of a glorious era for the Rossoneri. With the club heading in a new direction, Berlusconi desired grace over graft. Marco van Basten was Berlusconi’s man and Hateley was on his way to Monaco.

 

Nevertheless, Hateley retains fond memories of his time in Milan, especially his winner in the derby. “I keep two huge photos of that goal on my wall at home, one in black and white and one in colour,” he later told Milan Channel. “It was one of the most beautiful and important goals of my life, a joyous moment for all of us and especially for the fans after a number of difficult years.”

 

And just like Hateley, the fans still remember the goal as if it were yesterday. So much so that, during the Derby della Madonnina in January this year, Milan fans unveiled a majestic choreography celebrating Hateley’s famous strike. The display, depicting the Englishman leaping above Collovati, engulfed the entirety of the San Siro’s Curva Sud and was accompanied by a banner read “sovrastiamoli” (“we tower above them”). The tribute had an almost prophetic effect as Milan triumphed 3-0, set on their way thanks to a powerful header by the Brazilian centre-back Alex.

 

Hateley, who was covering the game on TV, was understandably moved: “When I saw my face represented in the choreography I was shocked,” he said later. “My colleagues were discussing the game while I remained stupefied, lost in that image. It’s incredible to think that after 30 years the fans still remember that goal. I can only thank the Curva Sud and those who came up with the idea.”

 

On Sunday evening, the San Siro will take centre-stage once again for the season’s first Derby della Madonnina. Inter might count themselves fortunate as, unlike the derby of October 1984, Milan’s frontline won’t be led by Mark “Attila” Hateley.

 

• This blog first appeared on The Gentleman Ultra

 

And, if you have got this far, and want to see the fans' display, here it is in all its glory:

 

https://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fpbs.twimg.com%2Fmedia%2FCaSWwkQWYAA65Zp.jpg%3Alarge&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Ffootballitalia%2Fstatus%2F694846004517040128&docid=vK-qgZpm5sBriM&tbnid=9N8gnQGOhztT9M%3A&vet=1&w=490&h=200&hl=en-gb&source=sh%2Fx%2Fim

Edited November 20, 2016 by Uilleam

[jhunter 0]

a sublime talent for us, a Legend

 

 

incidentally we beat that Inter team 3-1 at Ibrox a couple of weeks later going out the Uefa Cup 4-3 on aggregate, mccoist missed an open goal in milan as well.

[limeburner 0]

My late father was a big fan of Hately.

"Hes a big breenger but i like breengers"is what he always said.

[jhunter 0]

My late father was a big fan of Hately.

"Hes a big breenger but i like breengers"is what he always said.

 

he was but there was way more to hateley than that.

[Tannochsidebear 2,352]

After a terrible first six months he settled in and played a huge part in our success during 9IAR. His partnership with Ally was extraordinary. While I dont think he done enough to merit his place in our all-time greatest 11, he was so much more than a big target man. He had great feet and match awareness, and he instinctively knew when to drag defenders away for Ally to run into the space, and when to tough it out.

[Scott7 5,571]

"This loping wolf of a player" - Jock Brown.

[Bluedell 5,422]

Won 6IAR almost single handedly.

[ranger_syntax 3,951]

[MacK1950 2,278]

Oh for a scoring ace like that and also a partnership duo again.

[craig 5,199]

My late father was a big fan of Hately.

"Hes a big breenger but i like breengers"is what he always said.

 

What a boy your Dad was too The things those guys used to get up to..... I wish we could have just one more day with them G