Читать книгу Goals to Gold - Lee Sandford - Страница 29

In fact, it was under Lou Macari that I experienced one of the highlights of my entire football career. It was the 1992 Autoglass Trophy (as the Football League Trophy competed for by the third and fourth division teams was then known) final. It was the first time Stoke City had played at Wembley since 1972 and it was like we’d hit the jackpot. I had watched so many FA Cup finals on TV and, like any aspiring professional footballer, it was my dream to play at Wembley.

I will never forget the first glimpse of the famous old Wembley twin towers (that have been since replaced by a huge modern arch) as we approached on the coach. We were well prepared and itching to get out and play.

My uncle had travelled to the UK undercover (as he was still apparently a wanted man) from Australia, and my 80 year-old nan was also in the crowd, along with the rest of my family. As I walked out on to the turf and saw my entire family up in the stands, I had never felt more proud. It was a very emotional moment; I can still get choked up thinking back on it now. It was a close game against Stockport County, but we won 1-0 after a brilliant goal from Mark Stein.

As I walked up with my teammates to get our trophy, I realised I was about to meet a brilliant man I had met once before. Bobby Moore was there to present the winning team with their medals. He was in the bar afterwards and my nan walked straight up to him to tell him how wonderful he was and to thank him for giving her beloved grandson a medal. The image of my nan talking to Bobby Moore seemed almost surreal. It also meant the world to me because throughout my career, the most important part of it has been sharing special moments with my friends and family. Whenever I could get someone down to the changing rooms to meet their sporting heroes, I would.

Later, when the celebrations were dying down, my brother Paul and his mate and I were walking down the side of the pitch and we saw a balloon floating around in front of one of the goals. We ran out on to the pitch and started playing with it. As Paul headed it past me into goal, recreating a Match of the Day moment, I heard one of the Wembley groundsmen shouting at us, “Oi! Get off the pitch!” We felt like we were schoolboys again!

Lou Macari did a great job at Stoke, but after another change in manager (Joe Jordan arrived when Lou went to Celtic), I began to ask myself if it might be time for me to move on too. Around this time, rumours began to surface that there was interest in me at Sheffield United, a club that had recently been relegated to the country’s second league (Division One, soon to be renamed the Championship).

After seven seasons and three managers at Stoke City, it was hard to say goodbye, but I was more than ready for a new challenge. I had a number of mates at Sheffield by then, so it felt like the right place to go.