How Platt’s life has been changed by that volley

THE last time England faced Belgium in the World Cup, it changed David Platt’s life. His stunning late volley in Bologna put Bobby Robson’s team into the quarter-finals and became an abiding image of Italia ’90. Platt was an unlikely hero. He was 24 and winning his eighth England cap when he swivelled to hook in Paul Gascoigne’s free-kick with perfect technique in the final minute of extra-time. What happened next stunned Platt, then of Aston Villa. ‘The day after the goal, I had to attend a Press conference where there was a table with one chair behind it for me,’ he recalls. ‘In front of me were around 500 journalists from around the world. Before then all I was used to was a handful of local pressmen, who I knew, in a small room. ‘I had to learn fast how to handle the media and so did my friends and family back home. They were inundated with requests for interviews and they were following my girlfriend Rachel trying to get a picture of her. One newspaper ran a column titled: “20 things you didn’t know about David Platt”. I didn’t know most of them myself.’ Just like this summer in Russia, England travelled to Italy with few expectations. After drawing with the Republic of Ireland and Holland, a 1-0 win over Egypt set up a last-16 tie with Belgium, semi-finalists in 1986. With the game goalless, seconds left and the game heading for penalties, Platt produced his moment of history, a piece of magic he’d worked on at Villa’s training ground. ‘Often after training, Sid (Gordon) Cowans, the Villa reserve keeper Lee Butler and I would take some balls on to the pitch and try a few different things,’ revealed Platt in an interview with retro football magazine Backpass. ‘I would try some spectacular volleys and overhead kicks. Sometimes they came off and other times they were hopelessly off target. But looking back I suppose, subconsciously, they were habit-forming and in that game against Belgium, it was quite a natural thing for me to attempt that spectacular volley. ‘My goal meant we were through to face Cameroon in the quarter-finals and it turned everything on its head.’ England beat Cameroon, again in extra-time, but lost in the semi-finals to West Germany on penalties. Platt became a successful export to Bari, Juventus and Sampdoria before finishing his club career at Arsenal and Nottingham Forest. With the pressure off both teams today, it’s unlikely the match will be a watershed for any individual, as it was for Platt 28 years ago.