Archibald on Barca v Spurs
SPURS AND BARCELONA LEGEND STEVE ARCHIBALD ON ENGLAND STRIKER’S FUTURE, REPLACING MARADONA, A HAT-TRICK BUST-UP WITH FERGIE AND TOTTENHAM’S CHANCES AT BARCA
LIONEL MESSI attracted the blueand-white shirts of Espanyol like moths to a flame before, with a change of pace and a blur of feet, he left them trailing as he emerged with the ball. Up in the corporate seats, delight creased the features of steve Archibald.
‘I scored goals where I didn’t know how I’d done it,’ he explains. ‘My game was about movement. I’d be moving and thinking and then the ball comes and in a moment of execution it’s gone, in the net and you don’t even remember it because it’s instinctive.
‘When I see Messi, I think he’s going past guys without realising how he’s doing it. It’s instinct. You need two or three defenders on him to have any chance of getting the ball. One on one you’ve no chance. He’s so good.’
It is a daunting prospect for Tottenham, destroyed by Messi at Wembley in October and visiting the Nou Camp tomorrow knowing anything less than victory is likely to spell the end of their Champions League campaign.
Archibald, who enjoyed success at both clubs, has lived in Barcelona for long enough to know they won’t have their feet up against spurs despite winning Group B and Messi will not play any differently.
‘I saw him playing for Barcelona B when he was a kid,’ said the scot. ‘He was the same, flying past people and I thought he won’t be able to do that in the first team.
‘How wrong can you be? He’s an amazing little man. He takes knocks and gets on with it. He has drive and determination. His professional attitude is an example to kids. Nobody’s got a level like Messi. It’s a great honour just to watch him.’
Archibald leaves the impression he could go on but he pauses and reaches for his smartphone to photograph the advert for his energy company which has flashed on to the LED perimeter boards inside Espanyol’s stadium. This is the latest venture of a varied postplaying career, selling renewable energy via his network of contacts in spain and Portugal. seven clubs have signed up to the scheme with FC Energia. He has coached with success at East Fife, been on the board at Benfica, tried to buy Airdrieonians, worked as an agent and is a TV pundit in spain.
The entrepreneurial spirit has burned ever since Archibald was a car mechanic playing part-time at Clyde.
Now, having scored goals to fire Aberdeen, Tottenham and Barcelona ‘out of the darkness’, as he puts it, the 62-year-old is illuminating football in a different way. IT WAs 1984 when he signed for Barcelona for £1.15million and inherited Diego Maradona’s locker, together with piles of leftover deodorant and aftershave and the No 10 shirt vacated by the Argentina star, who was sold to Napoli.
‘Who’s taking over from Maradona was the question from day one,’ said Archibald. ‘They gave me his locker with his name still on and all his stuff still inside. His number was available but I wanted to wear eight.
‘It was my number and it was in my contract. Come match day, Bernd schuster goes and sits beside the eight. Bernd was a big figure with a strong German mentality; a wonderful player and my supplier from midfield. Like Glenn Hoddle, he’d find you anywhere with left or right foot.
‘I needed to handle it delicately. so I go over and say, ‘‘Bernd, it’s my number. I’ve got an agreement. I like the eight. I’ve scored goals wearing this number. It gives me confidence. I need to wear it’’. Fortunately, he spoke good English. He said, ‘‘I understand, but for all the reasons you just said I like eight’’.
‘I walked away and Terry Venables came over to ask if there was a problem. I said, ‘‘Well, Bernd’s not giving me the eight shirt’’. He said, ‘‘Do you want me to get it for you?’’ All the players were watching and it would have been a big controversy to knock Bernd off his pedestal. I said I’d handle it, and went back and gave him more spiel.
‘Again, he said, ‘‘Yes but I really need this shirt’’. He looked around and said, ‘‘steve, I am not taking the 10’’. As soon as he said that it clicked. He couldn’t take the 10. As soon as you put the 10 on, people are comparing you to Maradona. so I said, ‘‘I’ll take 10’’. From that moment we were solid friends.’
Archibald scored on his debut at Real Madrid to secure a place in the hearts of fans as they won La Liga for the first time in 11 years.
‘Maradona was there for two years and didn’t win it,’ he said. ‘Not because he’s a bad player but Diego comes with a lot of things and I could probably get away with things he couldn’t.
‘People knew what he could do. Maradona’s on the ball and 10 people are trying to get it off him. My game was about movement and I developed it to a good level. Maybe I was Maradona without the ball. ‘They weren’t used to it here. They all wanted to dribble and play a one-two. ‘In training, we played a game with small goals and no goalkeepers and they’d be working their way to the
goal. it came to me and wherever i was on the pitch, i’d shoot and score.
‘everybody stopped and said, ‘‘You can’t do that’’. And Terry said, ‘‘Why not?” There was no answer.’
Archibald swears he never wanted to leave Tottenham. Four years at White Hart lane had brought success and a connection with fans.
in his first season he was top scorer in Division One and Spurs won the FA Cup, their first trophy in seven years, to restore lost pride after relegation in 1977. Another FA Cup followed and the UeFA Cup.
‘My contract was up but my mind was set on staying,’ said Archibald. ‘i was only after an increase of £10,000 a year. Not an outrageous demand. But irving Scholar had come in as chairman and he wanted the money from Barcelona.
‘He said, ‘‘Oh this is what you do, isn’t it? Score some goals and come asking for money”. i thought, “Who are you? You’ve only just come to the club and you don’t know me”. And it wasn’t true. That sickened me to the pit of my stomach.’
Archibald appreciated his own value in an era when footballers often did not. When Spurs signed him for a record £800,000, he had the nerve to ask Aberdeen chairman Dick Donald for a cut as he had helped them win the Scottish title for the first time in 25 years.
‘He said, ‘‘listen son, we give money to players to stay, not to go” which i thought was brilliant.’
Then there was the time Sir Alex Ferguson ordered him to return the match-ball he had taken home after scoring a hat-trick for Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup against Celtic.
‘Balls cost money,’ said Archibald. ‘So Alex called me in and says, ‘‘Bring the ball back’’. i said, ‘‘You’re joking, right? You remember i scored a hat-trick?’’ He said, ‘‘Aye, i know that, that’s your job’’. i said, ‘‘You’re serious?” He said: ‘‘Bring the ball back tomorrow’’. i said: ‘‘it’s only a ball’’. He said: ‘‘Bring the f***ing ball back’’. So i brought it back. Next to the dressing room there was a little office where he’d go in the morning with the assistant manager and organise training. i went in and booted the ball through the door. it was a small room and i caught it sweet, so it pretty much hit every wall. There’s your ball back.’ THe european Cup final in 1986 was not a classic. ‘i was six feet away from (the trophy),’ said Archibald, pointing across the restaurant. ‘As close as that bottle of oil. The game finished and bang, there it was by the pitch and you’ve got to walk right past and you can’t touch it.’
Barcelona had been expected to win but Steaua Bucharest came to frustrate and won on penalties. Archibald started up front after painful treatment to heal a hamstring muscle. He was replaced in extra time and watched as his team-mates failed to score a single penalty in the shootout, losing 2-0.
Archibald believes the Venables years proved the catalyst for all that Barca have achieved since. More than three decades on, they are champions of Spain with eyes on a sixth european title and Messi is playing like the genius he is, scoring twice with breathtaking free-kicks in a 4-0 win in the Barcelona derby on Saturday.
‘it’s the same club,’ said Archibald, who will be talking at a european legends event with former Spurs team-mate Micky Hazard at Barcelona’s Astoria tonight. ‘They want to win things. They want to beat Madrid. They want to have the best players and play the best football. They have the same aspirations to be the best. They will never coast. They will want to beat Spurs. Messi will want to score goals.’
So will Harry Kane, never far from a link to Real Madrid when he plays in Spain.
‘He’s probably the player Real Madrid need,’ said Archibald. ‘He’s a top striker. Scores with either foot and his head. i’d hate to see him leave Spurs because the fans love him. There’s clear progression at Spurs but you can’t keep having constant disappointments if you’re a striker scoring 30 goals a season.
‘Harry Kane for Real Madrid just seems like the right fit. it all depends on what he wants. i wanted to win the league with Spurs. Maybe Harry’s the same.’
Yet here he is, a resident of Barcelona, fluent in Spanish, trim as ever, still playing twice a week and regularly saluted as he walks down the street by the cries of ‘Archigoles!’.
One on one you’ve got no chance against Messi, he’s so good