On February 18th, 1987, Andoni Zubizarreta embraced his Barcelona team-mate Gary Lineker in the away dressing room of the Santiago Bernabeu.
“Fackin’ hell,” the Basque goalkeeper exclaimed in a ‘perfect cockney accent‘ that imitated their coach Terry Venables, reacting to a four-goal showing from Lineker. The Barcelona striker scored each of them in a whirlwind 33 minutes.
Yet on this occasion, Zubizarreta wasn’t Lineker’s team-mate, but rather his opponent on the international stage. This was a friendly as Spain welcomed England to their most historic arena; a 4-2 away victory for Bobby Robson’s Three Lions. No other player before or since has ever scored four goals in one game against La Roja.
“That is the first time I have scored four in my career, but I should have had six,” said Lineker.
“I’m looking forward to training with him on Friday,” he replied with that familiar cheeky grin when asked about Zubizarreta, having stuck four past him.
Twenty-six years old and at the peak of his powers, Lineker was a force of nature. The summer prior he won the Golden Boot at Mexico 86 and completed a £2.8million transfer from Everton to Barcelona.
“He has to be arguably the best finisher in the world,” Three Lions boss Bobby Robson said. “He gets a chance and it’s a goal. That’s what makes him a world-class player.”
Just the FOUR @GaryLineker goals 🤩#OnThisDay in 1987, a memorable win for the #ThreeLions in Spain! pic.twitter.com/W147Ean5zi
— England (@England) February 18, 2021
Regulars at the Bernabeu didn’t need Robson to tell them how lethal a finisher he was. Just 18 days before his finest hour for England, he scored all three of Barcelona’s goals in a 3-2 El Clasico victory at Camp Nou.
In 2019, Lineker was asked on the Stadio Podcast where he’d see himself were he to play for a present-day side. He answered Sergio Aguero at Manchester City. You can see where he’s coming from when you look back to that iconic hat-trick against Real Madrid and the kind of deadly attacking instincts you just can’t teach.
The first two goals saw him slide into the six-yard box, converting from close range. They were just like Aguero’s first and only goal for Barcelona – fittingly enough in El Clasico – the last of his career before a heart issue forced the Argentinian into early retirement.
“I was really chuffed, particularly with the first one because I absolutely made a massive gamble on where the ball…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Football365…