It was like a foreign country for...
Ian Rush (Juventus 1987-88)
One of the founding fathers of dodgy foreigners, Ian Rush felt no shame in proclaiming to the media that Italy was indeed, "like a foreign country to him." While his scoring record to the naked eye may not seem that bad – seven goals in 29 games – he was just one of many high profile foreign stars to flop in the 1987-88 season. A £3.8m signing from Liverpool, Juve were expecting goals.
However, with that famed moustache and the pink away shirt that the Turin side decided to don that campaign, Rush became all too easy to pick up. He became extremely homesick, his incapacity to trap the ball did him no favours and his non interest in any form of Italianisation all went against him.
While Rush fans could lay the blame at the poor quality of the Juventus side – they had their worst season for 20 years - the player dubbed ‘the eagle’ by the Italian press never lived up to his John Charles billing.
Although he seemingly forgot where the goals were in Italy, he did manage to find his way home after just one season in Serie A. He returned to Merseyside for a cut-price £2.2m. Needless to say Italy was like a foreign country to him.
|
Born:
20/10/61
Position:
Striker
Serie A games: 29
Serie A goals: 7
|
