Graeme Souness ' managerial career took plenty of twists and turns, and the same went for his playing days on the continent.
The former Liverpool star travelled around Europe after his time in charge of the Reds came to an end in 1994. He led Galatasaray to a fourth-place Super Lig finish in his one season in Turkey, before later spending time in Italy with Torino and Portugal with Benfica.
Souness also spent time playing in Serie A, enjoying two seasons with Sampdoria in between his stints as a player and a manager with Liverpool. The Scottish midfielder turned pundit won the Coppa Italia with Samp in 1985, scoring in the final against AC Milan, but there was also a notable alcohol-related hiccup during his time at Stadio Luigi Ferraris.
Former Premier League manager Harry Redknapp shared details of the incident in his new book 'When Harry Met Sandra', published by Reach. The 75-year-old, who had just begun his managerial career when Souness moved to Italy, explained the situation in the context of British footballers looking after themselves a little less than their counterparts in Italy.
"There was a very big drinking culture in football in those days and players used to drink after a game," Redknapp writes. It was only when the foreign players started to come to play in England, like Gianfranco Zola and Paolo Di Canio and they were super fit, that footballers drinking became a thing of the past. Well, for most."
It wasn't until 1995 that the Premier League got its first Italian player, with Andrea Silenzi moving to Nottingham Forest. Zola, Roberto di Matteo and Gianluca Vialli joined Chelsea the following season, with Di Canio - who Redknapp later signed for West Ham United - beginning his English career with Sheffield Wednesday in 1997.
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While Souness enjoyed some success in Italy, there was also a less than ideal moment after an 8-0 pre-season victory. As Redknapp recalls, the Scot was holding a Peroni as he got on the team bus after the game, only to be told "If that happens again you're fired".
"The Italian players, in particular, at that time really looked after themselves, while 90 per cent of the players here would be drinking after a game," Redknapp added. It was a British thing, but also a football thing."
Souness would eventually return to the UK after two years in Italy, winning two Scottish titles with Rangers as player-manager. Three years at Anfield followed, with his next Serie A foray not coming until 1997.
The 69-year-old has been out of management since 2006, having most recently taken charge of Newcastle United in the Premier League, and now works as a pundit. Redknapp, meanwhile, retired from management in 2017 after a brief spell with Birmingham City.
