‘I had a lovely five years at Forest. I got in the England squad and we made the UEFA Cup quarter-finals – although we got battered by Bayern Munich’ Colin Cooper on his City Ground memories

1990: Portrait of Colin Cooper of Middlesbrough. \ Mandatory Credit: Ben Radford/Allsport.

Colin Cooper’s £1.7million move to Nottingham Forest in 1993 saw the Durham-born defender play some of the best football of his career.

In among a pair of promotions and a relegation, Cooper forced himself into the England squad, winning two caps in 1995 against Sweden and Brazil, as he eyed a place in Terry Venables’ Euro 96 set-up.

This move to the City Ground came during a transitional period for Forest following Brian Clough’s resignation after the club’s relegation from the Premier League in the competition’s inaugural season.

Colin Cooper on his Nottingham Forest spell

Brian Clough had retired shortly before Cooper arrived (Image credit: Getty Images)

Cooper joined Forest from Millwall after two impressive seasons at The Den, and the move almost came about when the iconic Clough was still in charge.

“Funnily enough, I almost joined Forest six months earlier when Cloughie was still in charge,” Cooper tells FourFourTwo. “They were fighting against relegation and made bids for me and Stan Collymore, who was at Southend.

Cooper joined Forest alongside Stan Collymore (Image credit: Getty)

“Both were rejected but Forest remained interested and the two of us joined on almost the same day ahead of the new season. Frank Clark was manager and we got on like a house on fire.”

Forest immediately returned to the top flight under Clarke, finishing second in Division 1, with Cooper the rock at the back and Collymore having banged in 25 goals.

The same pair impressed in the Premier League, with Forest finishing third on their return before a European charge, fully justifying Cooper’s decision to make the move.

"I had a lovely five years at the club,” he adds. “Stan and I ended up joining Stuart Pearce in the England squad, and for a time we were up there with the big boys.

Stuart Pearce was another big personality at Forest at that time (Image credit: Getty Images)

“We had a couple of great European runs as well. One season we reached the UEFA Cup quarter-finals before getting battered by Bayern Munich, possibly the best side I ever faced.

“There were great characters in that squad. Big Stan should have had a much more decorated career as he was unplayable at times. And of course, Stuart Pearce was an absolute legend.”

Cooper left the City Ground in 1998 when he returned to his first club, Middlesbrough in a £2.5million deal, where he played on until he was 39 years old in the 2005/06 campaign.