Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Wales Online
Wales Online
Sport
Paul Abbandonato

The extraordinary story of when Wales warrior Mark Hughes played two matches in the same day

Wales Women's most capped player Jess Fishlock is planning something special this weekend - appearing for her club side OL Reign in Orlando on Saturday, then jetting across the States to pull on the Wales shirt against the USA in San Diego the following night.

For the avoidance of doubt that's some effort. A total of 2,443 miles, close on six hour plane journey - and the little matter of two matches in the space of 24 hours.

Ultimately it will be down to Welsh manager Gemma Grainger to decide if Fishlock is fit enough to play for her country in the glamour friendly, although she says: "If anyone is going to do it, Jess will. She will do anything to play for Wales. Jess would get off a flight and then run onto the pitch with the shirt on."

Commendable commitment, everyone can agree, such is the pull of the red jersey.

READ MORE: Wales can't carry on like this, Rob Page needs help and should bring Osian Roberts back

However, even what Fishlock is set to achieve pales a teeny bit into insignificance when compared to what Wales warrior Mark Hughes once managed to do.

He actually played two huge games in different countries on the same day, within the space of a few hours of one another too.

That has to be the ultimate commitment, but guess you'd expect nothing less from someone like Sparky. Like Fishlock, the Welsh passion has always burned deep inside him.

The extraordinary tale unfolds something like this. Wales have a crunch Euro qualifier away to Czechoslovakia, knowing victory will take them to their first finals since 1958.

Hughes had just joined Bayern Munich and his attempt to team up with his Wales colleagues, who had already travelled to the Czech capital Prague, was hit by a fog-bound airport.

He instead went back to the home of Bayern's general manager Uli Hoeness, who then concocted quite the most incredible of stories.

Wales were playing at 1pm; at 7pm Bayern had a big German Cup tie at home to big rivals Borussia Moenchengladbach.

No problem, deemed Hoeness. Hughes could play for Wales at lunchtime, then hop on a flight for the 50-minute trip back across the Czech-German border to also appear for Bayern that night.

The date in question is November 11, 1987. And yes, it really did happen.

When Hoeness realised Wales had an early kick-off, he told Hughes: "Well, you’ll be able to play the Welsh game and then you can play for us later on."

Sparky recalled: "I’m thinking, ‘What are you talking about?’ But apparently, he’d done it with a previous player.

"Hoeness made arrangements and came to the Wales game in Czechoslovakia. We were beaten, unfortunately. I wasn’t in the best mood, I was tired as well."

However, there was no time for Hughes to mope. Despite playing the full 90 minutes for Wales, he was immediately rushed into a waiting car, still dressed in his match kit, and driven to the waiting plane.

What fast car had Bayern got ready to rush him from ground to Prague airport? You might think a Ferrari, or something similarly zippy.

Not so, explained Sparky in his autobiography. The vehicle in question was a Lada!

"Through the Czech countryside we zoomed at 30mph, but in that heap it felt as if we were breaking the land-speed record,” he wrote.

Upon re-arrival in Munich, Hughes jumped into Hoeness' Porsche and they raced to Bayern's Olympic Stadium. Time to quickly change into his club colours, Hughes started warming up at half-time - with everyone else inside the ground shocked at his presence.

Bayern were 1-0 down at the time, they came back to win and go through to the next round.

“I don’t think I touched the ball if I'm honest, but I got the headlines because I’d played two games in one day," said Hughes.

"The Gladbach players were looking around thinking ‘How the heck is he here?’ Maybe it was a bit of disruptive therapy."

Hughes almost bagged a winning goal with a trademark volley that went just wide, but it didn't matter as German and Bayern great Karl-Heinz Rummenigge did find the net to down Borussia.

Hughes learned Hoeness had history with this sort of thing, having once done the same with midfielder Soren Lerby who played for Denmark and the German giants on the same day.

At least it was something of a happy ending to the day for Hughes, who was left dejected when a Wales team fellow greats like Ian Rush, Neville Southall and Kevin Ratcliffe had failed to grab the victory in Prague required to top their group and qualify for the 1988 Euros in Germany.

Unfortunately, it was to prove another of those near misses and their defeat meant the qualifying jinx continued. It wasn't to be ended of course until Gareth Bale and Chris Coleman's famous Class of 2016 broke the mould.

But Hughes had made his own moment of special Welsh history.

Fishlock will be hoping to do her bit this weekend, too.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.