Sammy Lee playing for England against Greece at Wembley Stadium.
The game ended goalless.
Career Record: Played 14, Won 8, Drawn 3, Lost 3
Goals: 2.
17/11/82 v Greece (A) W 3-0 (ECQ) 1 goal
15/12/82 v Luxembourg (H) W 9-0 (ECQ)
23/02/83 v Wales (H) W 2-1 (HC)
30/03/83 v Greece (H) D 0-0 (ECQ)
27/04/83 v Hungary (H) W 2-0 (ECQ)
01/06/83 v Scotland (H) W 2-0 (HC)
19/06/83 v Australia (A) D 1-1 (F)
21/09/83 v Denmark (H) L 1-0 (ECQ)
12/10/83 v Hungary (A) W 3-0 (ECQ) 1 goal
16/11/83 v Luxembourg (A) W 4-0 (ECQ)
29/02/84 v France (A) L 2-0 (F)
04/04/84 v N.Ireland (H) W 1-0 (HC)
02/05/84 v Wales (A) L 1-0 (HC)
17/06/84 v Chile (A) D 0-0 (F) sub
The photograph of Sammy Lee playing for England was taken on 15th.
December 1983 by G. Herringshaw. ©
Biography.
Many a coach wouldn't have even looked at Liverpool midfielder Sammy Lee when he was playing the game as a youngster, deciding that height - or lack of it - was more crucial than any other factor in becoming a footballer. Lee's exquisite first touch, passing strength and low centre of gravity were all noticed and nurtured by Liverpool, with whom he won a host of honours in the early 1980s while also trying to establish himself with England. Ron Greenwood chose not to look at Lee but successor Bobby Robson, who had lost Ray Wilkins to injury, gave him a huge debut in 1982 as England began their qualification campaign for the 1984 European Championships with a 3-0 win over Greece in Salonika, and Sammy scored. This helped his cause no end and he stayed in the team for the next four matches, including a 9-0 squashing of Luxembourg (the photo above is during the game) and a 2-0 win over Hungary, both at Wembley, as the qualifying campaign hotted up. Lee featured in the Home Internationals of 1983 and went on the three-match tour of Australia and was delighted to be in the team when the European Championship group resumed and Denmark arrived at Wembley. Lee cut a sorrier figure as Denmark dominated and won the game against a toothless England, although Robson was defiant about his team selections and kept his faith with many of the players on show - the one exception being Sammy's Liverpool team-mate Phil Neal, who was cast aside on 50 caps, never to return. Lee was now as established as he could ever be in the midfield (given that either Wilkins or Bryan Robson seemed to be injured throughout this period), covering the yardage and playing the crisp, positive passes which had trademarked his Anfield life, and Robson picked him for the remaining two qualifiers against Hungary (a 3-0 win, in which Lee scored the second) and Luxembourg (a 4-0 win). The defeat to Denmark still cost England a place at the European Championships and Robson began to restructure his plans for the qualification campaign looming for the 1986 World Cup. Lee played the first three England games of 1984 - a friendly defeat to France and two staid Home International matches - but the returns of Wilkins and Robson began to affect his standing. Sammy's place at Liverpool also became under threat after the 'treble' season of 1984, and he made his final England appearance in the summer tour of South America that year, coming on as a substitute in a goalless draw against Chile. (Matthew Rudd)