Football By Decade: 1980s

It has been a long time since I last added to the "Football By Decade" series, with University commitments and then the brilliant 2014 World Cup taking over my blogging schedule. However, following the wonderful array of talent and competition in Brazil it is time to look into yet another decade of intrigue and inspiration. After the 1970s had brought some of the greatest players, teams and matches to the forefront of football debate, the 1980s would further promote a host of talent to the centre of the global footballing stage. Despite this, the decade would also be one of the most pivotal for the wrong reasons with a number of tragedies befalling the sport, questioning whether it truly was the 'beautiful game'. We are almost at the end of our journey through the twentieth-century in terms of football history, from the British pre-War sporting dominance to the 1970s - a decade which many believe was football's last truly great era. In my opinion this statement