I had to give up the men’s holiday in Magaluf… but days later I was scoring in England’s only win in Brazil

SCORING for England for the first time. Against Brazil. At Maracanã.

It was a life-changing experience.

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But not just for John Barnes – because another player scored his first senior international goal for the Three Lions in the 2-0 victory on that famous night, which marks his 40th birthday tomorrow.

And in truth, the impact on Mark Hateley was greater and more instantaneous.

Hateley, 62, recalled: “It was a really, really crazy six weeks. Everything changed for me – from Second Division football to playing for one of the biggest clubs in the world.”

Just days after scoring the second goal in England’s only away win in Brazil, Hateley was on his way to Portsmouth to join AC Milan for £1.2m.

It was a surprising turn of events for a young man who defied his father, Tony, a former top flight striker for Aston Villa, Chelsea and Liverpool, to leave First Division Coventry to play for Pompey.

Hateley scored 22 goals in 38 league games for the South Coast club and caught the eye of England manager Bobby Robson with his exploits for the Under-21s.

When the Young Lions won the European Championship in 1984, he scored six goals in the round of 16 and one in the second leg of the final against Spain.

Hateley said: “I booked a holiday to travel with the lads. Magaluf, I think it was.

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“Sir Bobby called me and asked if I would like to go to South America as a precursor to the World Cup qualifying campaign.

“I was disappointed that I didn’t travel to Spain, but out of nowhere everything opened up to me.”

Before crossing the Atlantic, Hateley made his debut as a substitute at Wembley against the USSR.

A 2-0 defeat led to chants of “Robson out”, with the Three Lions manager already under pressure after failing to qualify for that summer’s Euros in France.

Hateley thought he would travel to learn the basics, but injury prevented Paul Mariner from traveling, so the 22-year-old played his first game for his country at the legendary Maracanã Stadium.

Brazil came out of the blocks quickly and Peter Shilton made good initial saves.

Hateley said: “It took us a while to get used to the surface.

“It was unstable underneath, but if you look at the footage, you couldn’t see the boots because the grass was so long.

“They seemed to be able to pick up the ball from the ground very easily, as if they were playing on the beach.”

Robson’s side weathered the storm and in the final minute of the first half Hateley rose high to win and control the ball, before laying the ball past Barnes on the left flank.

He said: “In fact, I am claiming assistance! I’m looking for the ball back, basically. Center forwards only lend the ball.

“But Barnesy had so much skill that he got past three or four players.

“When we get to the edge of the box, I’m level with him looking for a small cut and a side foot into the open goal.

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“But Barnesy dropped his shoulder, put the goalkeeper on his back and scored.

“The only thanks I got for that was that I got a good right elbow from Barnesy, right in my chin, while he was celebrating.”

The quality of Barnes’ goal was such that it always overshadowed Hateley’s magical moment in the 65th minute.

Hateley, who also shares a November 7 birthday with Barnes, said: “It was a good, old-fashioned striker’s goal, from a good, old-fashioned winger’s cross to the far post by Barnesy.

“He just hung up and said, ‘Get it over with!’”

Brazilian goalkeeper Roberto Costa was not covered in glory, failing to stop Hateley’s header.

The home team, which had no stars in foreign leagues, was anything but traditional.

But the victory eased the pressure on Robson and was transformative for Hateley.

He said: “Ray Wilkins signed for AC Milan at Easter.

“Two or three days after the Brazil game, he came to me and said: ‘Milan contacted me – would you be interested in joining them in the summer?’

“I was so young and naive, I said, ‘I’ve got two years left, Ray, I don’t think Portsmouth are going to sell me.’

“He said, ‘Apparently that deal has already been made. Now it’s just a matter of personal terms.

“I said, ‘Yes, that’s the answer!’.”

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Hateley loved Milan and Milan loved Hateley.

The header he scored to win his first derby against Inter is still talked about to this day.

The self-confessed old-school British centre-forward learned a lot from coach Nils Liedholm, a former AC and Sweden striker, and Fabio Capello, then coach of Primavera’s youth team, about how to play as a European number 9.

The arrival of Silvio Berlusconi as club supremo led to Hateley’s departure after three seasons. But a certain young manager called Arsene Wenger made the English striker his first signing for Monaco in 1987.

Playing alongside Three Lions teammate Glenn Hoddle, Hateley helped the club become French champions.

Everything was going well until he suffered a terrible ankle injury in the European Cup quarter-final against Galatasaray in 1989.

Hateley recovered to become a legend at Rangers, where he won five Scottish titles and where he is poised to resume his role as club ambassador.

But his success dates back to that night in Rio de Janeiro.

Hateley added: “This is what I say to any young player: ‘You never know where we might be next week in football.’

“’Always play like it’s the last game you’ll ever play. If you do this, you will never fall short.’ This completely changed my life.

“And being the last player to score in England’s only away win over Brazil? I will accept this applause.

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