Paul Ince: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 15:56, 14 December 2006

Revision as of 13:53, 19 December 2006

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Ince joined his boyhood club [[West Ham United F.C.|West Ham United]] on leaving school and made his debut in the first team at the age of 19, coming on as a substitute in a 4-0 defeat at [[Newcastle United F.C.|Newcastle United]]. The following season he began to establish himself as a regular in the midfield, proving himself to have all-round qualities of pace, stamina, uncompromising tackling and good passing ability. He also packed a powerful shot, and was awarded with England under-21 honours to go with the youth [[cap (football)|caps]] he acquired as an [[apprentice]].

In August [[1988]], an eventful season for Ince began. In a struggling West Ham side, he shot to national recognition with two stunning goals in a wholly unexpected 4-1 win over champions [[Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool]] in the [[Football League Cup|League Cup]], and continued to score goals as the Hammers reached the semifinals while having real trouble finding any form in the League. West Ham lost to [[Luton Town F.C.|Luton Town]] in the semifinals and, despite frequent displays of individual brilliance from Ince, were relegated at the end of the season.

==Manchester United & England==

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As Robson's career subsequently wound down, Ince became the [[fulcrum]] of the United midfield, with snapping tackles, raking passes and some tremendously hit shots, though he was not too prolific a goalscorer.

He won his second winners' medal when United defeated [[FC Barcelona|Barcelona]] in the final of the [[Cup Winners Cup|European Cup Winners Cup]] in [[Rotterdam]] in [[1991]] and received his third another year later when United beat [[Nottingham Forest F.C.|Nottingham Forest]] in the [[1992]] [[Football League Cup|League Cup]] final.

Ince made his debut for the full England team in September of that year in a friendly match against [[Spain national football team|Spain]] in [[Santander, Cantabria|Santander]]. England lost 1-0 but Ince proved a success. He was duly awarded his second cap a month later in a disappointing 1-1 draw with [[Norway national football team|Norway]] in a qualifying match for the [[Football World Cup 1994|1994 World Cup]].