Twelve Months in Italy

It was in July of 1986 that the Italian giants Juventus swooped for Liverpool striker Ian Rush. The fee at the time was a British record transfer fee of £3.2m. Initially loaned back to the Reds for one season he would eventually make the move to Turin in June 1987. Hopeful of a long and trophy-laden career with the “Old Lady” turned out to be just twelve months in Italy.

In the 1980’s one man terrorised defenders up and down the country with his pace and unerring finishing ability. That man was Liverpool and Wales international Ian Rush. Alongside Kenny Dalglish, he formed a deadly partnership that pushed Liverpool to the top of domestic and European football.

In the aftermath of the European ban on English clubs in Europe, several top players were targeted by Europe’s elite. Mark Hughes of Manchester United saw Barcelona acquire his services. It was at this time due to the reduction in revenues from the European ban Juventus made their move.

Turin Bound

Liverpool had no choice but to accept a £3.2m bid from Juventus and reluctantly let Rush leave. At the last moment, the deal hit a snag, however. At the time Italian clubs were only allowed two foreign players in their starting lineup. They already had Platini and had recently recalled Michael Laudrup from a loan deal with Lazio.

Rush was caught in no-mans land. Should he leave and try and force his way into the team but run the risk of failing? In the end, both parties agreed he should stay with Liverpool for 12 more months. Rush stayed with Liverpool and continued to score aplenty.

When Rush finally made the move to Juventus it couldn’t have happened at the worst time. The club were in transition. Platini, Tardellii and Boniek would all be noticeable departures. Scirea and Cabrini were also at the end of their careers.

“You’ve come at the wrong time to Juventus. You should have been here 2-3 years ago when we had a better team”

platini to rush on his arrival

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Rush started his league career with Juventus disastrously. Despite a prolific pre-season where he netted 10 goals in 6 games. His debut in an Italian Cup match against Lecce saw him pull up with a thigh muscle injury. He was ruled out for five weeks. Manager Rino Marchesi would have to do without his Welsh striker.

13 touches in 90 minutes

He didn’t fair better when he returned to the side. In a 1-0 defeat to Empoli Rush touched the ball just 13 times in the whole match. It would take him a further two weeks to score his first goals notching twice against Pescara.

During the difficult start, he built a close relationship with Michael Laudrup due to the fact he could speak English. Training sessions differed from those back at Liverpool where small-sided games were swapped for lengthy running drills at Juve. Rush was feeling the strain of living abroad and not speaking the language.

At the season’s end, Juventus had suffered their worst campaign since 1956-57. Finishing the league in the sixth position. Rush’s statistics in his first season weren’t eye-catching but respectable enough. A total of 14 goals in all competitions, including seven in 29 Serie A. Put into context, Diego Maradona topped the Serie A goalscoring charts with 14 league goals.

His return and the team’s poor showing were not good enough to save the manager’s job, however. Marchesi was sacked and replaced by Italian legend Dino Zoff.

Zoff’s arrival breathed fresh life into not only Rush but the whole squad. Training became fun again and ball work over fitness won out. It seemed as though Rush had all the ingredients needed to succeed in the following Serie A season. That was until the club invested heavily in the squad. New signings Rui Barros and Alexander Zavarov spelt trouble for Rush.

Twelve Months in Italy Come to an End

All of a sudden Rush was battling for not only a starting position but his Juventus career. Step forward Liverpool Chairman Peter Robinson. Fully aware of Rush’s predicament at Juve he sounded out Kenny Dalglish about a possible Liverpool return. Liverpool would have to work quickly though for a deal to be completed.

Juventus has already been in contact with Bayern Munich regarding Rush’s availability. Within 24 hours of the initial phone call from Liverpool, a deal had been put in place and a transfer fee agreed upon between both clubs.

Two days before the start of the new English season Liverpool announced a hastily-arranged press conference. To everyone’s surprise, out came Ian Rush to be paraded to the media. Liverpool had agreed on a fee of £2.8m for the return of the prodigal son. The thought of a Rush, Aldridge, Beardsley and Barnes combination sent shockwaves through the league. None more so that the defences of the clubs were ready to do battle with Liverpool in the 1988-89 season.

Rush’s nightmare of twelve months in Italy was over.

His reason for returning? “Because Liverpool wanted me back, I wouldn’t have returned for any other club.”