The English Abroad 3 - More than One at a Club [2] Quiz

Answer: AC Milan

In 2007, David Beckham left Real Madrid to join the American MLS side LA Galaxy, remaining exclusively with the club for two years. However, with the US season running from March to November, this meant that he would not be playing during the middle of the European season. Given he was still a fixture in the England national side, Beckham therefore looked for loan opportunities at European clubs to retain match fitness for England's international matches in the first half of 2009. In October 2008, it was announced that he would join AC Milan on loan from January 2009.

Beckham made his debut for Milan in a game away to Roma, before making his home debut the following week. Although he made it clear that he was not looking to move permanently, his loan, which was due to expire at the beginning of March, was extended through to the end of the Italian season, meaning he missed the first half of the season with LA Galaxy. Beckham's success at Milan saw him return for a second loan spell in January 2010. However, two months later, in a league game against Chievo, he tore an achilles tendon, which brought his time at the club to an end. Over his two loan spells with Milan, Beckham played 33 games, scoring twice.

Answer: AC Milan

Ray Wilkins had been a fixture for both Chelsea, for whom he made his debut in 1973 aged 17, and subsequently Manchester United, which he joined in 1979 for a decade (won the FA Cup in 1983). By this point, his dynamic midfield performances for Manchester United and England were drawing attention from other clubs, most notably in Europe, and led to Italian club AC Milan making a bid for the player in the summer of 1984. Wilkins joined the club alongside fellow England international Mark Hateley, in what was a period of struggle for AC Milan, who had just returned to Serie A following relegation in 1982.

During his first season, Wilkins played a major role in AC Milan reaching fifth in the league and qualifying for Europe for the first time since 1979. A notable result coming in October 1984 in the derby against Inter, the first time AC Milan had beaten their rivals since 1978. Additionally, AC Milan were that season runners-up in the Coppa Italia. Wilkins continued to be a major part of the club's team the following season, during which he scored the only league goals of his time in Italy. Wilkins fell out of favour during his third season, although was still a presence in Milan qualifying again for the UEFA Cup. In the summer of 1987, he left Milan to join French club Paris Saint Germain, having played 105 games and scoring 3 goals.

Answer: AC Milan

Mark Hateley's senior career began when he joined Coventry City in 1978 from school, making his debut at 17, and playing almost 100 league games for the club. However, his star rose following his move in the summer of 1983 to Portsmouth, who at the time were a Second Division side. In his first season there, he scored 22 league goals in 38 games, a record that led to other clubs taking an interest in signing him. One of these was AC Milan, who had just returned to the Italian top flight following a season spent in Serie B. Despite playing for a second tier club, Hateley was regarded as a sufficient prospect for the Italian giants, and signed for them in the summer of 1984.

Hateley's first major impact playing for AC Milan came in October 1984, in the derby against the club's cross-town rivals, Inter. Having already scored four times in the league in the opening six games, Hateley scored the winner to give Milan their first victory over Inter in six years, making him an instant hero with the club's fans. However, following his auspicious start, injuries curtailed his time in Italy as, over three seasons, he managed to play just 66 times for AC Milan in the league. A change in the club's ownership saw Hateley offered for sale in the summer of 1987, and led to his signing for French club Monaco. During his time in Milan, Hateley played a total of 86 games, scoring 21 goals.

Answer: AC Milan

Luther Blissett's career began when he joined Watford as an apprentice upon leaving school in 1974, making his senior debut the following year, while the club were in the Fourth Division. Over the course of the next decade, Watford went on a run up the leagues, with Blissett playing a major part in their ultimately reaching the First Division in 1982. The following season, after topping the First Division scoring chart and helping Watford qualify for Europe for the first time, Blissett accepted an offer to move to Italian club AC Milan, who had just been promoted to Serie A, in June 1983.

Despite Blissett's success in England, he almost immediately struggled to make an impact in Italy - considered to be a typical English style centre-forward, his type of game was not suited to the passing style that was prevalent in Italian football. Having scored 33 goals in total during the previous season, in his first season at AC Milan he scored just six times in all competitions, earning the epithet "super-bidone". As a result, after just a single season, he was sold back to Watford, having played just 39 times for Milan.

Answer: AC Milan

Although Fikayo Tomori was born in Canada, his family moved to England before his first birthday, which led to his joining the Chelsea Academy as a schoolboy, and progressing through the club's system, making his senior debut in 2016. Over two years he played on loan at three different English clubs before, in January 2021, he moved on loan to AC Milan for the remainder of the season. The loan agreement also gave the Italian club an option to sign Tomori permanently, which was exercised in the Summer of 2021.

Tomori's time at AC Milan has seen an upturn in the club's fortunes, with the player forming a major part of the team's defensive success. He scored his first goal for the club in May 2021 in a victory at Juventus, the first time since 2011 that AC Milan had won away there, while in 2022 the club won the Serie A title for the first time in more than a decade, while in 2023 he helped the club reach their first UEFA Champions League semi-final since 2007.

Answer: Sampdoria

Trevor Francis had joined Birmingham City as a schoolboy, and quickly showed enough promise to be promoted to the first team, spending almost a decade at the club before he moved to the English champions Nottingham Forest in 1979, become the first English footballer to command a £1m transfer fee. He remained at the club for two years, and then spent another season at Manchester City, before, after appearing at the 1982 World Cup, he accepted an offer to move to Italian club Sampdoria, who had just returned to Serie A; having spent the previous five seasons in Italy's second tier. The signing of Francis, a cultured forward deemed to be one of the great English players of the period, was seen as a statement of intent from he club.

Sampdoria made a quick start, which included a home win over reigning champions Juventus, and an away triumph at Inter, which included Francis scoring a spectacular goal. However, he suffered a bad injury in the third game which curtailed his form and eventually saw Sampdoria finish seventh. Over the following years, Francis continued to show flashes of his best form, helping the club to finish seventh in his second season, then fourth, with the addition of winning the Coppa Italia in 1985. However, Francis was never able to fully regain fitness and, in 1986, he was sold to Atalanta. During his time at Sampdoria, Francis played a total of 104 games for the club, scoring 30 goals.

Answer: Sampdoria

Although from London, Des Walker was signed as an apprentice by Nottingham Forest in 1980, making his senior debut four years later at the age of eighteen. Walker rapidly became a fixture in the first team, helping the club to a run of success during the late 1980s that saw them win five knockout trophies in seven years. Walker's consistency at the heart of Forest's defence also won him admirers at other clubs and eventually saw him leave in the summer of 1992 to join Italian club Sampdoria.

At the time, Sampdoria, who had won the league title in 1991, and reached the final of the European Cup just prior to Walker joining, were having difficulty, as they had failed to qualify for Europe and were seeking to redress this. Much was expected of Walker given his success playing for Nottingham Forest. However, for much of his first season at the club, he was played out of position as a full back, rather than the central defender he was generally known as. As a result, his performances were not up to the standards he had previously shown, with Sampdoria ending the season in seventh place. Having played a total of 32 games for the club, Sampdoria elected to sell Walker after just a single season, and he returned to England to join Sheffield Wednesday.

Answer: Sampdoria

David Platt had arrived in Italy in July 1991 having joined Bari, before leaving a year later following their relegation to sign for Juventus. However, his time at the club was difficult as he struggled to maintain a first team spot. One of his admirers was Roberto Mancini, the captain of Sampdoria, who had tried to persuade Platt to move to the club from Bari. By the summer of 1993, it became clear that Platt's time at Juventus would be short, and Sampdoria instead made an offer, which saw him sign in July.

Platt was an immediate success at Sampdoria, bringing not just the energy and style of his game from playing in England, but the improvements in his own technique that he had gained over the previous two seasons in Serie A. In his first season at the club, Sampdoria finished third in the league and won the Coppa Italia, while in the following season, although struggling in the league to ultimately finish eighth, Platt helped the club to the semi-final of the European Cup Winners Cup. Although his commitment to the club was appreciated to the extent that he was offered an additional two years to his contract, in the summer of 1995 he expressed a desire to return to England, and signed for Arsenal. In his time at Sampdoria, Platt played 72 games and scored 21 goals.

Answer: Marseille

Having joined Newcastle United as a 19 year old, Chris Waddle was a regular for his local club for five years before joining Tottenham Hotspur in 1985, during a period when the London side were regularly challenging for honours, finishing third in the league and runners-up in the FA Cup. Waddle's form for Tottenham as a winger saw him become a target for a number of other clubs in England and around Europe, which eventually led to French club Marseille bidding what at the time was the third largest transfer fee in history for him. Waddle joined Marseille in July 1989.

Although Waddle initially struggled at his new club, with difficulties over the language amplified by his being played out of position. However, early in his first season he was switched to his preferred spot on the wing, which saw his form improve significantly, helping Marseille win their second successive league title. The club continued to enjoy success during Waddle's time there, winning two more successive league titles, as well as reaching the finals of both the Coupe de France and the European Cup. He ultimately spent three seasons in France, becoming so popular with the club's fans that he was voted their second best player of the 20th century. He eventually returned to England to join Sheffield Wednesday in July 1992, having played 149 games for Marseille, scoring 29 goals.

Answer: Marseille

Trevor Steven had been one of a number of English players who, during the period that saw English clubs banned from European football, elected to ply their trade elsewhere, in his case at Scottish club Rangers, who he joined from Everton in 1989. Having spent two seasons in Scotland, securing two league titles and the Scottish League Cup, he was approached by Marseille to join them for what at the time was the joint highest transfer fee for a British player. He eventually joined the French club in August 1991.

At the time, Marseille were at the summit of French football, having won three successive league titles, and reaching the European Cup final in 1991. However, despite this, the club was starting to find itself in financial difficulty and, just months after his arrival, openly looked to sell Steven back to Rangers in an effort to stem their losses. However, Steven remained with Marseille for the whole of his first season, winning the league title that season, becoming the first English player to have won league titles in three different countries. Despite this success, Marseille's difficulties saw him return to Rangers in July 1992, having played 34 games and scored 3 goals while in France.

Answer: Borussia Dortmund

Jadon Sancho was a schoolboy at Watford when he was signed to Manchester City's Academy at the age of 14. However, despite impressing for the Academy team, and being given assurances of a place in the senior squad, his omission from Manchester City's pre-season tour in 2017 saw him begin looking at alternatives away from the club, and ultimately led to his signing for German side Borussia Dortmund in August 2017, having yet to play a senior game.

Having played a handful of games for Dortmund's reserve team, Sancho made his debut for the first team in October 2017, coming on as a substitute in a league game against Eintracht Frankfurt. He made his first start for the club in January 2018, and scored his first senior goal in April against Bayer Leverkusen. His success continued and, despite not yet reaching his 20th birthday, he became a regular for Dortmund over the course of the next year, scoring one and providing an assist in winning the German Supercup in 2019. Two years later, he scored twice to help the club secure their first major trophy for five years in winning the DFB-Pokal. This proved to be his last game for the club, as he joined Manchester United in July 2021. During his time in Germany, he played 137 games for Borussia Dortmund (plus three for the club's reserve side), scoring 50 goals.

Answer: Borussia Dortmund

Jude Bellingham's career began as an under-8 at Birmingham City and, as he got older, saw him introduced into the senior team on a more regular basis. At the age of just 16, he was given a first-team squad number, and made his senior debut in August 2019 to become the youngest first-team player in the club's history. Despite his age, he became a first-team regular for Birmingham, with his prowess seeing him linked with moves to a number of clubs during the transfer window of January 2020. Although he remained at Birmingham for the remainder of the season, the following summer he elected to leave and moved to Borussia Dortmund.

Although he had only just turned 17, Bellingham rapidly became a first-team regular at Dortmund, winning the DFB-Pokal in his first season, and gaining several age records, becoming the club's youngest competitive scorer, as well as the youngest Englishman to play in the Champions League. He was also named as the Bundesliga's Newcomer of the Season in his first year. He continued to gain personal achievement during his time at the club, and was instrumental in Dortmund's league run that culminated in the heartbreak of losing the title on the final day of the season in May 2023. A week after this, Bellingham left Dortmund to sign for Real Madrid, having played 132 times for the German club, scoring 24 goals.