Jan Molby
Hailed by his former
Liverpool manager and team-mate Kenny Dalglish as
"one of the finest midfield players of his generation" the great Dane
was a contemporary in the celebrated Ajax youth academy, with Marco van Basten, Frank Rijkaard and Jesper Olsen. He also came under the influence of Dutch
master Johann Cruyff.
Molby was signed by Liverpool boss Joe
Fagan for £225,000 in August 1984, following the departure of Graeme Souness. The fee was a bargain for one of the most
successful of English football's foreign imports, who combined subtlety and
power. Molby's passing, long or short, was
wonderfully measured.
He was also an expert
penalty taker, scoring 42 spot kicks, and in November
1986 earned a niche in the record books with a penalty hat trick against
Coventry in the League Cup.
Molby made 52 appearances in Liverpool's
League and FA Cup double season of 1985/86 before playing for Denmark in the
World Cup Finals in Mexico. He won a second title medal in 1990 and another F A
Cup medal in 1992. Although twice on the verge of moves (to Barcelona and
Everton) he became the first foreigner to serve 10 years with one English club
before becoming Swansea player boss in 1996.