Laurie Cunningham
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Laurence Paul Cunningham | ||
Date of birth | 8 March 1956 | ||
Place of birth | Archway, London, England | ||
Date of death | 15 July 1989 33) | (aged||
Place of death | Madrid, Spain | ||
Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
Playing position | Left winger | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Appsβ | (Gls)β |
1974β1977 | Leyton Orient | 75 | (15) |
1977β1979 | West Bromwich Albion | 86 | (21) |
1979β1984 | Real Madrid | 44 | (13) |
1983 | β Manchester United (loan) | 5 | (1) |
1983β1984 | β Sporting GijΓ³n (loan) | 30 | (3) |
1984β1985 | Marseille | 30 | (8) |
1985β1986 | Leicester City | 15 | (0) |
1986β1987 | Rayo Vallecano | 37 | (3) |
1987 | Charleroi | 1 | (0) |
1988 | Wimbledon | 6 | (2) |
1988β1989 | Rayo Vallecano | 19 | (1) |
Total | 348 | (67) | |
National team | |||
1977β1978 | England U21 | 6 | (2) |
1978 | England B | 1 | (0) |
1979β1980 | England | 6 | (0) |
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. β Appearances (Goals). |
Laurence Paul "Laurie" Cunningham (8 March 1956 β 15 July 1989) was an England international footballer. Cunningham was reported to be the first black player to represent England at any level (having played at under 21 level). However, in May 2013, The Football Association amended their records Benjamin Odeje holds this record, having represented England 7 years earlier at schoolboy level.[1]
Life
Born in Archway, London, Cunningham started in schoolboy football and was turned down by Arsenal before joining Leyton Orient in 1974.[2] He joined West Bromwich Albion in 1977, where, under manager Johnny Giles, he teamed up with another black player, Cyrille Regis, and the following year (under Ron Atkinson) with Brendon Batson. This was the second time an English top-flight team simultaneously fielded three black players (the first being Clyde Best, Clive Charles and Ade Coker for West Ham United against Tottenham Hotspur in April of 1972) and Atkinson collectively referred to Cunningham, Batson and Regis as 'The Three Degrees' after the legendary U.S. soul singing trio.[2]
West Bromwich Albion became one of the most attractive and exciting English sides in the late 1970s and Cunningham soon attracted attention. He became the second black player to wear an England shirt at any level[3] in the England under-21s' friendly against Scotland at Bramall Lane on 27 April 1977, scoring on his debut.
He subsequently earned a full England cap, making his debut against Wales in a Home International in 1979. He was to win a total of six caps for England.[4]
In the summer of 1979, he made a historic move as the first British player to transfer to Real Madrid, who paid West Bromwich Albion a fee of Β£950,000.[2] He scored twice on his debut and helped Real win the league and cup double.[5] Despite this club success, Cunningham was overlooked by England manager Ron Greenwood for a place in the England squad for Euro 1980.[4]
Shrugging off this disappointment and back at Real Madrid, Cunningham began the 1980β81 season well, and was again called up for England (after bitter negotiations with Real Madrid) for the 1982 World Cup Qualifier against Norway, only to be an unused sub as England won 4β0. In the next qualifier against Romania, he came off the bench but was unable to help England avoid a 2β1 defeat. This was to be his last England cap. Back with Real Madrid, his early season form was good again scoring goals in the early rounds of the European Cup, but then he succumbed to injury, and required an operation on a broken toe.
Cunningham recovered just in time for the 1981 European Cup Final against Liverpool in Paris, as Real Madrid lost 1β0, and though he was clearly not match fit, played the whole match (with some exciting bursts of play). During pre season training for the 1981β82 season, Cunningham's injury jinx continued, as a thigh injury kept him out of the majority of the season (only 3 goalless appearances in the league), his only real noteworthy contribution was in the UEFA Cup quarter final tie against Kaiserslautern.
In the first leg, Cunningham showed that he wasn't quite over the hill with a goal and great performance in Real Madrid's 3β1 win. In the 2nd leg, however, he was sent off shortly before half time for retaliation, as Kaiserslautern won 5β0 to inflict Real Madrid's worst ever result in European competition. Prior to this tie, a finally fit Cunningham had been summoned up for England duty again, but this would be the last time he made an England squad. Cunningham won a 2nd Spanish Cup medal as he played in the final when Real Madrid beat GijΓ³n 2β1, but it was a depressing campaign for him. For the next season, with Real Madrid signing Johnny Metgod to join Uli Stielike as the 2 permitted foreigners,
Cunningham spent most of the 1982β83 season on the sidelines, until he reunited with Ron Atkinson at Manchester United on loan in April 1983. He left Real after the 1982β83 season,[2] joining Sporting GijΓ³n and subsequently Marseille.[4]
Cunningham only remained in France for one season in 1984β85, before heading back to England to join Leicester City, although he played only half a season due to further injury. At the end of the 1985β86 season, Cunningham went back to Spain to play for Rayo Vallecano in the second tier. He moved to Charleroi in Belgium for the 1987β88 campaign, but was yet again struck down by injury, and in the new year was back in England on a short term deal with Wimbledon, where he managed to help the Dons beat Liverpool in the 1988 FA Cup Final.
After sharing in that glory, Cunningham again headed back to Spain and Rayo Vallecano for the 1988β89 season, enjoying an Indian summer and the season was topped off by scoring the goal that secured their promotion to the Primera Liga.[2]
Cunningham was killed in a car crash in Madrid on the morning of 15 July 1989, at the age of 33. He was survived by his Spanish wife and their son.
In 2004, he was named as one of West Bromwich Albion's 16 greatest players, in a poll organised as part of the club's 125th anniversary celebrations.[6]
Career statistics
Club performance | League | Cup | League Cup | Continental | Total | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
Leyton Orient | 1974β75 | Second Division | 17 | 1 | ||||||||
1975β76 | 34 | 8 | ||||||||||
1976β77 | 24 | 6 | ||||||||||
Total | 75 | 15 | ||||||||||
West Bromwich Albion | 1976β77 | First Division | 13 | 6 | ||||||||
1977β78 | 33 | 6 | ||||||||||
1978β79 | 40 | 9 | ||||||||||
Total | 86 | 21 | ||||||||||
Real Madrid | 1979β80 | La Liga | 29 | 8 | ||||||||
1980β81 | 12 | 5 | ||||||||||
1981β82 | 3 | 0 | ||||||||||
1982β83 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
Total | 44 | 13 | ||||||||||
Manchester United | 1982β83 | First Division | 5 | 1 | ||||||||
Sporting GijΓ³n | 1983β84 | La Liga | 30 | 3 | ||||||||
Marseille | 1984β85 | Division 1 | 30 | 8 | ||||||||
Leicester City | 1985β86 | First Division | 15 | 0 | ||||||||
Rayo Vallecano | 1986β87 | Segunda DivisiΓ³n | 37 | 3 | ||||||||
Wimbledon | 1987β88 | First Division | 6 | 2 | ||||||||
Charleroi | 1987β88 | First Division | 1 | 0 | ||||||||
Rayo Vallecano | 1988β89 | Segunda DivisiΓ³n | 19 | 1 | ||||||||
Career total | 348 | 67 |
Honours
- Real Madrid
- Wimbledon
Bibliography
- Bowler, D & Bains, J (2000) Samba in the Smethwick End: Regis, Cunningham, Batson and the Football Revolution ISBN 1-84018-188-5
References
- β "First black England player revealed to be Benjamin Odeje". BBC News. 24 May 2013.
- β 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Shea, Julian (2009) "From Brisbane Road to the Bernabeu", BBC, 15 July 2009
- β FA PRβ Laurie Cunningham
- β 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Laurie Cunningham - Football Career". football-england.com. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
- β Aarons, Ed (4 March 2013). "Laurie Cunningham: Tragic tale of the former Manchester United player who amazed Real Madrid". The Independent (London: Independent Print). Retrieved 13 April 2013.
- β "The wraps come off 125th anniversary mural". West Bromwich Albion FC. 4 August 2004. Retrieved 10 May 2008.
- β "Laurie Cunningham". National Football Teams. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
External links
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