WHENEVER the playing career of Graeme Souness is spoken about, his two year spell in Italy can often be overlooked.

The Scotland great moved to Sampdoria in 1984 after a man of the match performance for Liverpool in their European Cup win against Roma in Rome, a match which will be replayed next month when the two meet for the second time to decide who goes to the Champions League final.

Big Ears of Hillhead in Glasgow wants to know more details about his hero’s spell in Serie A. He asks: Was Souness a success and why did he leave the best team in Europe?

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A few months after moving to Italy, Souness appeared on the Worgan Show where he admitted that one of the biggest reasons for quitting Anfield after seven trophy-laden years - he won a treble of League, League Cup and European Cup in his final campaign - was money.

Liverpool may have won the European Cup, but the wages in Italy back then dwarfed even the biggest English clubs.

Souness was a success at Sampdoria where he played 56 times and scored eight goals.

One of these strikes came in the 1984/85 first-leg of the Coppa Italia Final, a 1-0 win against AC Milan in the Sani Siro.

His team won the second game 2-0, Roberto Mancini and Gianluca Vialli scoring, which brought the club their first major trophy.

Of his time in Italy, Souness said: “We had a great President in Paolo Mantovani and he treated everyone like his own son.

“It’s a lovely club in beautiful city. I was lucky enough to be there and I can honestly say it was one of the best times in my career.”

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Neutral John of Lochwinnoch said: I recently read a book detailing results of the national team. It mentions a game between Scotland and Portugal on October 13, 1971 when Scotland won 2-1.

The book gives the Scotland goalscorers as O’Hare and Buchan.However I say that John O’Hare and Archie Gemmill got the goals. Can you help?.

You are correct, John. It was John O’Hare and Archie Gemmill, both at Derby County at the time under Brian Clough, who scored the goals.Martin Buchan made his Scotland debut that night,coming on as a substitute, shortly after Gemmill scored Scotland’s second goal.

This match was a European Championship qualifier.