Ian Rush Best Welsh Footballers ~ Top Greatest Player Football

Ian James Rush, MBE (born 20 October 1961) is a Welsh former footballer who played as a striker and is best known for playing with Liverpool. Rush was a regular goalscorer for Liverpool FC and the Welsh national football team during the 1980s and 1990s.
At club level, he also represented Chester, Juventus, Leeds United, Newcastle United, Sheffield United, Wrexham and Sydney Olympic before retiring from playing in 1999.

After leaving St Richard Gwyn Catholic High School, Flint, in 1978, Rush began his career at Football League Third Division side Chester City. After impressing in the youth ranks, he went on to play 34 League games and score 14 goals after making his debut in April 1979 in a 2–2 draw with Sheffield Wednesday in midfield, but established himself as a potent centre forward the following season. His first league goal came when Chester drew 2–2 at Gillingham on 15 September 1979 and he became a regular a couple of months later following the sale of regular centre-forward Ian Edwards to Wrexham.

Rush's reputation was enhanced by scoring for Chester in a shock 2–0 FA Cup third round win at Newcastle United in January 1980, with Chester equalling their best run by reaching the last 16 where they narrowly lost to Ipswich Town two rounds later. His last game for Chester was a 2–1 win over Southend United at Sealand Road on 26 April 1980 in which he did not score.
Despite interest from Manchester City, and in spite of Rush being a boyhood Everton fan, Liverpool won the race to sign the 18-year old in April 1980. Manager Bob Paisley paid a record fee for a teenager of £300,000. It remains Chester's record sale 28 years on.
Rush was managed throughout his time at Chester by Alan Oakes, although much of the credit for his development is given to youth manager Cliff Sear. Nearly 20 years later, Rush and Sear worked together on the coaching staff at Wrexham.
Rush made his Welsh debut before he had been handed his first start for Liverpool, playing his first match on 21 May 1980 against Scotland. Rush played regularly for the Welsh national team scoring a record 28 goals in 73 games.

Unfortunately during his career the team never qualified for a major tournament, although in 1991 he scored the winning goal in a memorable Euro 92 qualifier against Germany. Wales would narrowly miss out on qualifying for the finals, as happened during Rush's career for World Cups in 1982, 1986 and 1994 and Euro 88. This puts him in a group with other football legends such as George Best and fellow Welshman Ryan Giggs to have never played in a major international tournament.
Another famous international winner by Rush was in a friendly against Italy in Brescia in June 1988. After a largely disappointing year in Italy, Rush helped silence his critics by bagging the only goal as Wales claimed a shock 1–0 win.(Wikipedia)