Former Everton striker recalls 1995 FA Cup win, as well as his famous semi-final cameo

 

Daniel Amokachi will always live long in the minds of Everton football fans.

The Nigerian striker, who spent two seasons at Goodison Park between 1994-1996, was a key man for the Merseyside club in their run to winning the 1995 FA Cup, especially for his semi-final appearance.

Against his manager’s approval, the player somehow managed to substitute himself onto the pitch, and scored two goals to ensure his team would go to the final.

Speaking to FIFA’s official website on Friday, the player recalled the game, and explained his decision to jump onto the pitch to replace Paul Rideout despite only being asked to warm up by Joe Royle, Everton’s manager at the time.

He said: “I remember turning back to the bench and seeing Joe Royle jumping off the bench: ‘What the hell are you doing?’ The beautiful thing is that 10 minutes later, I end up scoring two goals. That was the ticket that took us to Wembley.”

Now manager of Finnish Second Division side JS Hercules following a brief stint as his country’s interim head coach, the 43-year-old explained what it was like to beat Manchester United to lift the cup.

He said: “For me to be a part of it and to be the first ever African to win an FA Cup medal, it couldn’t get better than that. To beat Manchester United in the final when we were struggling to avoid relegation, it was even sweeter.”

Sold to Besiktas in 1996, the player suffered a knee injury just ahead of the 1998 FIFA World Cup, which practically ended his career, forcing him to retire at the age of 28.

Still, he can boast winning the FA Cup, as well as picking up a gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Not a bad career, in the grand scheme of things.