Mark Hughes loves a challenge, as he demonstrated earlier in the year when he took over a struggling Bradford City in League Two’s bottom half.
His willingness to face-to-face whatever was in front of him led to the 72-cap WalesA striker who agreed to play twice the same day during the peak of his professional career. As if that wasn’t taxing enough, the two games were in different countries.
“I’d just joined Bayern Munich,” Hughes tells The Athletic. “My debut had been the Saturday before and I’d got fogged in, so couldn’t get home. So, I went to (Bayern general manager) Uli Hoeness’ house for dinner.
“Wales were due to play Czechoslovakia in a European (Championships) qualifier a few days later and he asked what time it was due to kick-off. It was either 3pm, or 4pm.
“Bayern had a cup tie later the same day so Uli asked, ‘You can play for us at night in the cup?’. Uli knew that Soren Lerby, a Danish boy, had done it before. I expected him to do the exact same thing with me.
“It ended up with me flying back from the Wales game — actually over the stadium where Bayern were playing — and arriving at half-time.”
Hughes became a hero in the Olympic Stadium in November 1987 in true Roy of Rovers fashion after he flew 200 miles in a private jet to get from Prague to Munich.
“Not quite,” laughs the 58-year-old, who had been whisked away from playing the whole of Wales’ 2-0 defeat behind the then-still-standing Iron Curtain by Lada still sporting his kit. “Though Bayern did win 3-2 (against Borussia Monchengladbach) and I came on when we were a goal behind.
“I’d love to tell you I changed the game. I was the one who won.
