As Michael Hughes celebrates his 55th birthday today, we look at some of his best moments playing for Northern Ireland.
Two of Michael Hughes’ five goals at international level were scored against Germany.
The midfielder/forward, who made his senior debut in a Euro 1992 qualifier against Yugoslavia in March 1991, scored his first international goal against the Germans in June 1992 - in a friendly in Bremen which ended one apiece.
In August 1997, against the same opponents in a 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifier at Windsor Park, Hughes gave Northern Ireland the lead close to the hour mark. However, Germany striker Oliver Bierhoff then bagged a hat-trick (the quickest in German national team history) to seal a 3-1 victory for the visitors.
The talented winger’s other goals in a Northern Ireland shirt came against Portugal in Porto in September 1995 (UEFA Euro 1996 qualifier), Malta in Valletta in March 2000 (friendly) and Iceland in Belfast at the start of September 2001 (FIFA World Cup 2002 qualifier).
Hughes might not have been prolific in front of goal, however he weighed in with plenty of assists as he made 71 appearances for his country between 1991 and 2004.
The attacker began his career at Carrick Rangers before moving to Manchester City as a trainee initially. He would go on to make 26 appearances for City’s senior team between 1988 and 1992.
The next part of his footballing journey was a spell in France with Strasbourg, for whom he played 83 games and scored nine goals. During his time there he was loaned out to West Ham United for two separate periods. He eventually signed permanently for West Ham in the summer of 1996 but only stayed for a season. Across his three spells at the Hammers he made just over 80 appearances.
Next stop was Wimbledon where he scored 13 goals in 115 matches between 1997 and 2002.
There was a registration dispute between Wimbledon and Birmingham City in 2002 which kept him out of the game for over a year.
In October 2003 the saga ended when he signed for Crystal Palace. He enjoyed a productive spell at Selhurst Park and played 126 times for the Eagles.
He saw out his playing days with Coventry City and non-league outfit St Neots Town.
When he hung up his boots Hughes returned to Northern Ireland to manage Carrick Rangers on a caretaker basis for a short period circa 2013.
Throughout his 71 appearances for Northern Ireland, Hughes displayed plenty of individual brilliance and was a quality operator.
Happy Birthday Michael!
