Based on report from planet football saying In 1996, some of Europe’s biggest clubs were angling to sign Mark Fish.
Fish had just starred as part of the South Africa team that made history by winning the Africa Cup of Nations on home soil after a 33-year exile from the international game.
A former striker successfully converted into a defender, Fish’s exploits for Bafana Bafana had several major clubs in the hunt for his signature.
There was tentative interest from Bayern Munich, though ultimately it was Lazio and Manchester United who ended up vying for his signature.
“I spoke to Sir Alex Ferguson and actually watched Manchester United play against Everton on a Monday night,” Fish recalls.
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Ferguson told the defender he had come highly recommended by Sir Bobby Charlton, who had watched him play for South Africa, but Ferguson still needed some convincing.
“He wanted me to train with them for a few weeks, acclimatise to the weather and the way his team played,” Fish said. While the South African appeared happy with the offer, his agents told him he was under obligation to speak to Lazio.
When he arrived in Rome, he found an entirely different situation awaiting him. “They just wanted to sign me straight away,” Fish says. “So that was it.”
“For me, the attraction was Serie A. I was a Serie A fan in the 90s. It was the best league in the world with the best players playing there,” he explains. “Obviously as a defender that’s the place where you want to go and learn your trade.”
