Mark Wayne Hateley, nicknamed Attila during his time in Milan, is an English former footballer who played as a centre forward. Hateley's breakthrough season came at Second Division side Portsmouth, where he ended the 1983–84 season as the club's top goalscorer. He then moved to A.C. Milan, and despite his time at the club affected by inconsistent performances and injuries, he is fondly remembered for his winning goal against Inter Milan in 1984. In 1987, Hateley signed for Monaco, winning the league in his first season at the Monegasque club. In 1990, he signed for Rangers. In his five year spell at the club, he was a part of a title winning squad in every season, and he attained personal success in the 1993–94 season, as he was voted both the SFWA Footballer of the Year and the SPFA Players' Player of the Year, as well as the league's top goalscorer with twenty-two goals. He briefly rejoined the club in 1997, as there were no available forwards for the Old Firm match, but was sent off on his second debut. In 1999, Hateley was named as part of Rangers' greatest ever team, and in 2003, he was inducted to Rangers' Hall of Fame. From 1984 to 1992, Hateley made thirty-two appearances for the English national team, scoring nine goals. He was a member of the squads for the 1986 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 1988.
Hateley started his career at Coventry City, playing over 90 games in the First Division before moving to Portsmouth in the Second Division in the summer of 1983. He scored 22 league goals for them in the 1983–84 season On 28 June 1984 he was transferred to A.C. Milan for £1million. Despite his inconsistent performances, a series of injuries, and a poor goalscoring rate for the club under Nils Liedholm, he is remembered fondly by the Milan fans for a decisive and historic match-winning goal he scored in a 2–1 win against Inter in the Milan Derby on 28 October 1984, beating out former Milan defender Fulvio Collovati with a header; this was the first time Milan had beaten Inter in the Derby in six years. Arsène Wenger then signed him for AS Monaco in 1987 and he was part of the team which won the French Division 1 title in 1987-88. After three years at Monaco, Hateley returned to Britain in a £1million move to Rangers on 19 July 1990. Manager Graeme Souness had attempted to bring him to Ibrox three years earlier from A.C. Milan. Hateley became a key part of the Rangers side, and was voted player of the year by the Scottish Football Writers in 1993–94. He scored 87 Premier Division goals for Rangers and scored 112 goals in all competitions. Rangers were league champions in every season that Hateley played for them, as they went on a run of nine successive league titles which lasted from 1989 until 1997. After making 165 League appearances with Rangers he moved to Queens Park Rangers in November 1995, for a fee of £1.5million. In early 1997, with Rangers trying to win their ninth title in a row, and with a huge injury list, manager Walter Smith desperately needed a striker, and re-signed Hateley for £300,000 for the vital game against Rangers' biggest rivals, Celtic. Rangers won the game 1–0 but Hateley was sent off for headbutting Stewart Kerr. He played four times in his second spell at Rangers, scoring once, and transferred to Hull City in July 1997, where he acted as player-manager. Hateley managed Hull from the summer of 1997 until November 1998. He ended his playing career with Ross County in September 1999 but only played two games for them.
International career
On 2 June 1984 Hateley was capped for England at senior level for the first time in a 2–0 friendly defeat to the USSR. In his next game eight days later, he scored in a 2–0 victory over Brazil. By the end of 1984, he had been capped six times by England and scored three goals. He made the last of his 32 England appearances in a 2–2 friendly draw with Czechoslovakia in 1992.
Style of play
A traditional target man, Hateley was a physical centre-forward who was known in particular for his strength in the air and ability to score goals with his head.
Personal life
Father to four children : Emma, Lucy, Faye and Tom. Mark's son, Tom is also a footballer playing for Piast Gliwice in the Polish Ekstraklasa. Tom was born in Monaco during Mark's spell at AS Monaco and would later play in Scotland, England and Poland. His late father, Tony was also a footballer who played in the English First Division for teams including Aston Villa, Chelsea, Liverpool and Notts County amongst others during the 1950s to 70s. At one stage, Tony's transfer fees totalled the most for any player in England.
