Alun Evans
Alun William Evans ( born April 30, 1949 in Kidderminster, England ) is a former English footballer. His most successful period he had from 1968 to 1972 at Liverpool. He also pioneered and was active both in 1967 in the USA and in 1978 in Australia as each one of the first players in the local newly formed professional leagues.
Career
Evans started his professional career at Wolverhampton Wanderers. In the 1967/68 season he joined the first team of the Wolves, who were, went straight into the Football League First Division, the then highest English league.
In the summer of 1967, he was with parts of his team Wolverhampton Wanderers for a guest performance in the U.S., where they participated as Los Angeles Wolves at the newly founded professional league of the United Soccer Association. After the Wolves completed the preliminary round of the Western Division as the leader, they met on 14 July 1967 in the final game to the Washington Whips, which consisted of the players of the Scottish club Aberdeen FC. The Wolves won the final after extra time 6-5 and thus secured the first and only title of this league, which was at the end of the season through a merger of North American Soccer League.
After just one season in Wolverhampton to Evans in 1968 completed at Liverpool. The transfer fee of £ 100,000 made him the most expensive young players in the UK. On September 21, 1968 Evans made his debut in the league game against Leicester City and, also achieved his first goal in a 4-0 success. In his first season at Liverpool he completed 33 games in which he scored seven. At the end of the 1968/69 season, the Reds were runners-up behind Leeds United. After a weak season 1969/70, Evans showed at the beginning of the 1970/71 season again perform better, until he lost his place due to injury problems. In addition to a serious injury he suffered in November 1970 in a match against Dinamo Bucharest and forced in to a four-month break, he was also seriously wounded in the face when he was attacked in a nightclub in Wolverhampton with a glass. Evans had to be sewn with 70 stitches and was left with some scars.
Only towards the end of the season he returned to the team, where he was in the quarterfinals of the Fair Cup - impressively reported back - the predecessor of the UEFA Cup competition. 3-0 first-leg win against FC Bayern Munich, he scored all three goals, and thus laid the foundation for the semi-finals, in which Liverpool had to give, however, beaten by eventual winners Leeds United is. Even in the semi-finals of the FA Cup against local rivals Everton FC Evans scored a vital goal which meant the finals. However, 100,000 spectators at London's Wembley Stadium, the Reds were subject to 2-1 after extra time against Arsenal. Because Arsenal won the championship, took part in the Liverpool FC the following season at the European Cup Winners' Cup. In the second round they met again on the German champions FC Bayern Munich. In the 1-3 defeat in the return leg Evans succeeded the interim score back to 1:2 with a remarkable shot on the turn from 16 yards, which was elected in Germany for Goal of the Month in November 1971. After the signing of Kevin Keegan, however, Evans made in the round 1971/72 only a few games, so he finally left the club in 1972 after 111 duty stakes.
His goal was the club Aston Villa, who played at the time in the Football League Second Division. Evans played two and a half years in the second division for the Villans and won the 1975 League Cup with a 1-0 victory in the final against Norwich City. In December 1975 he moved to third division side FC Walsall in the Football League Third Division. Only five months after joining Aston Villa managed to rise again in the first division. Evans remained until 1978 in Walsall.
At the end of his career, Evans moved again to Australia. There he first played from 1978 to 1982 for five seasons for South Melbourne FC in the National Soccer League. The club, which had won in the 1960s and 1970s regularly the state championship of Victoria, had in the newly founded only in 1977 the first national league first adjustment difficulties and in 1979 Table. In the following years the club from Melbourne sat with Evans help but in the top tier firm and was first time in 1984 to celebrate the championship. Since Evans had, however, already closed after one year intermezzo in the Morwell Falcons in 1983 his career because of a broken leg.
Because he had met his wife in Australia, Evans remained after end of his career there and settled in Melbourne. He chatted with part-time jobs over water and worked part-time as a painter and decorator. Evans has two sons and a daughter.
Achievements
- Master the United Soccer Association: 1967
- League Cup winner: 1975
- English runner-up: 1969
- Finalist of the FA Cup: 1971
- Goal of the Month: November 1971