Graeme Souness: How Liverpool’s Greatest Captain Became Their Most Hated Man

He was the greatest captain Liverpool Football Club ever had. He became the most hated man ever to sit in the Anfield dugout. This is the full story of Graeme Souness — the glory, the betrayal, and the astonishing redemption that ended with a 70-year-old man swimming the English Channel. Graeme James Souness was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in May 1953, idolising Rangers legend Jim Baxter. As a teenage apprentice at Tottenham Hotspur he told legendary manager Bill Nicholson he was the best midfielder at the club — then walked out homesick, a story that reached the House of Commons. Sold to Middlesbrough, he became the complete midfielder under Jack Charlton before Bob Paisley paid a record £352,000 to bring him to Liverpool in January 1978. Within four months his pass set up Kenny Dalglish's winner against Bruges at Wembley to retain the European Cup. Handed the captaincy at Christmas 1981 in place of Phil Thompson, Souness led Liverpool to three consecutive First Division league titles, four League Cups in a row — including his winning strike against Everton in the 1984 League Cup final replay at Maine Road — and the 1984 European Cup. In that campaign he broke the jaw of Dinamo Bucharest's Lica Movila, survived the return leg in Romania in front of 60,000 hostile fans, and then dominated the final against AS Roma in Roma's own Stadio Olimpico, where Bruce Grobbelaar's spaghetti legs and Alan Kennedy's penalty won Liverpool their fourth European Cup. Lifting that trophy in Rome was his last act in a red shirt before joining Sampdoria in Italy. After winning the Coppa Italia, he became Rangers player-manager in 1986, signing England internationals Terry Butcher and Chris Woods and breaking Ibrox tradition by signing Mo Johnston in 1989. In April 1991, after Kenny Dalglish resigned, Liverpool called their greatest captain home as manager — and everything unravelled. Peter Beardsley was sold to Everton, Steve McMahon and Ray Houghton followed, and in April 1992, aged just 38, Souness underwent a triple heart bypass. Days later, his exclusive interview appeared in The Sun on April 15th 1992 — the third anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster, in the one newspaper Merseyside had boycotted since its lies about the 97. Souness has called it the biggest regret of his life. He won the 1992 FA Cup against Sunderland from the bench weeks after open-heart surgery, but resigned in January 1994 after defeat to Bristol City. Exiled to Galatasaray, he won the 1996 Turkish Cup against Fenerbahce — and planted a giant Galatasaray flag in the centre circle of Fenerbahce's own stadium, earning the name "Ulubatli Souness" and a place in Turkish football folklore forever. Spells at Southampton, Torino, Benfica, Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United followed, then years as Sky Sports' hardest pundit. Then he met Isla Grist — a young girl from the Scottish Highlands living with epidermolysis bullosa (butterfly skin). In June 2023, aged 70, Souness swam the English Channel in a six-person relay alongside Isla's father, 21 miles in 12 hours and 17 minutes, raising millions for DEBRA and EB research. Hero. Villain. Both true. Where do you stand? Tell us in the comments. CHAPTERS: 0:00 The Water — Cold Open 1:43 The Boy Who Knew — Edinburgh & Tottenham 4:32 The King of Anfield — 1978–1984 7:53 The Return of the King — Rangers & the 1991 Homecoming 10:48 The Crack — The Sun & Hillsborough 13:25 Exile & the Flag — Galatasaray 1996 15:37 The Turn — Isla Grist & the Channel Swim 17:24 The Close #LiverpoolFC #GraemeSouness #LFC #PremierLeague #FootballDocumentary #TheAnfieldArchives Subscribe for more quality football videos! ➡️    / @theanfieldarchives   All materials in these videos are used for educational purposes and fall within the guidelines of fair use. No copyright infringement intended. If you are or represent the copyright owner of materials used in this video and have a problem with the use of said material, please send us an email, TheAnfieldArchives@gmail.com, and we can sort it out. AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE: Some of the links in this video's description are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, the owner may earn a commission if you click through, make a purchase, and/or opt-in.