Italia 90. The last-16. A grudge match between the Netherlands and West Germany.

Matches between the countries had always been tense. The 1974 World Cup final had been a showcase of the talented Dutch playing what they believed to be the most attractive style of play in the world, but one that ultimately failed when it came to the decisive moments where medals were handed out. In 1980 at the European Championships, the Germans would come out victorious again, but only after goalkeeper Toni Schumacher and Huub Stevens had got into it. When the Dutch finally won an international trophy at the Euros in West Germany in 1988, it came after a tense semi-final against the hosts in Hamburg. Goals from Koeman and van Basten, and Olaf Thon’s shirt being used by Koeman to wipe his arse, added to the simmering tensions that had lasted the few decades since the end of the Second World War and the occupation in the Netherlands. The two were then drawn together in the qualifiers for World Cup 1990, and during the match in Rotterdam, Dutch fans unfurled a banner depicting Lothar Matthäus, the German captain, as Hitler.

It’s no wonder 1990 would continue the pattern of aggression.

The San Siro in Milan was the location for the second round battle. Frank Rijkaard, Ruud Gullit, and Marco van Basten all played for AC Milan. In 1988 they would finish top three in that years Ballon d’Or. The last three years before the World Cup had seen van Basten and Gullit take home the award, and Matthäus would go on to win it in 1990. Serie A was the place to be.

Andreas Brehme, Lothar Matthäus, and Jurgen Klinsmann all played for Inter Milan. A clash at the San Siro seemed apt.

Rudi Völler was playing for Roma, so it was a real Italian affair, with even more players signing for Serie A clubs after the World Cup that summer.

The match was bad-tempered, tetchy, and feisty from the off, as was expected. Völler and Rijkaard of course knew each other from both club and international football. The battle was from minute one, and by the 21^st minute it had already boiled over. Rijkaard was shown a yellow card for a bad tackle on Völler, and as the Dutchman got up to walk away, he spat towards Völler. The big ball of phlegmy spit landed in Rudi’s lovely curly hair. He got up to protest to the referee, got booked and then just a minute later the pair clashed again. Both were given red cards and as they walked off the pitch together Rijkaard spat at Völler again!

West Germany would win the match 2-1 and become champions a couple of weeks later.

There are very few spitting incidents in football, but surprisingly even Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have spat at opponents on the pitch. The beautiful game can get tasty at times, and even the very best, and the usually calm players lose their cool from time to time. What made this incident at Italia 90 so interesting was that it was so out of character for the mild-mannered, composed, and intelligent Rijkaard.

A few years later, the pair would reunite in even stranger circumstances, advertising butter.