Geoff Thomas marched into the Wembley sun, nonchalantly tossing a ball in his hand. Further up, the black captain’s band hugged his arm under a bulging ‘90s track jacket as he entered the cauldron of noise, colour and tension that was the FA Cup final.
Steve Coppell led the way ahead of him and, to his left, Bryan Robson followed behind Alex Ferguson.
Nine years before, Thomas had been working as an apprentice electrician preparing to take a gamble with fourth-tier Rochdale.
“That was probably my biggest decision,” the midfielder reflects almost four decades later.