Exclusive: Blackburn legend Bryan Douglas did THAT Messi and Suarez penalty in the 1960s
THE surroundings were a little less salubrious and the crowd did not number the tens of thousands but everything else about Lionel Messi's penalty transported Bryan Douglas back in time.
Bryan Douglas tried a similar penalty in the 1960s
Back to the 1960s and a game between Blackburn Rovers and Barrow when the former England midfielder provoked the same furious reaction now being debated after Messi's outrageous spot-kick routine on Sunday evening.
The Argentine passed up the chance to net his 300th La Liga goal for Barcelona and instead put a hat-trick on a plate for Luis Suarez when tapping the ball to the side for his team-mate to race forward and fire beyond startled Celta Vigo goalkeeper Sergio Alvarez.
The moment evoked memories of Johan Cruyff's own audacious trickery, though before both of them came Douglas.
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Douglas - whose name is synonymous in Blackburn's history with Ronnie Clayton with the duo having made 1168 appearances between them in the 1950s and 1960s - already has a stand named after him at Ewood Park.
Today, he will be back at his old stomping ground for a presentation at which he will have a bus named in his honour.
And he has a word of advice for the Class of 2016 if they are awarded a penalty against Fulham tonight or in Sunday's FA Cup tie with West Ham.
"It's not alright doing that if you miss," he said.