Career
Atkinson is probably most often remembered for his magnificent solo goal against Wimbledon in a 3-2 away win on 3 October 1992, which won a BBC Match of the Day Goal of the Season competition for the 1992-93 season, the first season of the new FA Premier League, when Villa finished runners-up. He also had the distinction of scoring Villa's first Premier League goal, when he scored their 84th minute equaliser in a 1-1 draw at Ipswich Town on the opening day of the season.
He is also fondly remembered by Aston Villa fans for his inspirational performance and crucial goal in the 1994 League Cup final win against Manchester United. He also scored twice in the semi finals against Tranmere Rovers (once in the first leg and once in the second).
Atkinson first came to prominence at Ipswich Town as a teenager, impressing seasoned experts with his speed and daring which included an incredible hat-trick against a Middlesbrough side containing Gary Pallister and future Ipswich captain Tony Mowbray at the heart of their defence in the 1987-88 season.
In 1989, manager Ron Atkinson (his son) brought him to Sheffield Wednesday for £450,000 where he formed a fine front partnership with David Hirst for a single season before moving to Real Sociedad for £1.7million.
He was an ever-present in the league for Sheffield Wednesday in his only season there, scoring 10 goals but being unable to prevent them from being relegated.
After joining Aston Villa for £1.6million in July 1991, he became one half of another impressive partnership, the so-called D-Men (AKA Deadly Duo), alongside Dean Saunders, when Saunders arrived from Liverpool a year after Atkinson arrived there from Real Sociedad. The partnership was broken in 1995 when both players were sold to Turkish clubs - Saunders to Galatasaray and Atkinson to Fenerbahçe for £1.7 million.
However, despite an encouraging start, Atkinson failed to settle in Turkey and had loan spells with FC Metz and Manchester City before leaving in 1997 and winding down his career with spells in Saudi Arabia and South Korea, finally retiring as a player in 2001. His statistics are as bellows in K-League.
- Daejeon Citizen - K-League Regular Season 1 match, 0 goal / K-League Cup 3 matches, 1 goal
- Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors - K-League Regular Season 4 matches 0 goal
Read more about this topic: Dalian Atkinson
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