Ian Porterfield is one of those forgotten FA Cup heroes. When the 1973 FA Cup Final is brought up in conversation the moment etched into everyone’s memory is not Porterfield’s winning goal, but Jimmy Montgomery’s amazing double save. Second Division Sunderland beat high-flying Leeds 1-0 as a result of Ian Porterfield’s volley after Leeds failed to clear a corner. But after being a vital member of the first team outside the top flight ton win the FA Cup in 42 years, what happened to Ian Porterfield?

After the ’73 Cup Final Porterfield was involved in a life-threatening car accident, he returned to football 18 months later but he was never the same player. He left Sunderland in 1977 and joined Sheffield Wednesday where he played for two years, notching up over 100 appearances and scored three goals.

Porterfield went straight from playing to managing, and when he took the helm at Rotherham in 1979 no one could have predicted where Sunderland’s ’73 FA Cup hero would end up.

In 1981, Porterfield won the Third Division with Rotherham, beating local rivals Barnsley to the title by two points. The following season he dropped two divisions to take over at Sheffield United where he experienced similar success, in five years he guided The Blades from the Fourth Division to the Second Division before he was sacked.

In 1986 Porterfield moved north of the border to take over from Alex Ferguson at Aberdeen. Despite having big shoes to fill, Porterfield managed to reach the Scottish League Cup Final in 1988, losing to Rangers on penalties, and twice qualified for Europe. After resigning from his post in Scotland he had a brief time in charge of Reading before taking over at Chelsea.

Porterfield has the infamous distinction of being the first manager in the Premier League era to be sacked when he parted ways with Chelsea in 1993 following a post-Christmas slump. It was after this that Porterfield embarked on a managerial journey that would see him manage national teams in four different continents.

After leaving Chelsea, Porterfield took over as manager of a Zambian national side who had recently lost 18 players in a plane crash. Despite being apprehensive about taking the job he was a big success. He narrowly missed out on qualifying for the 1994 World Cup Finals, but took Zambia to the final of the African Nations Cup the same year. Porterfield was later awarded the Freedom of Zambia.

Porterfield’s managerial journey then took him to Saudi Arabia and Zimbabwe before a brief stint as Colin Todd’s assistant at Bolton in 1996. Following Bolton’s relegation, Porterfield resigned as a result of a  drink-driving charge and went back to manage overseas.

He went on to become boss of Oman in 1997 and Trinidad and Tobago in 2000, taking the latter to national high 25th in the FIFA World Rankings but once again narrowly missed out on World Cup qualification.

In 2003 Porterfield then went back to club management in South Korea with K-League team Busan I’Park where he won the Korea Cup

His final national side post was in Armenia where he became a hero after managing his side to back to back wins over Kazakhstan and Poland in 2006.

Porterfield was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2007 and unfortunately lost his battle and died in September of the same year. Forever remembered as a cult hero in the North East a minute silence was observed prior to Sunderland’s game with Reading on 15th September 2007.

To relive the classic 1973 FA Cup Final, watch the video below.

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Click on Giorgia Palmas below to see her in all her glory