Barry Davies on Where were the Germans?: ‘You don’t think about it at the time, you say what you think’

Legendary TV commentator Barry Davies recalls being behind the mic at the Seoul men’s hockey final in 1988

‘Nigel wasn’t desperately happy about it when it came to the crunch,” says Barry Davies, who will of course be remembered for uttering his famous ‘Where were the Germans…’ phrase come the final. “It was one thing making a decision back in London and another when you see how it develops. There was an expectation that GB were strong contenders.’

The agreement with the BBC’s head of sport was that Davies would do the last two matches and fellow commentator Nigel Starmer-Smith behind the microphone for the round robin and build-up to the backend of the tournament.

Davies was asked to stand down from the GB semi-final against Australia, with Starmer-Smith due to return back to the UK the following day to resume rugby duties. ‘As a result, I only did the final and of course it’s the only match that everyone ever talks about! It was a bit tough on Nigel!’ he adds.