'He was a great player and an even better person' - former Sheffield United team mates remember Alex Sabella

What popped up on the screen wasn’t about a relative. But the social media post, which the former Sheffield United midfielder admits has left him in something of a trance, did refer to someone he regarded as part of his footballing family.

“I couldn’t believe it when I read that Alex was gone,” Hamson says, remembering the moment he discovered Alejandro Sabella, his friend and team mate, had passed away. “There was a tribute message on Facebook, someone had put it on there, and after just starting at it for a while I thought ‘This can’t be true’ because I couldn’t find anything else about it on the internet.

“To begin with I just thought the person had made a mistake. Then, when the official confirmation came through, I realised they hadn’t. It’s devastating. Just devastating. I can’t believe it’s happened.”

Sabella, who made 88 appearances during two years at Bramall Lane, died in hospital in his native Buenos Aires on Tuesday following a long period of ill health which had seen him receive treatment for heart problems and cancer. Aged 66, he played for a number of clubs, including River Plate and Leeds, and managed Argentina to the 2014 World Cup final where they were beaten in extra-time by Germany. But in South Yorkshire, Sabella is best remembered for the time he spent with United - a spell which, as Hamson remembers, saw him hypnotise supporters, opponents and colleagues alike with his intoxicating blend of Latin glamour and magic.

“Every footballer loves playing, loves having a ball at their feet” Hamson confesses. “But watching Alex close up, seeing his skills every day in training and what he could do during a game, well, that was a joy in itself.

“You just used to stand back and admire him, soak up everything he did and the ease he seemed to do it with. That was a pretty grey era in a way, with the image our sport had back then. But Alex was like a beacon.”

Like Hamson, who he describes as being “closer to Alex than anyone” at United, Imre Varadi was a youngster still making his way in the game when he first met Sabella following his move to England in 1978; the club paying £160,000 to acquire his services after famously deciding another little known Argentine youngster, called Diego Maradona, was too expensive. Varadi, went on to represent Sheffield Wednesday, Manchester City and Newcastle, also has many vivid memories of the enigmatic and politically engaged South American. Born into a middle class family, Sabella was part of the left-wing Peronist movement during his days as a law student.

“We all stayed in a big house on Moncrieffe Road in Nether Edge at the time, it’s a kindergarten now but we got taken care of by a lovely couple who made our breakfast, tea and did everything for us,” Varadi says. “I used to get the bus from there to training every day with Alex. If players moved to the area, the club used to put them in with us and so he spent time there with his wife before they eventually got a place of their own.

“What a player he was. And I mean what a player. He used to mesmerise me with what he could do. He just used to seem to glide past people effortlessly, as if they weren’t there. I’d never seen anything like it.”

“Alex was quiet but he was funny,” Varadi continues. “He used to like a joke and he’d make you laugh with little observations. He mucked in too. A load of us used to climb down the drainpipe on a Saturday night to go to a club down the road called TurnUps. You could get away with it back then and I’m pretty sure Alex will have come with us.”

Hamson left United 12 months after Sabella’s arrival, joining Jimmy Adamson’s Leeds. However he was reunited with his pal when Sabella was lured to Elland Road in 1980. Following 19 months there, he returned home - representing Estudiantes before becoming a coach following spells with Gremio, Ferro Carril Oeste and Deportivo Irapuato in Mexico.

“When Alex came, because we knew each other, he roomed with me on away trips,” Hamson says. “Like Imre said, he was quiet but when we were staying together, he’d talk a lot more.

“Because we’d been together at United, and Alex still had so much love for them even after leaving, he gravitated towards me I suppose. We’d sit next to each other at training and before matches.

“Dressing rooms can be cold places but Alex was someone everyone warmed to because of his personality. He was a lovely, genuine man.”

One, Varadi explains, with a tough streak too.

“You’ve got to remember what it was like back then. Alex, because of how he played, he used to get kicked from pillar to post but he never complained - that’s another thing I’ll always remember about him, he never once moaned. He just picked himself up and got on with it. Brilliant.”

Hamson agrees, although the brutal tactics opposition defenders used to employ to try and stop his progress weren’t the only things which tested Sabella’s patience.

“He didn’t like getting kicked, you could tell by the look he’d give when it happened,” Hamson says. “And Alex hated the cold. It snowed once, there’s a picture of it somewhere, and he didn’t know what it was to begin with.

“I sometimes get asked who is most like Alex now and the person who springs to mind is David Silva, who got a lot more protection. Alex was a great player. He was an even better person.”

An important message: To help us maintain the high-quality reporting that you are used to from the football team at The Star, please consider taking out a subscription to our new discounted sports-only package. You'll find all the details at https://www.thestar.co.uk/subscriptions/sports. Your support is much appreciated.