The word legend is overused in football parlance but, in the case of Rod Haider, it is a massive understatement. Rod has a place in England football history as he won 65 England Amateur international caps, and as that tier of football ended in 1974, no one will pass his total (second on the list is another Hendon legend, John Swannell - 60).

Rod joined Hendon from Kingstonian - much to their disappointment - in 1967, having already won 10 England Amateur caps. A tireless worker in midfield, he had the uncanny ability to time his runs into the penalty area to finish off attacks with a goal. Rod's debut came in the opening game of the 1967-68 season, a 5-0 victory over Dulwich Hamlet at Champion Hill, and the first goal came three days later, in a 5-2 defeat of Walthamstow Avenue at Claremont Road.

However, Rod's debut season was his equally-least productive in terms of goals for Hendon. He appeared in 34 League matches and nine cup ties and scored eight goals - the only one of his 12 campaigns in which he failed to register in a knock-out fixture. For the first four seasons, as Hendon slipped from highest echelon of the Isthmian League, Rod was one of the most consistent performers. He had the happy knack of avoiding serious injury and never missed more than half a dozen league matches in any season until he left the club - aged almost 37 - in November 1979.

The first half of the 1970s was Rod's greatest spell. The club captain, he had the honour of leading Hendon out at Wembley Stadium for the 1972 FA Amateur Cup final against Enfield. The Greens scored midway through the first half and, after soaking up huge Es' pressure, sealed the 2-0 win in the last couple of minutes. It was Rod who paraded the Amateur Cup to the Hendon faithful for the third and final time. In 58 League and cup appearances, he scored an astonishing 23 goals - one almost every two-and-a-half games.

Five months later, it was off to Italy as Hendon represented England in the Barassi Cup - dubbed the European Amateur Championship, though it was an Anglo-Italian challenge - and a 1-1 draw against Unione Valdinvole gave Hendon a 3-1 aggregate victory. Rod had scored Hendon's second goal at Claremont Road. Once again, there was Haider lifting a trophy aloft. The Greens enjoyed a very special campaign, winning the Isthmian League championship after an unbeaten run that stretched 38 matches from 8 August to 17 April.

Rod's busiest season was in 1973-74 and he, once again, hit the national headlines. This time it was in the FA Cup because, after 3-0 victories over Barnet (in a fourth-qualifying round replay), Leytonstone and Merthyr Tydfil, Hendon reached the third round proper. There, the Greens were drawn away to Newcastle United and, after conceding a goal to Pat Howard just before half-time, Rod was on the end of a free-kick move to make it 1-1. He nearly grabbed a second late on, but the Magpies held on and won the replay 4-0. Hendon's campaign was arduous in the extreme as a nine-match FA Amateur Cup run ended with a third-round second replay exit at the hands of Leatherhead.

Rod missed only one of 67 matches that season - of which 16 came in 39 days from 9 April 1974. At the end of that season, most of the team moved elsewhere, but Rod stayed loyal to the Club where he had enjoyed so much success. He turned down numerous offers to go elsewhere - he had been offered pro terms earlier in his career - and indeed missed only three matches in the five seasons from 1974-75. His ability to score key goals had been shown in 1969 as he netted the only goal of the London Senior Cup final, and eight years later, as he repeated the feat in the League Cup final against Barking. In addition he scored in one Middlesex Senior Cup final and two Middlesex Charity Cup final wins.

In 1979, Rod was appointed player-manager, a role he took on reluctantly and it was not a huge success. He stopped playing for Hendon in November that year and a little later, was sacked as manager. It was the signal for Rod to move on to pastures new and he had spells as a player and coach at both Harrow Borough and Hayes, before playing veterans football for Corinthian Casuals, finally retiring aged 57!

Born : 23 January 1943
Joined Hendon : Summer 1967
Left Hendon : 1979-80 season
Appearances : 696
Goals : 165
Winner's Medals : FA Amateur Cup (1971-72), Barassi Cup (1972-73), Isthmian League (1972-73), Isthmian League Cup (1976-77), London Senior Cup (1968-69), Middlesex Senior Cup (1971-72, 1972-73, 1973-74), Middlesex Charity Cup (1975-76, 1976-77, 1978-79)

(David Ballheimer)