This time last year, there were high hopes of transfer movement for Irish stars struggling at club level. A European Championship loomed on the horizon, a competition Marco Tardelli said could serve as a shop window for the Republic squad. The demand for our stars failed to materialise and Poland saw the shop bankrupt. This time however, it’s form players and old reliables that are attracting attention.
Sat disconsolate, arms barely propping himself up on the Stade de France turf, Richard Dunne was joined by the villain of the piece, Thierry Henry. ‘The Cheat of St Denis,’ as dubbed by George Hamilton, offered his hand to the Irish colossus, a recognition of the heartbreak he and his countrymen had visited upon the gallant Irish in Paris in 2009. As fate would have it, are the two to be reunited as team-mates at New York Red Bulls?
Robbie Keane jumps in on a surprise Skype call to an Irish family in Australia who can’t make it home for Christmas.
Heleno de Freitas was a Brazilian footballing superstar in the 1940’s whose fall from grace is featured in the movie ‘Heleno’ released in the USA this week. The Botafogo hero starred for Brazil at the 1948 World Cup but his personal life began to unravel soon after. Heleno developed dementia and attempted suicide. At one point, he ate newspaper clippings that had detailed his triumphs and he died at the age of just 39.
John Giles famously lamented our young people’s distractions with ‘personal stereos.’ Eamon Dunphy said we needed poverty and dictatorships. Now Liam Brady has blasted social media’s influence on the ever-decreasing Irish talent pool.
There’ll be no repeat of the scenes in Poland last summer on the cobbled streets of Temple Bar. Unless Dublin is included in Michel Platini’s Euro vision. Ireland’s joint bid with Wales and Scotland to host the 2020 European Championship […]
We call ourselves the Best Fans in the World. UEFA even gave us a prize. We went to Poland in huge numbers but we can’t fill Lansdowne now for Ireland games. Our football love is reserved for Premier League clubs, mainly two of them, and mainly from the couch or the barstool. In a special guest post, Minty from YBIG.ie looks at how many Irish people take the easy way out when supporting foreign teams.