Ireland (National Football)

Ten years of deflated summers watching other nations battle it out for European and World championships were brought to an end on Tuesday when Giovanni Trapattoni’s Ireland laboured their way through a 1-1 draw with Estonia, confirming our place in the final 16 that will travel to Poland or Ukraine in 2012.

It was already a formality when it came to Dublin due to the flattering 4-0 away win for the boys in green, but, even so, it was hard not to flash back to the nasty incident with Thierry Henry two years before, even for just the one intoxicated moment.

Most people will agree, although many reluctantly, that Les Blues' robbery in Paris was the single most traumatizing moment to happen in Irish sporting history. Unfortunately, things like that bring the worst out in nations—spitting prejudice slurs, cursing officials—but no one NEEDED to be there more than Ireland, for all of our financial disarray and the dark times that we were in. 

Many of us stopped using Gillette; oh yes, that’s the type of people we are. 'If that Henry’s in the ad, we’ll take the Wilkinson Sword, shopkeeper.’

For the days after, a nation sat in front of TV screens while Sepp Blatter laughed at the silly little country beside England that wanted the match replayed, and we were insulted by our own chief of football, John Delaney, when instead of replay, requested that they make a five team group for the first round of the World Cup Finals—don’t hold your breath John.

“It’s ‘cause they’re French”, we’d say, “that Michel Platini and Sepp Blatter up in the stands there celebrating Thierry Henry’s ‘goal.' They should be shamed of themselves cheating us out of the World Cup.”

And who knows, maybe the ref did see it. I certainly agree that it was better from FIFA’s point of view to have the all-star French cast there rather than the fighting Irish, a term that is more visible than ever through Trap’s form of football.

One thing is for sure: the Estonian people should have felt a similar pang of frustration when they saw their boys go down 4-0 at home.

The referee gave us everything, a penalty and two sent off left it an easy enough task for us, and some couldn’t help but think that FIFA had it rigged again, but this time it was at Estonia’s expense, a team that have never qualified for an international competition.

It wasn’t an easy ride for Giovanni Trapattoni, and he must think that Irish people are very strange given the fact that half the nation were calling for his head after we went down 3-2 to Russia in Moscow last year.

The complaints were mainly made about his selection, and these continued right up until Tuesday when we eventually qualified.

It started with Kevin Kilbane, who has been an absolutely brilliant player for the Republic of Ireland in his left back role. However, the clock has been ticking for quite awhile, and the man we affectionately refer to as “Zinadine Skillbane” has lost so much pace and now works between League 1 and the Championship for starting places.

Most critics called for O’Shea to be moved out to the left, where he had played on many occasion for Sir Alex Ferguson during his time at Manchester United, and then bring in the tenacious right sided Seamus Coleman at full back.

Trap had other plans again, and brought Stephen Ward in, a man who had only been playing up front for Irish side Bohemians three years before, to do the job that once was held down by the most passionate man in a green shirt.

Since then, the absence of Coleman has been the center piece to every pub conversation when a fixture is coming up in addition to the exclusion of Wigan’s James McCarthy.

Although there is no doubt that Glenn Whelan has become a far better player due to Trapattoni’s molding of him into the Gattuso role, we are still missing a bit of flair in the middle that the young man could bring, something that neither Whelan or Keith Andrews can offer in all honesty.

But that seems to be the case with the Italian—he wants player to do what their told to do and fit in with a system that will make Ireland “hard to beat.” These are the words of the football God’s of our country–John Giles, Liam Brady and Eamon Dunphy.

It is their belief that he has looked for players that best fit the bill of being hard working, industrious and defensively-minded, because they will fit into the style of the game he’s trying to play.

Is that really a good enough excuse not to have Coleman in the side? No, it isn’t.

Whatever about McCarthy, he’s still young and will eventually prove his worth, but Seamus Coleman is THE outstanding talent in Irish Football at the moment, and he too works very hard when he plays for Everton, up and down the wing like roadrunner for 90 minutes every week for the Goodison side.

There really is no point in playing Aidan McGeady and leaving Coleman out if we are to believe that the selection of the team is based on the virtues of how hard a player works and their ability to sit back and be defensive.

But sure, maybe it’s time we leave that talk alone. We’re there and finally, I’ll get to a chance to watch my country play in an international tournament with a pint in my hand, legally.

There are legends in amongst them men: Shay Given, one of the greatest goalkeepers in the history of the Premier League, Richard Dunne, who is at the moment, on of the best in the league, Robbie Keane, who will be there or thereabouts when it comes to the starting 11 in the finals and Damien Duff, who has always given everything he could when he wore the green shirt.

It will be their last crack of the whip in these finals, certainly for Duff and Keane anyway, and we can’t wait to see them get out there one more time and give us something to shout about that doesn’t involve taxes or rates of unemployment.

Trapattoni, overnight it would almost seem, has become a legend in the country after all of the talking down the media have given him. He has got us to the finals of a major international tournament and we should probably trust him now, because plenty never thought we were going to do it.

On Tuesday, a look into the crowd and saw grown men crying while our heroes walked around the pitch and soaked up the atmosphere. Not a single person appeared to have left while the boys in green enjoyed their lap of honor.

It proves the level of importance the sport has in the country, at worst it can make us hate, make us divided and make us envious but at best, it can stand to represent everything that we are, strong, resilient and ready to stand our ground no matter who tries to move us.

IN TRAP WE TRUST.

As I write this, the Irish national football team is in the midst of their most successful run of form in years.

However, unlike days gone by when Ireland's top performances were highlighted by the heroics of one player (Paul McGrath vs Italy at the '94 World Cup for example) or a moment of match-winning skill (Packie Bonner's save from Timofte or Robbie Keane's goal vs Germany), it is the stubborn determination of Giovanni Trapattoni which epitomises Irish football today.

Trapattoni arrived on the scene at a time when Ireland seemed to have stopped producing world class players. There is no Giles, Brady or Roy Keane in the ranks for the Italian to pick and if Shay Given, Robbie Keane, Damien Duff or Richard Dunne were absent it would be a very average side.

Trap realised this fact not long into his tenure much to the chagrin of the Irish football fan, who cried out that the manager was unfairly overlooking some of our more creative/exciting players (Reid, McCarthy, Coleman) in favour of the workman-like performances of Whelan and Andrews.

Trap's Ireland side would not be based on the skill of a couple of players but rather a team effort of discipline and football not entirely easy on the eye.

After the debacle in the play off against France, he stuck to his guns. There would be no change in philosophy and two years later, half way through a two-legged tie with a place at the European Championships at stake, Ireland is as close to major tournament football as it gets.

Barring complete self destruction against the Estonians, the Irish will be represented at the Euros for the first time in 24 years.

Of course, luck has been on our side in this campaign, especially in the last three matches (a miraculous no-score draw in Moscow and the red cards for Armenia and Estonia have eased our passage), but without Trapattoni at the helm it is unlikely Ireland would be this close.

It may not be the exciting football we wish for but it seems to work for us and perhaps the ends justify the means. Nothing justifies having Paul McShane in the squad though—sort it out, Trap.

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Just over a year ago, the qualifications for the 2012 European Cup began, and since then we have had plenty of surprises but none bigger than the small nation of Armenia. A nation that has so much history, so much culture has the opportunity to make history by making it to the final stages of qualification to the EuroCup, a two-legged home-and-home playoffs.

All that stands in their way is Shay Given and the Republic of Ireland national team. It is only fitting that the last game in Group B is between the same two sides that started the qualifications back in September of 2010. That was a fixture which saw the visiting Irish side come away victors by a score of one goal to nil.

A lot has changed since that opening day, which also saw Slovakia defeat Macedonia 1-0 and Russia win 2-0 in Andorra. Armenia, a nation whose best previous finish was fourth place in a group of five, has went from being minnows in competition to the highest scoring team in the group (21 goals) while the Irish and Russians, who were thought to be the clear-cut qualifiers, have had to work for nearly every point they have received.

Led by their young coach, Vardan Minasyan, and star forward, Yura Movsisyan, the Armenian side has went from trying to build for the future to making noise right away.

"Before this qualifying campaign began we never set the goal of reaching the European Championships," said Minasyan. "It was more important for us to build a strong team with a bright future. We are doing it our way, calmly and confidently. Yet, if we are to complete the building of this team, we need victory in Dublin."

The keys to coming away with a victory in Dublin reside in the hands of the team continuing to do what they do best and that is to attack. In the past three games, the side has scored on 11 occasions while just conceding one time. Henrik Mkhitaryan, of Shaktar Donetsk in Ukraine, and Gevorg Ghazaryan (Metalurh Donetsk in Ukraine) are personally responsible for three of those goals while Marcos Pizzelli (Metalurh Donetsk) and Artur Sarkisov (Shinik Yaroslavi in Russia) have two with Movsisyan (Kransdor in Russia) has the last tally. Defender Robert Arzumanyan (Jagiellonia Bialystok of Poland) will miss the match due to injury. 

On the flip side, the Irish are coming off a 2-0 victory in Andorra and haven't conceded a goal since March 26th against Macedonia, a streak of four games and over 400 minutes. They have been spectacular throughout the qualifications in only conceding six goals while scoring 13, good for second highest in the group behind only their next opponents.

The Irish will also be at home, which could help them out and they only need to sit back and play for a draw and they will make the playoff leg, though they can still win the group if they were to defeat Armenia and Russia were to lose to Andorra, which is looking really unlikely as Andorra have only three victories in their nation's history, and have scored just once during these stages.

Despite those two things to look forward to, the Irish will be without Robbie Keane, the team captain and the highest scorer in the nation's history. Simon Cox will be the replacement in the starting eleven. Along with Keane, Stephen Ward will also miss the match due to a red card and will be replaced by Stephen Kelly.

Kick Off

The game will kick off 6:30 PM Dublin time which is 10:45 PM in Yerevan, Armenia 1:30 PM in the Eastern Time Zone, 10:30 AM in the Pacific Time Zone.

Prediction

Ireland comes into the game with the mentality of to not allow the Armenian side to score and to secure a spot in the playoffs. Movsisyan, who had three assists against Macedonia, is able to get a counter goal in, which forces the Irish to open up their game a little more, leading to Pizzelli adding the insurance tally for the visitors.

Peamount United will travel to France to take on the financial might of PSG on Monday morning with the winds of hope flying their sails. The Dublin side trail their counterparts 2-0 after losing the first leg in Shamrock Rovers Tallaght Stadium on Wednesday night.

The Peas, the first Irish side ever to make the latter stages of a European club competition, provided very good value for their partisan home crowd and matched PSG woman for woman until the French professional side's superior stamina and physicality kicked on as the game wore on.

In fact, Peamount should have been ahead before substitute Nora Coton-Pelagi's speculative shot found the bottom corner of Linda Meehan's goal after taking a huge deflection off Louise Quinn who had tried to block the shot.

Sara Lawlor and Quinn both went close in the space of a couple of minutes in an extremely tight first half. Firstly Lawlor, who put in a sterling performance as the Peas' loan striker, forced Veronique Pons into making a smart save at her near post after she had ghosted past the tackle of PSG's captain Lea Rubio.

The resulting corner was whipped in with incredible pace by the impressive Steph Roche and with the goal at her mercy, Louise Quinn seemingly headed over with Pons beaten.

However, after talking to the midfielder after the match it became apparent that Laure Lepailleur had reached the ball just a fraction of a second before the Irish international to make a dramatic clearance.

After the match Quinn said "I wished I had touched it because I know I would have scored, but she just got there ahead of me."

It was just one of a whole string of last-ditch saves by Lepailleur during the match with the French star easily standing out as PSG's best player on the night.

Quinn for her part was equally as impressive and patrolled midfield superbly with the aid of Roche, on-loan Doncaster Belle, Aine O'Gorman, Ruth Comerford and Wendy McGlone.

The Peas manager, Eileen Gleeson, made a couple of early changes in the second half in an effort at introducing some more energy to her side but the phenomenal exertions of a match against a professional side eventually took their toll, as PSG went on to dominate the late exchanges with two late goals.

"We knew what their shape would be like and what they would do and we set our tactics out to get to them. But the two late goals really caught us, especially the last one in added time. We're unhappy at falling asleep with that one."

Getting to the knockout stages of a European competition is an historic achievement for Irish football; no other side has ever progressed as far and despite the loss, this is where she and Peamount will aspire to be from now on.

"It was great in playing in a game like this. We've never seen such a big crowd except in an international game. Playing against teams like that [PSG] was just so special. You'd love to be playing against teams like that every week; this is the highest level you can get at club level apart from the final."

Looking forward to the return leg in Paris on October 5, an upbeat Quinn remained confident of turning the tie around, saying:

"It's only halftime and I know it's 2-0 and we should have kept it 0-0 or 1-0 but it'll be a huge game next week and we'll come out all guns blazing because we have a chance."

Eileen Gleeson, the Peas manager, spoke at length after the game and said that the second goal in injury time had really taken its toll on her team after its fantastic effort.

"Overall we're very disappointed with the second goal. It came three minutes into injury time and I was saying to the girls to just lock it up. But we were a little nervous and just got caught out.

The girls are so disappointed with the second goal. It would have been so much easier to go away with just one goal behind but we're going to throw everything at them [in the return leg].

But I thought we showed great strength and stamina against a professional side and to get caught so late...Their quality showed and we're coming off the back of a long season while they're just finished preseason."

While Gleeson was thoroughly impressed with the overall performance of her own team she reserved special praise for Sara Lawlor who ploughed a lone furrow up front all night.

"She was really excellent, she covered a lot of ground and that pitch is really big when you're out there on your own. She got caught out with a few offsides but overall she was excellent."

The crowd, a record 2,109 for Peamount, really made a difference when PSG started to gain a foothold in the game and Gleeson was quick to heap praise and thanks on their support.

"The support was really just phenomenal. To get over 2,000 at a game is just amazing and I'd just like to say thanks to everyone."

Eventually the conversation gets around to the growing shadow that Irish teams have always had to compete with: bigger teams coming in to poach their players.

While a game like this last-32 against PSG brings huge prestige to the league and Peamount in particular it also represents an opportunity for scouts from professional leagues in America and England to watch the talent on show.

"That's always there. We'll always be competing with scholarships to America and with girls going over to the Super League in England but our own National League will be critical and now that is in place. So that gives our players more of a chance to play at the elite level in the future."

But, the best players are going to want to play with the best clubs and with [our] excellent facilities, excellent structure and brilliant underage section, we are going to attract those kinds of players [in Ireland].

Just like her captain, Quinn, Gleeson remains optimistic about the Peas' chances next week.

"We'll watch the game and go over things that we can improve little mistakes like offsides and things, those are things we can correct straightaway and we'll look to improve in the areas where they were stronger.

We matched them in a lot of places and we can get at them next week."

Peamount may be down, but they are definitely not out of this tie just yet.

Willie Gannon is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained first-hand.

On Sunday, 82,300 people will pack into Croke Park in Dublin to watch the Gaelic footballers of Dublin and Kerry contest this year’s All-Ireland Final. It is the annual showpiece for Ireland’s leading sport. Every year it is sold out, with fans traveling from throughout Ireland and from around the world to savour the occasion. 

Two weeks ago, it was the turn of the hurlers of Tipperary and Kilkenny. Again, the stadium had the house full signs up. The match was an intensely physical affair. It included a series of brilliant scores, last gasp tackling and a first-half melee in which referee Brian Gavin’s nose was split open with a hurley.

In the final reckoning, Kilkenny won by four points, avenging their 2010 defeat at the hands of Tipp. It was their fifth All-Ireland title in six years. This Kilkenny team is widely considered the greatest team to ever play the game.

What’s remarkable about that? Well nothing, except that the 30 Kerry and Dublin footballers taking the field on Sunday are amateurs.  Likewise, so are the hurlers of Tipperary and Kilkenny.

Under the rules of the Gaelic Athletic Association players aren’t paid to represent their counties. Nor is there any transfer system or draft that allows a major talent to move from one team to another. Nor are their million dollar product endorsements. There are no superstars being paid $15,000,000 to play the game they love. 

Players get a modest mileage allowance to go to training. They get free training gear, waterproofs for winter sessions, their gym fees paid and hot food after training.  If they are lucky, they may get the occasional endorsement or appearance fee from a local business. 

Other than that, it’s a case of what you can do for your county, rather than what your county can do for you. The team you represent is as much an accident of birth as anything. Literally, the shirts are passed from generation to generation.

Inevitably in such an archaic system based on old Irish county boundaries, there are weak counties and strong counties. The smaller weaker counties tend to stay weak even though they may occasionally unearth a superstar player. The stronger counties stay strong and into their ranks are born players who expect to be winners at the All-Ireland level. 

And so, Sunday’s match will see the Brogan brothers line out for Dublin, following in the footsteps of their father who won All-Ireland medals in the seventies with a legendary Dublin team. In the Kerry ranks are the Ó’Sé brothers, nephews of the great Paidí Ó Sé who won All-Irelands with Kerry as both a player and manager. A fortnight ago, Kilkenny hurler Micheal Fennelly again followed in the footsteps of his uncles Ger and Liam who each captained All-Ireland winning teams in Croke Park. 

Croke Park is a sporting citadel and to play there is a childhood dream for youngsters the length and breadth of Ireland. When the Irish Rugby team was homeless a few years back, international matches were held at Croke Park. That in itself required a vote from the GAA's 400,000 strong membership as the association’s grounds are closed to other sports. The ruling is a throwback to earlier more troubled times in Ireland. 

Likewise, the Irish soccer team played there. Croke Park has also regularly hosted U2 concerts, the Special Olympics and, earlier this year, a visit from the British Monarch Queen Elizabeth II. What is remarkable is that this magnificent stadium was built through funds raised mainly by the GAA membership, themselves all volunteers. It is a monument to Ireland’s devotion to national sport. And, every club player in the country can aspire to play there for their club or county. 

The economic situation has hit Ireland hard with the European bailout denting confidence and the collapse of the Building Boom having reverberated through every town, village and hamlet. Having reversed the national blight of emigration during the Celtic Tiger Years, the young people of Ireland are now once again heading for airports, better opportunities and a glimpse of hope in the United States and Australia. 

In last year’s hurling final, Lar Corbett hit a hat-trick of brilliant goals to seal Tipperary’s win over Kilkenny. This year he was back in the final. His performances were as brilliant as ever and, having won hurler of the year in 2010, he seemed set to repeat the dose this season. It wasn’t injury or loss of form that threatened his participation.

No, Lar Corbett is an electrician by trade. He works by day and hurls by night and on the weekend. With the economic collapse he, like so many Irish young people, was faced with the stark choice of emigration. Eventually, he had the opportunity through hurling to open a bar in his home town of Thurles. Thousands of others haven’t been so lucky on or off the field of play. 

Speaking at the time Lar said: 

“These are difficult economic times for everybody. I’m not the only player on the Tipperary panel currently out of work. But there is an opportunity here to start a new business. It means that I can stay at home and continue to hurl for my club Thurles Sarsfields and Tipperary." 

One young émigré who chose to travel was Fermanagh footballer Mark McGovern, who travelled to San Francisco in search of work and hoping to play a bit of Gaelic football with the local Ulster team based in San Francisco, made up of ex-pats and traveling students. 

In his first match for the club, Mark was struck off the ball by an opposing player and knocked unconscious. The injury left him in a coma. That was in June. 

On 3 August he recovered consciousness for the first time. To date, his medical expenses have topped $1,000,000. His experience is a far cry from the bright lights of Croke Park and over eighty thousand fans. Mark has yet to be repatriated back to Ireland and fundraising goes on to pay his burgeoning medical bill. This is the blight of emigration and the lure of a brighter future elsewhere. 

That said, this weekend, for the Irish worldwide, no matter where they are scattered around the globe, all eyes will be glued to the television to see whether Kerry can beat the Dubs at Croke Park in one of the greatest rivalries in sport. The Irish Rugby team may be in action on Saturday, but for many the real action is Sunday afternoon. Be there. The last truly amateur sport in the world where the players are anything but.

Who will win the Liam McCarthy cup in 2011????

Another year, another chance….

This is probably the most open championship in many years. After Tipperary halted Kilkenny's march to a 5th All Ireland in a row, there isn’t one dominant force in hurling but several good teams vying to be number one in 2011. Tipperary crushed Kilkenny in last year’s final and the cats seem to have taken a step back into the pack, rather than Tipperary emerging to join Kilkenny as an elite team.

Tipperary had a very mixed 2011 league campaign, but come the championship they will definitely be in the shake up again this year. However it remains to be seen if last year’s champions under a new management team have the same desire and hunger for 2011.

After Dublin’s impressive league campaign, winning their first national title since 1939, the Metropolitans will definitely fancy their chances at raising the Liam McCarthy cup this year. No team from any part of the country will see them as a soft touch and they will give every team they play this year a difficult game. Under the management of Anthony Daly, Dublin have improved significantly and this could be the year they outshine their football comrades.

Kilkenny are in most people’s books, still the team to beat in 2011. Under the tutelage of Brian Cody, arguably one of the best if not the best manager in the history of hurling, they are definitely a force to be reckoned with. Kilkenny managed to get to the league final this year even with a string of injuries to key players. It can safely be said that if any other team had to cope with the injuries Kilkenny have had, they would not have a chance at winning the All Ireland championship.

This leaves Galway, Cork and Waterford as the other realistic contenders for the Liam McCarthy cup for 2011. Galway had a good start in attempting to retain their national league title at the beginning of the year, but the wheels came off a bit after the big loss to Tipperary in the middle of the league campaign. With their star player Joe Canning back and if the team can stay clear of the injury bug, they will definitely be a tough prospect for any team to face in 2011. Cork looks to be in a rebuilding mode and most don’t see them getting much further than the last 8. Waterford, like Galway, have a very solid team and will be a difficult team to beat, but with the retirement of several longstanding and key players they might have passed their best.

It is shaping up to be one of the most exciting and open championships in years, hopefully it will live up to its billing….