Euros show Ireland's poverty as 1988 remains a distant memory
I still have possession of an atlas I used in St Mary’s CBS primary school and St Finian’s College secondary school many moons ago and, despite the passing of several decades, most sections of it are still in decent shape - a bit like its owner (see footnote at the end of the column)!
Naturally, Europe was the same size geographically then as it is now, but various splits over the years have meant that the actual number of countries is far greater than when I was young and hirsute. I lost interest in the qualification rounds for 24-team Euro 24 when it had become blatantly obvious that the Republic of Ireland side, which I have followed passionately in the flesh since the aforementioned schooldays, would not even have the small satisfaction of garnering a play-off slot. Accordingly, it wasn’t till the actual tournament started earlier this month that it really struck me that, basically, only the ‘boys in green’ and a handful of minnows are not competing in Germany.
The host country, of course, has bucked the aforementioned ‘split’ trend with the West and East now a united country. Ironically, this happened some 17 months after seven of us (one since sadly deceased) spent a truly unforgettable eight days in West Germany for Euro 88. When Germany was announced as the host country for this tournament, we all dreamed of return trips to the likes of Stuttgart, Hanover and Gelsenkirchen where we played three memorable games 36 years ago in what was an eight-team competition (or Scuttered, Hungover and Belchandburpin as per the tee-shirts there doing the rounds).
Another passionate Irish fan whom I have known for years is usually beside me at our home matches in the Aviva, and we spent the entire 90-plus minutes of the recent meaningless friendly v Hungary moaning about the blatant lack of quality in our current manager-less side. We concurred that we have an assortment of ‘6 out of 10’ footballers (and some less than 6!) and how excited we would feel if a few 7s, the odd 8, and maybe a 9 came on the scene. The 1988 squad was laden with 7+ players, as well as perhaps one 8 (Ronnie Whelan) and one 9 (Paul McGrath). Incidentally, two other undoubted 9s, Liam Brady and Mark Lawrenson, had been playing as recently as a year earlier.
Unless you are as clueless about soccer as Rishi Sunak, whose clearly-doomed quest to retain his board and lodgings in 10 Downing St started disastrously in Wales when he asked locals how they thought the boys in red would get on in Euro 24, you will know that the Welsh, pretty much our level over the years, are absent. However, otherwise it is pretty much down to the likes of Malta and Luxembourg who have not qualified. Incidentally, wasn’t Stephen Kenny lucky that the horrendous home loss to the latter in a World Cup qualifier was in a crowd-less Lansdowne Rd in the Covid days of 2021?
The UK Prime Minister looks set to be annihilated in the General Election on July 4, probably facing the opprobrium which has greeted his native country’s footballers after their 1-1 draw with Denmark last week. However, the reality is England face Slovenia today and are still pretty much assured of a slot in the last 16, with four points on the board – they unimpressively defeated Serbia 1-0 in their opening game. In the same way that the race for Sam and Liam only began in earnest last weekend with knockout games (ignoring the predictable hurling preliminary quarter-finals), the real race for the Henri Delaunay Cup begins with the round of 16 matches on June 29.
The late, great Páidí Ó Sé will get a lot of mentions in the weeks ahead with the 20th anniversary of Westmeath’s historic Delaney Cup win, but the Ventry maestro got into a spot of bother a few years before he arrived in this neck of the woods with his description of Sam-obsessed Kerry fans when he was wearing the bainisteoir’s bib of his beloved county. However, the English fans and some sections of the media are, dare I say, a different animal altogether!
One cruel tweet last week summed up the attitude to England’s draw with Denmark: “A £500 million midfield being outclassed by a man who died at the last tournament!” Naturally, all sane people find it wonderful to see Christian Eriksen so fit and healthy after his horrible experience on June 12, 2021 (for all it’s worth, a day when I watched Westmeath footballers scoring 0-25 in Páirc Uí Chaoimh – almost three times last Saturday week’s tally in Páirc Esler).
Despite several instances where a team stutters through the opening three games of a major soccer tournament and still wins it out, it certainly doesn’t look like Gareth Southgate’s troops are going to ‘bring football home’. France, Germany, Spain and Portugal look like the front runners to do so. Meanwhile for those of us who will simply never forget the buzz of attending Ireland’s first major finals, we can only look on enviously.
Perhaps the (unsurprising, in all reality) doubts about Casement Park being ready, willing and able to host its planned share of games in Euro 28 may open the door for automatic qualification for the Republic? As of now, short-term qualification for a major tournament in our own right seems far-fetched. PS A permanent manager would help!
Easing down...
I often refer to Father Time in relation to some ageing stars of Westmeath football and hurling teams. The same imposter has been tapping me on the shoulder of late and I am now seeing through a decision which I tentatively made last November to cease writing formal weekly columns, of which this is number 1,081 dating back to 2002. Health permitting please God, I will continue with match reports for the Westmeath Examiner and occasional ad hoc pieces as required.
Sincere thanks to all those who have had kind words to say about some columns over the years.