Irish Soccer team:against all odds.

Just over two decades ago Irish Sports fans cared very little about
the game of association football. Gaelic games and Rugby were the
national past times, yet when the Republic were knocked out of the 2002
World Cup on penalties it left a whole nation devastated. Those 18
years have seen Soccer rise to the national sport and the national team
become one of the top 20 teams in the world.

The appointment of an English World Cup winner in 1985 as the manager
of the republic of Irelands national team manager was at first an
unpopular one, but it proved inspired. No one could have imagined that
ten years later the Gordie would be an Irish hero, and the team would
have quailed for two world cups. And the failure to qualify for a
tournament that once would have been beyond Irelands reach would see
the end of jack Charlton's ten year reign.

In 1985 Jack Charlton walked in to the job as a national team whose
attitude was very different to his own. He was as competitive as a
manager as he had been as a player. He hated losing every game was
there to be won. Irish on the other hand were just there for the party,
and playing in the green shirt was enough for the mediocre players and
the hand full of fans that turned up to watch the team. Charlton gave
the squad and the country belief. Charlton moulded a squad from top
flight super stars, and players with any link to the emerald isle.
Players who the English would think second rate but given a course and
pride, they achieved the unimaginable when they qualified for the
Italia 90 World cup quarterfinals. Irelands first appearance at the
world cup finals. No matter how far they had got in that competition
they would have returned as heroes. In the five years that followed,
the Irish attitude to football began to change. Ireland now expected to
win, Lansdowne Road (the national stadium) regularly sold our for
football internationals as it did rugby matches. Charlton had not only
brought professionalism, and new players to the national team but also
the desire to win. And it was that caused his down fall in 1995, after
an aging Ireland squad failed to qualify for the European championships
in 1996. Charlton however had had a much greater impact and his true
legacy would not be seen for a few more years.

Charlton's successor, was not a surprise in many ways he had been
primed to take over from Charlton by Jack himself, Mick McCarthy had
been Irelands captain in Italy in 1990, and since his retirement as a
international Charlton invited him to watch the team every match they
played. The only surprise was McCarthy's lack of experience as a
Manager having only managed Milwal for just four years. But McCarty
took on the job, not only of following Charlton but also of losing the
majority of the team that had done Ireland so well over the previous
decade and it would be McCarthy in charge of bringing through the young
players inspired by that 1990 team.

The seven years that followed Ireland returned to being the underdog of
world football, but that is the way they like it. Gradually the old
guard began to disappear, first McGrath and Aldridge the superstars of
the team in 1996, then captains Townsend and Houghton and Striker David
Kelly in 1998, when yet again Ireland failed to qualify for the world
cup in a playoffs, and Finally Tony Cascrino in 2000. When again the
team lost in the play offs to qualify for the European championship.
Leaving just Stephen Staunton, Niall Quinn and keeper Alan Kelly as the
remaining surviovors of that great 1990 team. But there was a glimpse
of the future as two first division teams, Blackburn Rovers and
Wolverhampton Wanderers had introduced the young teenagers Damian Duff
and Robbie Keane in to their first teams.

Keane, Duff and Newcastle Goalkeeper Shay Given had been inspired by
the 1990 team and are Charlton's real legacy, with the support of a
nation, and the skill and arrogance of the self-belief they have. Under
the guidance of Mick McCarthy they have returned Ireland to one of the
top teams in the world once again. But even that seemed to be
impossible.

Placed in a qualifying group with two of the biggest European teams
Portugal and Holland, no one gave Ireland a chance of even qualifying
for the play offs let alone the world cup it's self but, Ireland were
the down fall of Holland and qualified instead of the Dutch favourites.
Then once they had qualified for Japan and Korea, they were yet again
placed in a group with one of the old European powers Germany and the
African team Cameroon. It seemed the fist round was as far as they were
going to get.

The Irish always had the attitude of it's just nice to be at a major
tournament
But this young squad had grown up with the Irish qualifying for most
tournaments, and they didn't think like the players before them
had
Done that it was just nice to be there. They were there to do a job,
too win. But disaster almost struck when Captain and the team's hard
man Roy Keane was sent home before the tournament even began, after
venting his anger at manager McCarthy. Maybe indeed however that
insistent helped Ireland, as it gave the squad unity and team Sprit.
This was no longer just a team of talented youngsters, it was a team
driven on by a joint cause, and pride, and they were doing it for their
manager, teammates and country. And they could do it with out the
Manchester United man.

And again against Spain they were very much the under dogs, they like
it though when no one gives them a chance. They were the best team, and
even in golden goal extra time, all four Strikers, Keane, Duff,
Connelly and the Veteran Quinn had chances. In the end it came down to
the cruellest of ways to go out the tournament, penalties. It was sad
that it was the young players Holland, Kilbane, Connelly that missed
the penalties in the end. But they had great tournaments and they will
qualify again. Niall Quinn, Alan Kelly and Steve Staunton who have been
present at all three of Ireland's world cups bow out. But Like Charlton
they leave a generation of young lads back in Ireland inspired to
pursue their love of football.

The Squad once again returned as heroes, back to a heroic welcome and a
pop concert in which Irelands boyband Westlife headlined with World of
our own. The Irish football team certainly do have a world of their own
but maybe one of westlife's other fits would have been more appropriate
Against All Odds. Because most of the national teams achievements have
been against the odds.