Patrick O'Connell: The Irishman who captained Man Utd and managed Barcelona
He is not someone whose name immediately springs to mind when Irish football is mentioned but Dublin born Patrick O' Connell had an astonishing career as a player and manager.
He had modest success on the playing staff for Manchester United between 1914-1919 and later went on to become a hugely successful manager in Spain's La Liga, leading Real Betis to their only ever league title in 1935.
His biggest achievement maybe is being credited with steering Barcelona to financial safety in a turbulent period for the Catalan club during the Spanish Civil War.
However, O' Connell is more fondly remembered in Spain than in Ireland or Britain - his remains currently rest in a grave in Kilburn, London where he died destitute in 1959 aged 72.
Last year, a number of illustrious footballing faces donated and signed shirts for auction to raise funds to build a permanent memorial to mark the grave of the man known in Spain as 'Don Patricio'.
Martin O'Neill, Paul McGrath, Jamie Carragher, Johan Cruyff, Ronald Koeman, Franz Beckenbaur and Paolo Maldini are among those who lent their time and memorabilia to the cause.
Stars from GAA also got involved, with Paul Galvin and Brian Cody signing shirts for auction.
Patrick's story has previously been commemorated by the National Football Museum in the UK in a display remembering players who played in Britain and went on to manage on the continent.
“Patrick is a history maker a man of firsts: he was the first Irishman to play for and captain Manchester United and the first and only to manage Barcelona, saving the club from extinction by taking them on a tour to Mexico during the Civil War,” said Fergus Dowd, the fan who headed up the fund.
“Without Patrick's courage throughout that period there would be no Barcelona today. Our fund team believes Patrick deserves a memorial befitting his football achievements and they should be an inspiration to Irish people,” he added.
O' Connell began his footballing career in the North with Belfast Celtic in 1909, before moving across the Irish Sea to Sheffield Wednesday and then Hull City.
In 1914 Manchester United purchased O' Connell from Hull for £1000, and he made 34 appearances and scored two goals for the Red Devils before war broke out and the English football league was suspended until 1919.
Upon retirement from playing O' Connell became manager of Ashington FC and moved to Spain in 1922. After carving out a respectable career as a coach, the Irishman was appointed manager of Real Betis in 1932 and he led the unfashionable side with a stadium capacity of just 1,000 to the league title in 1935.
His success attracted the attention of Barcelona. He managed the Catalan club for five years including a 1937 tour of Mexico which raised enough funds to save the club from extinction following the suspension of the Spanish league due to civil war.
Tomorrow the European champions will ensure his story is never forgotten.
READ MORE Irishman Patrick O’Connell is being inducted into Barcelona's hall of fame
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