As is well known, the modern footballer doesn’t always have the best relationship with the modern media. Both, after all, want very different things.

Not long before eight o’clock here, Dimitrios Salpigidis upset what would have been one of the biggest parties Poland has ever seen.

By now, you’ve probably all seen the video of the Irish fans greeting the English team’s coach in Krakow. It was hard to miss. And even harder not to laugh at, even if there’s something a little sad about how the English – by contrast – are so supportive of Ireland.

Yesterday, the Irish team were afforded a day off. Most of the media, however, weren’t.

As Giovanni Trapattoni himself has often made a point of saying, Ireland aren’t exactly a team blessed with big names.

You know you’re entering the unique atmosphere of an international tournament your country is actually involved when, as you take your seat on a plane, a middle-aged woman walks down the aisle bedecked in a full Irish kit (yes, shorts and socks too) and a green twiggy wig.