Dessie Farrell hails David Clifford as the best he’s ever seen

Mick Fitzsimons was assigned to Clifford in last year’s All-Ireland semi-final when Clifford scored four points from play and likely will be given the mantle again

Tue, 25 Jul, 2023 - 07:45

John Fogarty

Dessie Farrell says David Clifford is “probably the greatest” footballer he has ever seen.

Ahead of Sunday’s All-Ireland SFC final, the Dublin manager won’t be sitting back and marvelling at the wonder of the Kerry captain.

Nevertheless, he can acknowledge just how supreme a player the Fossa man is. “I actually love watching him play. He’s such a special, unique talent. I tell the kids he reminds me of myself when I played but I think they know better! He’s brilliant. He’s probably the greatest I’ve ever seen.

“He can do things nobody else can. He’s a physical specimen and he has a skill set that belies that. He’s just so, so unique and he’s such a leader for them as well. He makes them tick.”

Mick Fitzsimons was assigned to Clifford in last year’s All-Ireland semi-final when Clifford scored four points from play and likely will be given the mantle again. Farrell knows he can’t put too much focus on the full forward who he appreciates will make his presence felt regardless of what Dublin do to counter him.

“We’re under no illusions how difficult that’s going to be. It could keep you up late at night, for sure. I think the challenge for us is to accept that he’s in such a rich vein of form, he’s going to do damage. He’s going to have an impact on the game. We’ve just got to accept that.

“It’s trying to minimise the impact and try and not get over-fixated on him. Because if you do that, you turn the tap off here – it opens the floodgates somewhere else.

“They have some other really good forwards and some backs who are also comfortable in attack, so they can hit you from all different angles. They’ve loads of threats. So I think it’s just about us getting a balance right. Trying to manage him but also keeping an eye on the overall plan so that we’re not overly impacted by a concentration of focus on him.”

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Just as well that Dublin are such an extraordinary All-Ireland final team then, their previous defeat coming 11 games ago in 1992 when Donegal beat a team featuring Farrell. “Yeah... thanks for reminding me,” he smiles.

In his view, what has made them such a great team on the biggest occasion? “They’re a special bunch of players. It’s been interesting this year, because the one thing about these lads – and they’re highly decorated and have done all they’ve done in the game – but appetite is a special ingredient as well.

“While there’s a lot spoken about experience and the lads coming back and that type of thing, I think that was the most curious thing for me. The appetite and the innate hunger and desire, particularly from some of the older players. To their eternal credit, they’ve shown that in spades. It’s not easy to keep going year after year, going back to the well.

“They managed to keep the show on the road and keep doing what they do. That can’t be easy. I hold the most admiration for that aspect of it. They’re great footballers and everything else. But the ability to continuously motivate yourself to be at your best when it matters most is remarkable.”

The kings of the last decade, Dublin’s era of dominance obviously started against Kerry in 2011, the same day Farrell’s minors lost to Colman Kennedy’s sucker punch goal for Tipperary. Understandably, it was a day of mixed emotions for him.

He recalls: "We were at the same banquet (as the seniors). One of the lads who was part of the backroom team, he was an older man. He was a little bit deaf. There was a table for the coaches and management team. There was so much noise in the room that night, it was hard to hear the conversations over and back.

“But eventually, for some reason, there was a lull. Somebody was waiting to come up to speak and our man at the top of his voice roared, ‘nobody gives a fuck about the minors!’ Everyone looked around and said, ‘look at those lads having a little pity party for themselves!’”