From Istanbul to Torshavn

CHECKING over my diary, I see that over the past three weeks I have attended the FA Cup final in Cardiff, the Champions’ League Final in Istanbul, the Jackie McNamara testimonial in Glasgow, the World Cup qualifier against Israel in Dublin and the World Cup qualifier against the Faroe Islands in Torshavn.

Naturally, I am now taking a holiday.

And for those of you who have begun literally eating this newspaper at the sheer injustice of a world in which a man can be paid for travelling to exotic places to watch football, well, all I can say is: yes, isn’t life tragic.

But before putting its feet up for a well-earned rest, it seems appropriate that this column should cast a little look backwards at some of the events which, from a personal point of view, made it a football season to remember.

That sensational final in Istanbul may have had everything a game of football needs, but for sheer atmosphere it would still be hard to beat the night in Anfield when Liverpool put Chelsea out of the Champions League, thereby setting up the thriller against AC Milan. Merseyside has seen some memorable European nights but the fact that they belonged to an increasingly distant past was probably the factor which gave the semi-final against Chelsea such a razor-sharp edge. This was a night for Liverpool to recapture old glories, and the almost desperate passion of the crowd to put one over on the new galacticos of the English game, clearly transmitted itself to the players, who responded with an heroic performance from first whistle to last.

Never have I experienced such a combination of noise and raw emotion in a stadium. And even the oldest hands present agreed that the pre- and post-game renditions of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ jointly claimed the number one spot in the All Time Anfield Top 100.

Not far behind as both a sound and light spectacle was Ireland’s World Cup qualifier against France in Paris. Brian Kerr selected the Irish fans’ massed humming of the French national anthem as a personal highlight of last year, and it was fitting that the 20,000-strong Green Army in the Stade de France were rewarded with Ireland’s best performance of the qualifying campaign.

Goals always linger longest in the memory, of course, and though I was present for neither, I’m sure I won’t be alone in cherishing Wayne Rooney’s rocket-propelled volley against Newcastle and, just this week, Roberto Carlos’ blistering free-kick for Brazil, one which deserves to be remembered as far more than the consolation goal it was in his country’s 3-1 defeat by Argentina.

But if I had to pick just one goal by which to remember the season, it would hail not from the World Cup, the Champions League or even the Premiership, but rather - hold onto your hats - from the dear old eircom League. The date was May 6, the venue a thinly populated Dalymount Park, and the man of the hour Shamrock Rovers’ Pat McCourt.

McCourt actually scored a hat-trick in the Hoops’ 3-2 win, the third coming from the penalty spot. But it was the brace before that which had some of us greybeards thinking there’d been a slip in the space-time continuum with the result that Mick Leech - all bow - had returned to the Rovers’ colours.

McCourt’s first was sensational enough but in fact merely a warmer-upper for the coup de grace, as he beat a couple of Bray defenders on a mazy run before striking a shot with the outside of his boot from the edge of the box, which bent inside goalkeeper Chris O’Connor’s post.

That was in the 35th minute. Ten minutes later McCourt somehow topped it. This time he beat about four players on another solo run, at one point throwing such a dizzying body-swerve that, in almost slapstick fashion, two poor Bray defenders actually collided with each other. Once inside the box, McCourt resisted the temptation to blast, instead giving the keeper the eyes before side-footing into the opposite corner as if slotting home an angled penalty.

TV3 have pictures of the action and, if they had any sense at all, would put it out at 6 O’ clock every evening to give a spiritual lift to the nation in lieu of the Angelus.

But, of course, I know what you’re thinking: it’s only the eircom League.

The perfect riposte to that was given by George Best who, near the end of his playing career but some time before he turned into a sort of human bomb, once scored an extraordinary goal in the American soccer league. You may have seen the footage: Best beat about half-a-dozen players inside the box, some of them twice, before finally putting the defence out of its misery by sticking the ball in the net.

Afterwards, some people said: “Ah, but it was only in the American league.” To which Best replied along the lines of: “If I’d scored that one against a team of 11 year olds it would still be a brilliant goal.” The point being that sheer class will out no matter what the context, and in a League of Ireland notable for some outstanding individual talents - Cork City’s George O’Callaghan being another - and a lot of what we might call tough, no-nonsense defenders, McCourt’s performance deserves to be recognised and celebrated as much as anything else that happened this season in the game’s more glamorous settings.

And, of course, the domestic league and cup competitions continue through the summer. If you haven’t already done so, you could do worse than trot along to have a look. Even with Malcolm Glazer hovering about the place, Manchester United will probably somehow muddle through without you.