Harte all smiles and grateful for another chance

SEVEN uncapped players flew to Rimini at Steve Staunton’s behest on Monday but, elated as they all undoubtedly were, none would have sported a wider grin than Ian Harte.

With 77 caps to his credit stretching back to a debut against Croatia in February 1996, a trip to San Marino would hardly get the Levante left-back excited under normal circumstances. But these are not normal circumstances.

Last August, he faced the prospect of never playing football again. And worse. His pre-season had been blighted by darting pains in his left leg and when he arrived back in Dublin for the friendly against Holland, the Irish medical staff saw enough to send him for an MRI scan.

The subsequent test revealed that the source of his pain was a cyst which was trapping a nerve. Before he knew it he was back in Valencia and about to go under the knife.

“As soon as I came to Dublin for the Holland game, the FAI doctors brought me to see a neurosurgeon because they realised that it was pretty bad. When I went back to Spain, I got the operation done straight away.’’

A quietly spoken man at the best of times, Harte’s voice descends into a whisper as he describes the episode. His focus now is on the future, something the recent past has made him appreciate much, much more.

“It was a worrying time. You don’t know what to think. Last season, I was playing in the team helping them to get back into the Premier Division. All of a sudden, having done the hard work to get them back there, I could have been finished.”

His recovery was complete last month when he managed 90 minutes against Athletic Bilbao and he tucked another 70 under the belt the next day in the 4-2 defeat against Sevilla.

Despite that defeat, Harte created both goals for his side making his omission from the entire squad for last Sunday’s 1-0 defeat of Real Madrid at the Bernabeu all the more puzzling.

“I just wasn’t in the squad. I said ‘fair enough’. The manager didn’t explain why I was left out so I just came over on Saturday. I was straight on a flight over to Dublin to meet up with the lads. It was a fantastic achievement for the lads to beat Real but I am delighted to be involved in the Irish squad.”

Though Levante are lying a precarious third from bottom in La Liga, the win in Madrid leaves them only two points behind Real Mallorca who lie a more comfortable 13th in the standings.

Harte’s first season with the club saw them compete in the top flight for the first time in 39 years but they returned to the second tier at the first time of asking. This time, Harte feels they have a squad better equipped for the task.

Much has changed at the club since in his time, not least the man in charge. Current manager Abel Resino is the fourth Harte has worked under since his arrival in Iberia when Real Madrid and Barcelona legend Bernd Schuster was the man in situ.

“He’s good. All managers are different. The last one (Lopez Carlo) was very strict on time-keeping and things like that. He had been at Real Madrid before that and I think it was difficult for him to go from the galacticos to a small club like Levante.”

Such turnover hardly smacks of best business practice but Harte – who now speaks with a slight Spanish lilt at the end of his sentences – seems to have adapted to the football culture, explaining, “that’s Spain for you, they chop and change.

“We don’t have a say in who is manager. Someone comes in, they have new ideas which might be good but things can change overnight so it’s difficult.”

The same applies with the national side. The infusion of new talent this week should ensure that everyone has been busting a gut in training and Harte, who starts at left-back, has been impressed by the rookies.

“There has been a quick turnover of players with a couple of lads retiring after the last campaign. That has given the young lads a great opportunity as they have done fantastically well for their clubs. I’m sure if they get the chance with Ireland they will take it with both hands.

“The two lads at Reading, look how well they are doing and I know Andy Keogh from his Leeds days before he went to Scunthorpe. Now he’s at Wolves and there are some brilliant players.”