McPhail glad to be back in the big time
At 28, this will be the Dubliner’s first major final. It wasn’t supposed to be this way.
To understand McPhail’s journey to today’s date with destiny we have to go back in time.
It’s December 19, 1999. Leeds United are at Stamford Bridge playing Chelsea in a crucial Premiership match. After 66 minutes of Chelsea dominance, Leeds steal a breakaway goal when a young midfielder called Stephen McPhail slots in a Lee Bowyer cross. Three minutes from time, McPhail hits his second to kill off Chelsea.
The win sees David O’Leary’s side replace Manchester United at the top of the table. That season they reach the Champions League semi-final. A decade of dominance awaits. For Leeds and the man described as ‘the new Liam Brady’ everything in the garden is rosy.
‘‘It was unbelievable,’’ he recalls, ‘‘It was a special moment that’s hard to put into words or describe. I’d worked all my life to get a chance of playing on the big stage. It was a great feeling.
‘‘They were really special games. The clubs and players we played against speak for themselves. I was just really delighted to have made such a good start to my career.’’
But the dream turns into a nightmare. Leeds’ Golden Generation fails to win anything, O’Leary is sacked, the club falls into debt, are forced to sell their star names and begin a slide that sees them drop two divisions.
McPhail’s fall is equally dramatic. Injuries and a loss of form halts his progress. He soon becomes soccer’s forgotten man.
In 2004 a frustrated McPhail leaves Elland Road after Leeds make it clear they no longer require his services and release him on a free transfer amid their financial turmoil and he joins League one side Barnsley.
‘‘I was struggling to get into the team,’’ McPhail recalls of that unhappy time. ‘‘While I was at Leeds we had seven or eight managers. I thought, if I stepped down a level and got back to playing 40 or 50 games a season, I’d get my fitness up and be able to make the step up to the Premiership again.”
‘‘I didn’t want to give up. I wanted to make sure that I gave myself the best possible chance of making it as a footballer. That’s all I’d dreamt of since I could walk and kick a ball. I didn’t want to throw it away so I hung in there.’’
At Barnsley, McPhail began the long road to redemption. ‘‘I really enjoyed going to Barnsley,’’ he says. ‘‘It was a different kettle of fish to playing at Leeds. It’s not as big a club and you see the young lads really fighting hard to get into the team. It opened my eyes a bit. I had two great years there.’’
Having helped Barnsley to promotion to the Championship McPhail packed his bags again and joined Cardiff.
In his first season McPhail was an ever-present and quickly became a fans favourite. This season he has continued to impress and while the Bluebirds may have missed out on the play-off place they are now just 90 minutes away cup glory.
The Dubliner freely acknowledges that this is a once in a lifetime experience for players and supporters alike. ‘‘Everyone is caught up in the emotion of the moment, the historical significance, the uniqueness. They reckon they may never see a day like this again. We believe in our ability and are quietly confident of doing well.
“Their confidence won’t be as high as usual (after losing their last four games) but we know if they are at 100% they are going to beat us — it is as simple as that.
“But we feel like we can play against Premier League sides and play well, as we proved against Middlesbrough.
“We are looking forward to it, we don’t fear them.”
As for the future, McPhail is desperate for another shot at the top flight. ‘‘I want to play in the Premiership, that’s my aim. I’m determined to get back there,’’ he says.
Another target is to build on a paltry tally of just 10 Republic of Ireland caps. After today, McPhail will link up with the Republic of Ireland squad for a training camp in the Algarve, Portugal.
‘‘It’s great to be in the squad,’’ says McPhail. ‘‘Everyone seems very excited and hopefully there are good times ahead.”
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