Tallaghticos bring galacticos back to earth

FORTY years after man went to the moon, the galacticos landed in Tallaght. One small stepover for Ronaldo, perhaps, but a giant leap for South Dublin County.

And proving that international reputation counts for nought in these parts, the moneyed superstars of Real Madrid had to wait until three minutes from time before finally disposing of Shamrock Rovers by one goal to nil at Tallaght Stadium, the winner coming from one of their big new signings, French international Karim Benzema.

The whole world might not have been watching this time but an impressive little chunk of it was: from the 11,000 who packed into the temporarily extended home of Shamrock Rovers to an estimated international audience of 30 million watching live coverage on Sky and Spanish television.

In truth, some of the international media build-up to the meeting of Real Madrid and Shamrock Rovers had flirted with condescension at the expense of the hosts, as if Spanish royalty was about to go hunting leprechauns in the foothills of the Dublin mountains. Now in their 108th year, the founding of Rovers actually predates the Spanish club by a whole 12 months.

Still, history, however rich, counts for little in an age of increasing sporting extremes, and perhaps the most sobering statistic to sum up yesterday’s meeting of the have-yachts and the have-nots is that Real’s squad is valued at €400 million as against €2 million for the Hoops.

None of which mattered much for 90 minutes, as the home supporters revelled in the chance to cut their aristocratic opposition down to size. “Let’s give a big Tallaght welcome to our visitors Real Madrid,” said the man on the PA whereupon the nearby hills echoed to the sound of vociferous boos. They grew even louder when he read out the name of Real Madrid’s number 9, Cristiano Ronaldo, although it might have made him feel a little better to hear referee Alan Kelly being given a similar reception.

Yesterday’s match was only mildly significant in football terms. Certainly, it was a milestone for debut boy Ronaldo and a pleasant distraction for Shamrock Rovers.

But now, with the circus about to leave town, the galacticos and the Tallaghticos must go their separate ways, Real setting course for their 80,000-capacity Bernabeu home in Madrid while Rovers, look forward to the completion of a second stand which will give them room for just over 6,000 citizens.

Same game, different planets.