Welch calls the shots on Dublin’s big show

THEY might still be regarded as the kid brother to the big guy out in Montrose but tonight TV3 get to feed the world.

As host broadcaster for the first European football final in Ireland, the station will literally call the shots for the Portuguese derby at the Dublin Arena, providing the live “feed” to more than 170 markets worldwide.

The technical logistics for television coverage of the big event are suitably staggering. In total, there will be 52 different broadcasters on site and more than 600 television personnel. There will be 70 cameras in the stadium, including the first ever use in Ireland of a spidercam — that’s the dizzying one which swoops and soars around the stadium — as well as a camera on board a helicopter to provide aerial views of the whole scene. By kick-off, there will be some €75 million worth of TV equipment in and around the ground to ensure that no aspect of the night is missed by an estimated audience across 20 countries of 40 million viewers.

For the first time ever too, TV3 will have their own studio in the stadium, with presenter Tommy Martin and a panel of Kevin Moran, Tony Cascarino and Martin Keown talking the talk.

But the man whose words will accompany the main business of the night is Trevor Welch, the 46-year-old commentator from Cork who will be doing his 10th European final.

“The big difference tonight,” he says, “is that we’re responsible for providing the pictures for the first time as host broadcasters and it’ll be different for me personally in the commentary sense in that I’ll be guided by a full outside broadcast operation with directors and producers. For our Champions League coverage, it would be a small team travelling, basically myself, the co-commentator and one technician, whereas now you’re part of a full-blown outside broadcast. It’s a big team, everyone will play their part and it’s a big challenge for everyone involved.”

For Welch, one of the advantages of his station being host broadcaster is that whereas he would normally fly out to European games on the day of a game, yesterday he had the luxury of being able to watch the teams train at the stadium, attend the pre-match press conferences and, as he puts it, “get a bit more of the inside track”.

As it happens, although tonight’s contestants might not exactly be loaded with household names, there can be few people in this country more familiar with the two teams than Welch.

“I’ve seen a lot of both teams,” he says. “We covered Braga first in the Champions League when they beat Arsenal 2-0 so this will my fourth time doing them this season and my third doing Porto. I’d know the two 11 off by heart.”

But, for all his experience, has the unprecedented nature of this evening’s event been keeping him awake at nights? “Not really. This is my 10th European final. The first was the Champions League final of 2002, when Madrid played Leverkusen in Glasgow, and that’s when I would have been most nervous but you get less nervous as you go on. Of course, there’ll be few butterflies at the start as the atmosphere and the noise builds. The most important thing for me is getting the opening script right, doing it with a bit of authority. But as soon as the game starts, you’re into it then.”

It will help too that he will be accompanied in the box by a familiar sidekick in Mark Lawrenson.

“I’ve done more games with Lawro than anyone else and we know the way each other works by now,” says Trevor. “If he wants to come in, there’s always a little body shape that tells me to come to a natural stop, so we don’t end up talking over each other.”

Commentators are easy prey for armchair critics who have never had to attempt what is, in broadcasting terms, a hell of a high-wire act. For Trevor Welch, the nightmare scenario is that he might wrongly identify a goal scorer. In fact, he admits that, once or twice, he has had actual nightmares in wee hours about just such an scenario.

“When there is a goal and you’re not 100% one sure, it’s important not to dive in because you always have the replays to make sure you get the right name,” he says. “Over the years, you learn to try to make it as easy as possible for yourself. In any live game, you’ll always make one or two mistakes, especially if the action is in a far corner of the pitch where the numbers might not be so clear. In that case, if there isn’t a close-up on screen, than you have to rely on your positional sense. But it can be a bit of a juggling act at times between watching the monitor and watching the live action. For me, success is about getting all the big calls right, like penalty decisions and goals. And making sure that you don’t talk too much over the action.”

And does he collapse in a heap in his seat when it’s all over? “Live commentary is a draining experience because you’re so focused for the whole night, including extra time if need be,” he admits. “When I finish, I usually sit back for a few minutes, take in the whole scene and have a few words with Lawro about how he thinks it went.

“And then it’s off for a drink.”

And tonight, of course, there’s the extra pride involved in being part of the host broadcaster for Ireland’s first European football decider.

“That’s the big thing,” says Welch. “At meetings we’ve had in TV3 we’ve been told that, for every one of us involved, this is history in the making and that it’s a privileged position to be in tonight.”

* The Europa League final opening ceremony is on 3e from 6.30pm. Cover age on TV3 begins at 7.30pm.