Gibraltar take fight to Europe

On the face of it, it didn’t seem that much of an occasion, just a warm-up for the real action. Sure, it may have been Gibraltar’s ever international first match as a recognised nation, but the November 2013 friendly in the Algarve was against an experimental Slovakia side, and ended 0-0. Bigger days surely lay ahead.

It was only when those there saw the faces of players, though, that the enormity dawned. Former Manchester United defender Danny Higginbotham (below, right) was making one of his three appearances for Gibraltar that day, and remembers the sheer emotion.

“It only sunk in how special it was, because there were a lot of tears in that dressing room,” Higginbotham tells the Irish Examiner. “It was the culmination of everything coming together, and being able to step out onto that pitch as a recognised nation, and to get the result we got. The emotions that came out after the game were very special. That’s how much it meant, after such a battle.”