As a diehard fan of Derry City Football Club, I have grown up to dislike everything about certain clubs around the League of Ireland circuit. A lot of the dislike of these clubs was due to the fact that they had money and success, both on and off the field.
Then there are our friendly and quiet neighbors in County Donegal, Finn Harps, who are always good for a three points away from home and a few pints down the street from Finn Park at McGinley’s Pub, I’m thirsty just thinking about it.
Over the past twenty years, the importance of League of Ireland teams advancing further in European competitions such as the Champions League, the old UEFA Cup or the current Europa League has been a target for all clubs due to the enormous financial rewards that come with it in terms of appearance and sponsorship money. Many teams have tried and many have failed. In saying that, there are a few that have come close.
In the 2004/05 season, Shelbourne became the 1st Irish club to make it to the 3rd round of qualifying for the European Champions League, one game away from making the group (money) stages. Shelbourne had initially beaten KR Reykjavik of Iceland and Hadjuk Split of Croatia before finally going out of the competition to the hands of Spanish giants Deportivo La Coruna. Ticket sales for the game with the Spanish side were in such demand that Shelbourne made the smart financial decision to move the game to Lansdowne Road in Dublin so that the 25,000 who wanted tickets could get them.
In 2006-07, Derry City entered the UEFA Cup preliminary rounds, where they shocked everyone by beating Swedish giants IFK Goteborg. The Candystripes would next destroy Scottish side Gretna, to reach the first round proper, where it faced yet another European giant in the form of French side Paris Saint-Germain. Derry would tie the first game at home 0-0 but would go on to lose the 2nd leg away in Paris by a very respectable score of 2-0.
Just recently, I found myself going down the path of keeping an eye on another Irish team in Europe. Shamrock Rovers had got the attention of the entire footballing community of Ireland in August with their progress in the 2011/12 Europa League. In the end, they won 3-2 on aggregate and are now through to the money spinning group stages of the competition, where they will play English giants Tottenham Hotspur, Ruban Kuzan of Russia and PAOK Salonika of Greece.
The thing to realize though is that even though I was checking up and getting excited because of the progress of Shamrock Rovers, it was more because this was a huge morale boosting victory for League of Ireland football in general. This was more of case of it being the day the League of Ireland got respect. Nobody ever thought a team from our small wee island could do it, but finally someone did. The confidence this will give to other Irish teams in the future is something that cannot be measured.
The economic impact this will have for Shamrock Rovers is something that clubs in Ireland only dream about, this is effectively as good as winning the Irish Lotto. Whether Rovers decide to play their home games in Tallaght with a smaller crowd or move the games to the National Aviva Stadium where they can open it up to just about anyone willing to spend money, the team are guaranteed to make over $1m euro, with some estimates putting it closer to $2-3m euro. I am sure the Irish taxman will be paying more attention to the higher estimates when all is said and done.
Even on the lower scale, this sort of an income will secure the future of this high flying club for many years to come. It will attract bigger players, which in turn makes the team even more competitive, which ultimately lead to more fans coming through the gates and a steady stream of euro’s. It doesn’t get better than this as far as Irish football teams are concerned. I can only watch with joy knowing that this will have a direct knock on affect with other clubs in Ireland, including my beloved Derry City. Come on the City!!
Nobody ever talks about the grit and determination of the players and the dedication of the thousands of fans that week in week out follow their teams across the country in the hope they will make it to that next level. With the progress of Shamrock Rovers it is hoped that this will shed a new light on the League and the sport itself. The League of Ireland deserves some respect and this will hopefully be the start of a long successful road for all concerned.
Trivia
First last month’s question: The Republic of Ireland will begin their campaign for the 2014 World Cup next summer; when was the last time the national team actually played in a World Cup and who was their last game against? The 2002 World Cup was held jointly by Japan and Korea. They lost in the last 16 to Spain in a dramatic game. Spain led the game 1-0 for the majority of the game, Ireland’s Ian Harte famously missed a penalty in the 2nd half before Robbie Keane put home another penalty in the 90th minute to take the game into extra-time, where the Republic held on to take the game to penalty shootout. But unlike the heroics of the 1990 team, the Irish went out 3-2 on the dreaded shootout.
This month’s question: Shamrock Rovers have supplied more players to the Republic of Ireland national team than any other League of Ireland side, one of these players also went on to manage the national team, who is he?
*Mark Owens is originally from Derry City, Ireland and has resided in the Cleveland area since 2001 having previously spent time studying at John Carroll University. Send questions, comments or suggestions to Mark at:
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