Liam Brady reflects on a career in football that has often been characterised by conflict as well as greatness.
Paul Fennessy IS LIAM BRADY the best Republic of Ireland international never to play at a major tournament?People old enough to remember might also consider players such as Johnny Carey, Charlie Hurley and Shay Brennan in the argument.
“But I felt after so many years involved in football, I was entitled to tell a story . ‘Entitled’ is probably the wrong word but I felt like telling it. The multi-talented athlete also played left-half forward for his school, St Aidan’s CBS, and enjoyed great success in both sports early on. Even in that era, it was a controversial matter — Brady’s dad contacted a journalist and the story made the newspapers.
“If I was in school in England, and I was picked to captain the English schoolboy soccer team, I’d be paraded in front of the whole school and applauded and so forth. But I was told not to come back.” “They just didn’t get it. So you kind of kept your head down with people you didn’t know if I can put it that way to you.”Brady’s career with Ireland can perhaps best be described as bittersweet, though he writes that “in the main, I loved it”.
Yet this new era prompted greater expectations and bigger disappointment when results went awry. And Brady, as the star player, sometimes bore the brunt of the criticism. “But they were both very unlucky. We were just talking last night, John and me, about how many times we were robbed, and Eoin the same. At least four games could have changed the fact that we never qualified until Jack came along.It was France who pipped Ireland to qualification on goal difference for the 1982 tournament. A similarly acrimonious scenario would occur 27 years later, and again, it was the French who were the beneficiaries.
“I’m only assuming this now, but my guess is people were telling him when he got the job: ‘Brady’s got too much influence, Brady’s this, Brady’s that.’ “I was never one to be friendly with the press. I was always kind of standoffish. I think, for example, if they wanted to do an interview, I wouldn’t do it and things like that. So there was a bit of friction there, you know?”
Yet the midfielder was once again denied an appearance at a major tournament. He was sent off in Ireland’s final qualifier near the end of a 2-0 win, an incident he describes as “one of the stupidest moments of my career,” finally reacting to relentless provocation by Bulgarian players throughout the game.
An angry Brady confronted the Irish boss at half-time, leading to “a shouting match,” and the Dubliner told reporters after the game that he was retiring from international football.Yet the animosity between these two legends of Irish football did not last. Brady received a letter from Charlton a few weeks after the incident. Part of it read: “I never intended to hurt you, believe that. You would be very welcome to come to Italy should we get there.
And did Brady ever feel cursed, given how close he so often came to playing at a major tournament while continually falling just short for various reasons? “I think you have to be a certain type of person to be a successful manager,” he says. “But then again if your circumstances are suitable then that can make all the difference. At Celtic at the time, they were second best to Rangers financially big time. Rangers were bringing in a lot of star players from England and other parts of the world.
“I was only used to my managers . He went into such detail about football and how football should be played, how footballers should prepare, and how they should look after themselves. He really was ahead of his time.” “Some players you thought were absolute certainties because of their ability didn’t get there in the end, because they weren’t professional enough.”
Dunphy, in his role as a pundit and sportswriter, had on many occasions been highly critical of Brady during the latter’s playing career. “I never envisaged ever being in the same room, to be honest — such are the twists of life. I didn’t want to have anything to do with Eamon, let’s say in the late ’80s and ’90s.
“I’ve always thought I was right, still to this day. I think it divided the country and it’s still divided when they look back.
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