SHAY GIVEN was plucked, in March 1996, from near-obscurity by Mick McCarthy to play for the Republic of Ireland in a friendly against Russia.
Given was a long-time admirer of the Irish team.
Packie Bonner was his idol and the phone call from McCarthy was giving him a chance to step into Bonner’s gloves.
His first team appearances across the water were limited.
He’d moved to Celtic after catching the eye while playing for Lifford Celtic in the FAI Junior Cup and, while he did get a place among the Celtic subs for a New Year’s Day derby against Rangers, he never turned out for the Hoops.
He’d played for Swindon Town and Sunderland in the second and third tiers of English football when McCarthy came calling.
From that night to this week, Shay Given never lost his desire to play for Ireland.
Even now, that he has – for the second time – confirmed his retirement from international football, aged 40, there remains a regretful feeling about Given. It has to be this way, but he wishes it wasn’t so.
A rainy night in Dublin in March 1996 was the beginning of a chapter of Irish football that was only bookended this week, as Given called time on a career that spanned 134 caps.
“I remember before the game getting changed, Paul McGrath was on one side, Roy Keane was on the other. It was a Jim’ll Fix It moment really. I didn’t know what I was doing there,” he recalled.
[adrotate group=”46″]“I will always be indebted to Mick McCarthy for giving me my debut. He put faith in me at a young age when he could have picked older goalkeepers.
“There have been some great players. For me, it was an honour to play alongside those guys.
“We had to try to step in and fill the shoes of massive players who had walked away. Those players were so successful and we had to step up pretty quick.”
Keane lined out alongside Given in a 2-0 defeat to Russia. Keane was sent off on the night he captained Ireland for the first time.
A decade-and-a-half later, Keane had a sideswipe at Given: “I think players have agendas, certain players come over all the time no matter what,” Keane said. “Maybe they want to get 50 or 100 caps and a pat on the back for it. Shay is one of those ones. He wants to get 200 caps.”
It was hardly right that a player should be criticised for wanting to play for his country.
[adrotate group=”38″]Given returned from international retirement in 2014, having previously walked away following a disappointing Euro 2012.
His career has spanned a generation of ups and downs.
Given’s first two qualifying campaigns ended in play-off defeats – gut- wrenching losses against Belgium (1997) and (Turkey).
Luc Nilis’ winner at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels still haunts Given to this day. “I was so young I thought the world had ended,” said Given, who was consoled by Mick Byrne at the end of a game that marked the departures of Ray Houghton and Andy Townsend.
A couple of years later, ‘in the most hostile atmosphere I ever played in’ Given led Ireland to the 2002 World Cup as the scored a play- off win over Iran.
His late, late save from Ali Karimi in Dublin is still recalled as one of the finest moments in his Irish career.
[adrotate group=”37″]“There were some big results along the way. That game at Lansdowne to knock Holland out was so special. The crowd was phenomenal. The World Cup was the high- light,” he says of that epic journey to the Far East.
“Growing up in Lifford I used to watch the World Cups and support the team as a fan. To get there and be the goalkeeper was surreal but special. The World Cup is the pinnacle for everyone.”
Surreal perhaps puts mildly the events in Saipan that rocked the globe that summer as Roy Keane stormed home from the camp.
Although it ended in a penalty shoot-out defeat to Spain – a game Given feels Ireland ‘could and should have won no question’ – there are some brilliant memories, not least the day time stood still for Robbie Keane to shoot a last-gasp equaliser past Germany.
[adrotate group=”43″]Given says: “It was special being in the mix. When you look back now and it’s all over they are great memories. It has been fantastic. The supporters are amazing and I am forever grateful for that.
“I am a fan myself – I was one of the lucky ones.
“To be able to play so many times for so many years was great. It has come full circle now and I’m back to being a fan again.”
Given still looks back in horror at that night in the Parisian suburb of St Denis when Thierry Henry’s hand contrived to deny Ireland the chance to go to the 2010 World Cup.
“We were so close and it was taken away at the last second,” he said.
“It was very hard to take and still is. Every Irish fan will tell you how hurtful that was.
[adrotate group=”70″]“It’s football too and decisions go against you. At times you need to dust yourself down and move on.
“But that night will stay with Irish people I think. I just couldn’t believe the referee was pointing to the circle for the goal. It was so blatant that I was just about to take a free-kick. It was unbelievable.”
There were other big displays from Given over the years, too and it is often forgotten in the talk about Moscow in 2011 that the Liffordman had an integral role to play,
Richard Dunne’s heroics from that night are the stuff of legend now, but Given had an equally brilliant performance to shut the Russians out.
Injury stunted Given’s final campaign for Ireland and he had a watching brief as a substitute during Euro 2016.
[adrotate group=”54″]“Despite not playing in France at Euro 2016 he was still a very positive influence in the camp,” Irish manager Martin O’Neill said this week after learning of Given’s retirement.
“Those players who played in front of him all bear testimony to his brilliance. He is one of the best goalkeepers to have played in the Premier League since its inception.”
Given played 134 times for Ireland in 20 years, keeping 52 clean sheets and playing in three major tournaments: the 2002 World Cup, Euro 2012 and Euro 2016.
He leaves Irish soccer followers with a thousand saves and a million memories.
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