It’s fair to say there weren’t many memorable moments during Steve Staunton’s time in charge of the Irish team. Forgettable, absolutely, albeit in a strangely unforgettable way.
Perhaps buoyed by the sense of place – the game took place in Stuttgart, the venue of one of Irish soccer’s best ever moments – the Irish fans were in full voice for the occasion, although perhaps in a slightly over-zealous, anti-English fashion.
So there was real optimism in the air, and an unfortunate defeat following a desperately unlucky goal – a Lukas Podolski shot that deflected cruelly past Shay Given – hinted that perhaps there were good times ahead.
The Irish fans may have been loved the world over during the Jack Charlton years but the team certainly was not, the kick-and-rush, put-em-under-pressure ethos endearing us to few football purists around the globe. That us-against-the-world attitude was such an important facet of any Irish success, and it seemed to be encapsulated again in the sight of Stan kicking a water bottle in frustration towards the end of the game and earning himself a seat in the stands for the final few moments.
This was our bright young manager and record caps-holder demonstrating just how much the job of Ireland meant to him, and we – or the short-sighted amongst us – loved him for it.
For that brief period, in the late summer of 2006, Steve Staunton was still someone almost universally admired. Fast forward four weeks and Cyprus put five past us in Nicosia. And then we came to the end.
