Shamrock Rovers v Real Madrid

It was early May 2009 when the rumours began to surface. Real Madrid were coming to town and we were to provide the opposition. Yeah, right! We're going to be playing Real Madrid!!  A feeling of disbelief mixed with tentative excitement descended upon everybody connected with Shamrock Rovers FC.  

The rumour was soon the talk of the town.  Internet message boards went into meltdown and newspapers began to throw in the odd line about it.  People started to mention it to me in the street and asked was there any truth in the rumour.

The rumours gathered pace and soon the whisper became a roar and reached a crescendo.  Then one night in early June we were called together at training and told that something massive was about to happen to our football club and that we should brace ourselves.  We all knew immediately what this meant.  Those words sent a tingle down the spine.  This was actually going to happen.

On Friday 19th June 2009 a press release appeared on the Shamrock Rovers website.  The first line read "Shamrock Rovers will play Real Madrid in Tallaght Stadium on July 20th." WOW!! I must have read that line alone 100 times.  This was the day that people I hadn't seen or heard of since my school days suddenly wanted know me again, my Facebook page received a glut of friend requests and they all had the same question in mind: "Any tickets for the match?".

So, the excitement had started.  It didn't end here, however.  Exactly one week after this press release, Real Madrid had news of their own which they wanted to share with the world.  The first line of their press release read "Cristiano Ronaldo today completed his world record £80million transfer to CF Real Madrid from Manchester United FC." Cue madness!!

So, Rovers are playing Real Madrid in Tallaght and it is likely that Cristiano Ronaldo, the world's most expensive player will be making his debut.  This was an absolute dream come true for the players and staff and the kind of event that would see our club catapulted into the eyes of the world.

As the weeks passed the excitement and interest in Shamrock Rovers FC built worldwide.  Reporters from the four corners of the world descended on the Dublin suburb of Tallaght.  We had visits from Reuters, Sky Sports, the BBC, Spanish media outlets. It was crazy.  A quick google search will pull up all sorts of interviews and video reports of the build-up to the occasion.

Sky Sports announced that they would be broadcasting the game live to the world, thus giving us a television audience in excess of 90 million people!  For a League of Ireland club this is unheard of.  We were fast becoming a global brand.

On 13th July a private jet carrying the Galacticos of Real Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo et al, touched down at Dublin Airport to a frenzy of media attention.  They made their way, under police escort, to their training base at the luxurious Carton House in Maynooth on the outskirts of Dublin.  This is where they were to be holed up for their pre-season training camp for the next ten days.

Within the Shamrock Rovers camp, the problem for the team management was keeping the players focussed on important league games in the immediate build-up to the glamour friendly.  For the record, both league games resulted in wins for the Hoops.

Then the big day arrived.  Monday 20th July is a day that will live long in the memory of everybody involved with Shamrock Rovers FC.  We met up for our pre-match meal at the Maldron Hotel directly facing the Stadium at 4.30pm and there was a real buzz about everybody.  We all knew that this was a special day and that the night ahead would be something we would cherish forever.  One thing was sure, though.  We weren't here to make up the numbers and whatever happened, the world and Real Madrid would never forget the night they came up against Ireland's most famous club.

We made our way across the road to the stadium (a one minute walk) and the road was already thronged with excited fans.  Security was tight.  There was a group of Spanish students who were in Ireland for the summer to study hanging around outside the stadium all day.  They were now at fever pitch!  We made our way through the crowds and entered through the Players Entrance to the inner sanctum of the home team dressing room.  Our away kit (the referee had insisted we change from our regular green and white Hoops) was laid out in preparation and we all just sat and started to soak it up.  We took the traditional pre-match pitch walk and, it must be said our unfinished Tallaght Stadium looked fantastic that sunny Monday night.

So the players retreated to the dressing room to prepare for the game.  Meanwhile I was walking the corridor from the gaffer's office to the dressing room when the Players Entrance door swung open and they were here!  I stepped back to allow the players that I was so used to watching on television pass me by.  They were all here: Dudek, Metzelder, Guti, Raul, Higuain and that man Ronaldo.  As they walked past I got hellos from most and a handshake and smile from Ruud van Nistelrooy.  Now I'm not one for being starstruck but this was different.  There was something special happening right here, right now, in our little stadium in Tallaght.

Then it came kick-off time.  As I said before, we weren't here to make up the numbers and we proved this right from the start.  We had barely taken our seats in the dugout and the lucky 9,000 fans packed into the ground had hardly settled when Pat Flynn had smashed into Ronaldo and the stage was set!  The first half was a tight enough affair with Real Madrid doing their best to get past our resolute defence while we tested Dudek on a couple of occasions.  The crowd, in particular the young girls, were going mad for Ronaldo who was doing everything in his power to give them something to cheer about. 

The game was scoreless at half-time and this was about right on the balance of play.  Both sides made changes at half-time and the game started to lose its fluidity as the usual raft of friendly substitutions took place.  We had 2 glorious chances to break the deadlock when Dessie Baker was twice put through on goal but unfortunately he couldn't convert.  The score remained at 0-0 until the 87th minute when Real substiute and debutante Karim Benzema  was put through on goal and he managed to slip the ball past our substitute goalkeeper Robbie Duggan to score the game's only goal.

Afterwards the Real players posed for photos with us and there was the traditional swapping of gifts and jersies.  It must be said that the Real Madrid people were very complimentary and gracious towards us and a friendship has been cemented forever.  Then, just as quickly as they had arrived, they were gone.  As he left Ronaldo turned to us and said "Thank you very much boys.  All the best for your season".  As their coached pulled out of the stadium car park we were left to reflect on what had gone before us.  The whole world has now heard of Shamrock Rovers Football Club and this one match helped to put us back where we belong at the top of the tree.

For the record, the team line-ups that night were as follows:
Rovers: Murphy, Bermingham, Flynn, Maguire, Sives, Robinson, Rice, O'Connor, Amond, Gal Andrezky (triallist), Jurco (triallist). Subs: Madden, Price, Twigg, Bradley, McGill, Cahill, Treacey, Duggan, Baker, Purcell, Coleman.
Real Madrid: Dudek, Torres, Metzelder, Pepe, Marcello, Gago, Diarra, Guti, Ronaldo, Raul, Higuain.  Subs: Salgado, Heinze, Garay, Sneijder, Parejo, Drenthe, Van der Vaart, Benzema, Negredo. Injured: van Nistelrooy, Robben.