On the 20th of September, 2008, former Liverpool and Ireland right back Steve Finnan made his La Liga debut for Espanyol against Sevilla after making a deadline day move from the Reds.
I was there that night in Seville’s Sanchez Pizjuan stadium with two Irish friends who I had moved over there with for a year-long stint studying abroad at the Universidad de Sevilla.
We had been in southern Spain for barely two weeks and although there were plenty of Irish bars to frequent, it was still a pleasant surprise to see an Irish player taking to the field thousands of miles from home.
That night was not a great experience for Finnan though. Apart from the fact that Espanyol lost 2 – 0 to what was then a decent Sevilla side, the Limerick born full back, who earned over 50 caps for Ireland, lasted all of half an hour before being stretchered off with a hamstring injury.
Steve Finnan about to be stretchered off at the Sanchez Pizjuan (Sept 2008)
In all he made only three more league appearances for Barcelona-based Espanyol before his contract was terminated in the summer of 2009. But it was a brave decision for Finnan to leave the Premier League for Spain in the first place – and sadly also an uncommon choice.
Very few Irish players choose to play outside of England, Ireland and Scotland, although there have been rare examples: Reading’s Ian Harte had a three year stint at Spanish side Levante, Robbie Keane famously spent three months at Inter Milan, Cillian Sheridan spent time in Bulgaria and ex-Shamrock Rovers striker Padraig Amond also played for Portuguese minnows Pacos de Ferreira.
Before the advent of the Premier League and all the riches it affords, quite a few Ireland internationals did try their luck on the continent.
Tony Cascarino is still a club hero at Marseille, spending the last six years of his career in France; Liverpool legend John Aldridge spent three years in the Basque Country with Real Sociedad; ex-Manchester United defender Kevin Moran was in Spain with Sporting Gijon; Mick McCarthy spent a full year on Gallic soil while Frank Stapleton moved between Ajax, Anderlecht and Le Havre; and of course the most famous expat of them all was Liam Brady who starred in Serie A with Juventus and Sampdoria during a stellar stint of a half a dozen years.
Of course wages in English football were not quite as lucrative at the time with Serie A and other continental leagues far ahead in terms of finance. Nowadays, Irish players will earn far more at a mid-table Premier League club in comparison to an average team in Spain, Italy and Germany.
And of course there are cultural and linguistic reasons behind the dearth of Irish lads trying their luck abroad as some people can have difficulties settling abroad which is completely understandable. Many also have young families which makes relocating quite a challenge.
In addition visibility to the Ireland manager and scouts is also a seductive factor. For example, until recently Giovanni Trapattoni was reluctant to even travel to games in the UK, let alone a continental league.
But as it becomes harder for Irish (and British players) to make it in the Premier League with the increase in foreign players, they may have to bite the bullet and perhaps it would be wise to make the move in their early 20s before they decide to have a family.
Instead of setting their sights on playing for lower to mid-table Premier League clubs like Stoke City or at Championship or League One level, they would learn far more technically and tactically in countries like the Netherlands, Portugal and France, which would go on to benefit the Irish national team.
For example there is no reason why a player like Kevin Doyle could not thrive abroad instead of playing for a struggling Championship side like Wolves.
And if you pick random European countries with mid-level domestic leagues like Switzerland, Belgium, Hungary and many more, you will see some of their best players moving to a variety of countries which may have little to no cultural links with their homeland. So it can be done.
