Growing up, the Shamrock Rovers forward made a couple of trips across the Irish Sea to see his beloved Chelsea in action with his Dad. One of those was around Christmas 2016, as the then 17-year-old arrived at Stamford Bridge early to take in the atmosphere before kick-off.
He was walking down the steps at the famous west London stadium when his Dad took a picture of his son. When Neil put up the snap on Instagram, little did he know that the caption would predict the future.
‘Some day…’ he wrote, and on Thursday, that dream is about to become a reality.
“I'm a big Chelsea fan, so I have been watching them since I was a kid. I turned my Dad into a Chelsea fan,” laughs Farrugia, ahead of Rovers’ Conference League clash against the Blues Thursday (8.0).
“There’s a picture I have from years ago when I was a kid. (I posted) ‘some day…’, and now a few years later I’ll be playing at Stamford Bridge. I’m really looking forward to it.
"It hasn't (sunk in) yet because we've had big games and it's been 'one more game, one more game’, but now when I get there, even to train the day before there, it's going to sink in.
“I loved (Eden) Hazard and I’ve always been a big Frank Lampard fan too. I really like Cole Palmer at the moment, he's different gravy. All the family are going over. There was demand but I managed to get enough for the family thankfully.”
When the Conference League draw was made back in August, few could have predicted that the Hoops would be arriving at Stamford Bridge as one of the three sides who remain unbeaten in the 36-team league table, along with Chelsea and Portugal’s Vitoria. It’s been a remarkable campaign for Stephen Bradley’s men.
With 11 points from a possible 15 after five games and a place in February’s play-off for the Last 16 secured, the Tallaght side can really go and enjoy the occasion in SW6 tomorrow. Although they clearly won’t treat it as a free hit, as a point in London would hand Rovers an outside chance of automatic qualification for the Last 16, there is a sense of relief that the hard work is behind them.
“Having done the hard work so to speak, we feel a bit more, not relaxed, but just that we’ve done the hard work and now lets go and enjoy the game,” said the 25-year-old.
“We’re going to go after Chelsea, look to get at least a point over there and see where that takes us. The last game of the season at Stamford Bridge, it will be one to remember. What a game to finish it off.”
Neil Farrugia in Stamford Bridge back in 2016
Last week’s 3-0 home victory over FK Borac was one to remember as the club’s European pot rose to around €5.5m. Farrugia bagged his first of the campaign that night, but now out of contract after Chelsea, it may prove to be his final outing at Tallaght Stadium with his future still yet to be decided.
"It's still to be decided,” he said. “We'll just see what happens after Chelsea, I'll see what my options are and go from there.”
Having become the first Irish side to extend their European campaign beyond Christmas, Farrugia hailed his side for making history this year.
“We have shown how good of a team we are. I think over the course of the European games here in Tallaght, we have done really well. Last Thursday goes to show that it’s a hard place to come to.
“We've built up great resilience in the team. We've been able to go out there and express ourselves. It's a brilliant group of lads. To get a 3-0 win at this stage of the competition (last week) was unbelievable."
Another unbelievable evening awaits for Farrugia tomorrow. With Christmas just a week away, this is a present he has always wished for. From being just another face in the Stamford Bridge crowd to having a starring role on a big European night, sometimes dreams really do come true.