If any Irish club can pull off a shock result against Chelsea in the Europa Conference League, the stats point to Shamrock Rovers being that club.
The Hoops are set to face a team from one of Europe’s top five leagues for the 18th time when they head to Stamford Bridge on Thursday night.
And in their 17 games so far, the League of Ireland’s most decorated side have claimed a result in five of them - including a win in the 1969/70 European Cup Winners’ Cup against German side Schalke.
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They recorded draws against Nice (1959), Valencia (1963), Real Zaragoza (1969) and Bayern Munich (1966).
And the last time they faced English opposition, they lost home and away to Tottenham in the 2011 Europa League group stage, although they did lead at White Hart Lane through Stephen Rice's opener.
In all likelihood, Rovers will leave Stamford Bridge with their first defeat of this historic campaign. But with progress to the knockout stage already secured, that should do little to dampen the mood around their sensational European run to date.
In total, Irish clubs have faced top-five opposition 94 times, winning four of those games and drawing 17.
Famous victories include Bohemians’ 2000 UEFA Cup success away to Kaiserslautern (1-0), which unfortunately wasn’t enough to overturn a 3-1 deficit.
And Drumcondra, who no longer operate in the League of Ireland, won two of their 10 games against top-five foes - beating the mighty Bayern 1-0 in Dublin but losing 6-0 away in 1962, and three years later claiming a home win over Vorwarts Berlin in the European Cup.
Irish clubs have faced English top-flight opposition 26 times so far, stretching back to Rovers’ 1957/58 European Cup meeting with Matt Busby’s Manchester United (0-6, 2-3).
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Dundalk were the last Irish side to meet English opposition, when they faced Arsenal in the group stages of the 2020/21 Europa League. Those games were played behind closed doors, amid the Covid-19 pandemic, with Arsenal winning 3-0 in London and 4-2 at the Aviva Stadium.
Irish clubs have only managed to avoid defeat against English sides four times to date. Bohemians drew 0-0 at home to Newcastle in the 1977/78 UEFA Cup, Limerick claimed a 1-1 draw away to Southampton in the 1981/82 UEFA Cup, Dundalk held Tottenham 1-1 at home that same year in the European Cup Winners’ Cup, and UCD claimed a remarkable 0-0 draw with Everton in that same competition three years later.
So, ahead of Rovers’ game in Chelsea, here’s the complete rundown of Irish club in Europe against teams from a top-five league:
ENGLAND
1957/58 European Cup: SHAMROCK ROVERS v Manchester United: 0-6, 2-3 (2-9)
1968/69 European Cup: WATERFORD v Manchester United: 1-3, 1-7 (2-10)
1969/70 Inter City Fairs Cup: DUNDALK v Liverpool: 0-4, 0-10 (0-14)
1976/77 UEFA Cup: FINN HARPS v Derby County: 1-4, 0-12 (1-16)
1977/78 UEFA Cup: BOHEMIANS v Newcastle: 0-0, 0-4 (0-4)
1978/79 UEFA Cup: FINN HARPS v Everton: 0-5, 0-5 (0-10)
1981/82 UEFA Cup: LIMERICK v Southampton: 0-3, 1-1 (1-4)
1981/82 European Cup Winners’ Cup: DUNDALK v Tottenham: 1-1, 0-1 (1-2)
1982/83 European Cup: DUNDALK v Liverpool: 1-4, 0-1 (1-5)
1983/84 UEFA Cup: DROGHEDA UNITED v Tottenham: 0-6, 0-8 (0-14)
1984/85 European Cup Winners’ Cup: UCD v Everton: 0-0, 0-1 (0-1)
*2011/12 Europa League: SHAMROCK ROVERS v Tottenham: 0-4, 1-3
*2020/21 Europa League: DUNDALK v Arsenal: 2-4, 0-3
*2024/25 Europa Conference League: SHAMROCK ROVERS v Chelsea ??
(*group stage)
SPAIN
1958/59 European Cup: DRUMCONDRA v Atletico Madrid: 1-5, 0-8 (1-13)
1963/64 Inter City Fairs Cup: SHAMROCK ROVERS v Valencia: 2-2, 0-1 (2-3)
1963/64 European Cup Winners’ Cup: SHELBOURNE v Barcelona: 0-2, 1-3 (1-5)
1964/65 Inter City Fairs Cup: SHELBOURNE v Atletico Madrid: 0-1, 0-1 (0-2)
1965/66 Inter City Fairs Cup: SHAMROCK ROVERS v Real Zaragoza: 1-1, 1-2 (2-3)
1970/71 Inter City Fairs Cup: CORK HIBS v Valencia: 0-3, 1-3 (1-6)
1980/81 European Cup: LIMERICK v Real Madrid: 1-2, 1-5 (2-7)
2004/05 Champions League: SHELBOURNE v Deportivo La Coruna: 0-0, 0-3 (0-3)
GERMANY
1961/62 European Cup: DRUMCONDRA v Nurnberg: 1-4, 0-5 (1-9)
1962/63 Inter City Fairs Cup: DRUMCONDRA v Bayern Munich: 1-0, 0-6 (1-6)
1065/66 European Cup: DRUMCONDRA v Vorwarts Berlin: 1-0, 0-3 (1-3)
1966/67 Inter City Fairs Cup: DRUMCONDRA v Eintracht Frankfurt: 0-2, 1-6 (1-8)
1966/67 European Cup Winners’ Cup: SHAMROCK ROVERS v Bayern Munich: 1-1, 2-3 (3-4)
1969/70 European Cup Winners’ Cup: SHAMROCK ROVERS v Schalke: 2-1, 0-3 (2-4)
1971/72 European Cup: CORK HIBS v Borussia Monchengladbach: 0-5, 1-2 (1-7)
1972/73 UEFA Cup: BOHEMIANS v FC Koln: 1-2, 0-3 (1-5)
1972/73 European Cup Winners’ Cup: CORK HIBS v Schalke: 0-0, 0-3
1974/75 UEFA Cup: BOHEMIANS v Hamburg: 0-3, 0-1 (0-4)
1991/92 UEFA Cup: CORK CITY v Bayern Munich: 1-1, 0-2 (1-3)
1997 Intertoto Cup: CORK CITY v FC Koln: 0-2
2000/01 UEFA Cup: BOHEMIANS v Kaiserslautern: 1-3, 1-0 (2-3)
2012/13 Europa League: ST PATRICK’S ATHLETIC v Hannover: 0-3, 0-2 (0-5)
ITALY
1971/72 European Cup Winners’ Cup: LIMERICK v Torino: 0-1, 0-4 (0-5)
1975/76 UEFA Cup: ATHLONE TOWN v AC Milan: 0-0, 0-3 (0-3)
2010/11 Europa League: SHAMROCK ROVERS v Juventus: 0-2, 0-1 (0-3)
2020/21 Europa League: SHAMROCK ROVERS v AC Milan: 0-2
FRANCE
1959/60 European Cup: SHAMROCK ROVERS v Nice: 1-1, 2-3 (3-4)
1967/68 Inter City Fairs Cup: ST PATRICK’S ATHLETIC v Bordeaux: 1-3, 3-6 (4-9)
1975/76 European Cup Winners’ Cup: HOME FARM v Lens: 1-1, 0-6 (1-7)
1986/87 European Cup Winners’ Cup: WATERFORD v Bordeaux: 1-2, 0-4 (1-6)
1993/94 UEFA Cup: BOHEMIANS v Bordeaux: 0-1, 0-5 (0-6)
1995 Intertoto Cup: BOHEMIANS v Bordeaux: 0-2
1996 Intertoto Cup: SLIGO ROVERS v Nantes: 3-3
2004 Intertoto Cup: CORK CITY v Nantes: 1-1, 1-3 (2-4)
2004/05 UEFA Cup: SHELBOURNE v Lille: 2-2, 0-2 (2-4)
2006/07 UEFA Cup: DERRY CITY v Paris St Germain: 0-0, 0-2 (0-2)
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