The last time Caoimhin Kelleher played international football in Bulgaria, he had his Junior Certificate books with him and was playing opposite Gianluigi Donnarumma.
His Liverpool adventure hadn’t yet begun, whereas now it appears that it is coming to an end.
One of his Ireland teammates, Marcus McGuane, would be Barcelona bound three years later, but as an England international, while another, Connor Ronan, had just made the switch to Ireland after playing for the Three Lions a few months earlier.
It’s 10 years ago since the then-Ringmahon Rangers goalkeeper was a member of the Ireland Under-17 side that travelled to this neck of the woods for the European Championships.
Drawn in a formidable group alongside the Netherlands, Italy and England, Kelleher played all three games as Tom Mohan’s side opened with a hard-fought scoreless draw against the Dutch.
Unfortunately, things went downhill from there. Donnarumma kept a clean sheet in the next game, just 80km down the road from Plovdiv, the venue for tomorrow night’s Nations League promotion/relegation play-off, as the young Azzurri side won 2-0.
PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma (Image: Getty Images)
Their goalscorers that day were Simone Lo Faso and Simone Mazzocchi.
Neither have reached the heights of their one-time goalkeeper teammate. Lo Faso is now in Serie D with Akragas, while Mazzocchi most recently enjoyed a couple of loan spells in Serie B.
As for Donnarumma, the then 16-year-old would make his Serie A debut for Milan five months after the May meeting with the Boys in Green in the Bulgarian city of Stara Zagora.
That game was sandwiched between the opening stalemate against the Dutch in Sozopol, on Bulgaria’s sunny Black Sea coast, and a 1-0 defeat to England.
The biggest name in that England squad was a young Anfield hopeful called Trent Alexander-Arnold, although he didn’t make it off the bench against Ireland.
Kelleher, speaking to the Irish Daily Star in Bulgaria during that tournament, spoke of his excitement at his imminent move to Liverpool, where he would team up with TAA.
“I want to be the best and to get into the first-team. There is no point in going over and thinking otherwise. I want to play in the first-team,” he said.
He’s not the first kid to head from these shores to England with such lofty ambitions and he won’t be the last - but he is one of the tiny percentage to realise them.
Kelleher, who was playing as a striker only four years earlier, also told us who he modelled his game after, saying: “I like Manuel Neuer, the way he plays football.
“He is good with his feet, the same as me because I was outfield. I like coming off my line.
“I would do that a good bit. I think you have to do that in the modern game. It's become a part of the goalkeeper's game.”
Kelleher opted at the time for Liverpool despite successful trials at Manchester United and Aston Villa.
And with the Junior Cert coming up a month after the Euros, he said: “I brought my books to Bulgaria.”
There are no school books this time around as the Corkman returns to Bulgaria. Instead, it’s our turn to revise our notes - and check out how we covered Kelleher’s tournament.
Ireland 0-0 Netherlands (7/5/2015, Sozopol)
‘Ringmahon Rangers goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher demonstrated why Manchester United, Aston Villa and Liverpool, the eventual winners of the race for his signature, were keen.
‘He spread himself to block Carel Eiing's close-range deflected 14th minute shot, while he also kept out strikes from Mink Peeters (29 minutes), Javairo Dilrosun (31) and Dani De Wit (37) as the Dutch took control.
‘Poor finishing by Netherlands striker Nigel Robertha helped keep the clean sheet intact, while Kelleher's save of the game came on 59 minutes when he pushed Eiting's volley onto the post.’
Ireland 0-2 Italy (10/5/2015, Stara Zagora)
'(Darragh) Leahy and centre-half partner Conor Masterson could do nothing to stop the concession of Italy's opener on ten minutes.
'The Azzurri moved the ball from right to left through Gianluca Scamacca and Patrick Cutrone. The latter's back-heel found Simone Lo Faso 12 yards from goal and to the left of the target.
'He shifted the ball right, took out two defenders with that one movement and lashed a rising shot past Caoimhin Kelleher and inside the right-hand post.
'It was heartbreak for Ireland on 56 minutes when Italy doubled their advantage.
'Super-sub Simone Mazzocchi was on the pitch three minutes when he turned on the edge of the area and sent the ball past Kelleher and inside the left-hand upright.'
Ireland 0-1 England (13/5/2015, Stara Zagora)
'The brilliant (Marcus) Edwards (now on-loan at Burnley from Sporting Lisbon, but then a Spurs prospect) was the difference in a game that saw England dominate, but Ireland also created a number of openings.
'Edwards' strike, nine minutes from time, would not have looked out of place at White Hart Lane, where he hopes to one day star alongside the likes of Harry Kane.
'Through Edwards the chances clocked up. England registered 13 shots to Ireland's one in the opening period. A couple of efforts were deflected wide of Kelleher's goal.
'Edwards broke Irish hearts with nine minutes remaining. He turned one way and then another, spinning onto his right foot, and he sent an unstoppable shot high into Kelleher's right-hand corner of the net from 25 yards.'
*****
It’s almost ten years since he lost out to Donnarumma - and it’s just a week since he watched from the bench as the PSG and Italy goalkeeper’s penalty shootout heroics ended Liverpool’s Champions League dream.
This week, back in central Bulgaria, the Corkman can right one of those wrongs.
THE IRELAND SQUAD
Many of Caoimhin Kelleher’s teammates in Bulgaria 10 years ago will be familiar to League of Ireland watchers.
Included in Tom Mohan’s squad were Jonathan Lunny, a Premier Division winner last year with Damien Duff’s Shelbourne, and Darragh Leahy, Waterford’s former Bohemians and Dundalk defender.
Trevor Clarke (Shamrock Rovers) and Zach Elbouzedi (St Patrick’s Athletic) are also starring in the Premier Division.
Marcus McGuane, who was with Arsenal at the time, ended up playing for England at underage level and securing a high-profile move to Barcelona. After two years in the B team, he returned to England with Nottingham Forest.
McGuane is now at Bristol City after a spell at Oxford United.
PLAYERS (THEN/NOW)
Caoimhin Kelleher (Ringmahon Rangers/Liverpool)
Corey O’Keefe (Birmingham City/Barnsley)
Jonathan Lunney (Preston/Shelbourne)
Conor Masterson (Liverpool/Gillingham)
Darragh Leahy (Coventry/Waterford)
Marcus McGuane (Arsenal/Bristol City)
Zach Elbouzedi (West Brom/St Patrick’s Athletic)
Conor Levingston (Wolves/Wexford)
Josh Barrett (Reading/Aldershot)
Connor Ronan (Wolves/Colorado Rapids)
Trevor Clarke (St Kevin’s/Shamrock Rovers)
Luke Wade-Slater (St Kevin’s/Longford Town
Jamie Gray (St Kevin’s/Bluebell)
Shane Hanney (Shamrock Rovers/no club)
Robert McCourt (West Brom/Wexford)
David Craddock (Shelbourne/no club)
Jamie Aherne (Lucan United/no club)
Anthony Scully (West Ham/Portsmouth - on-loan at Colchester)
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