GROWN men had tears in their eyes at the sight of Seamus Coleman punching the air as he saluted the celebrating fans in Budapest.
He is one of them.
An old-school hero, he wears his heart on his chest. The pride he has, the passion he brings to the Ireland jersey is there for all to see.
Coleman himself into the ground but Ireland were 2-1 down and time was ticking away when he was called ashore in Budapest.
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He’s 37 now but Father Time is bound to catch up even with him, so defeat that night would realistically have ended Coleman’s chances of ever going to a World Cup and as he left the field he might have thought ‘that’s it for me’.
The Donegal warrior insists that never crossed his mind.
“There was such a belief in the camp that week…” he says.
“It’s hard to explain without being there, but there was such a belief that week, that I fully believed we could get back into the game and create something.
“When Troy (Parrott) got his second goal, I felt that if we scored in or around that time, I just felt that we could get back in that game.
“So it never crossed my mind. I fully believed that the lads would get the job done, whether that was naïve of me or not, but it proved not to be. I thought they would get the job done and so they did.
“And it was a great night, great for our confidence, great for us as team moving forward and it brings us to today.”
The Ireland fans in the Ferenc Puskas Arena were way up on the third tier but if Coleman could have got up to them you suspect he would have. As pumped up as any Irishman watching on TV or in the ground, it said all you need to know about how he feels about playing for his country.
But that was then, he wants more now…
“Ultimately it has to count for something as well,” he says.
“It was great at the time and memories that people will keep forever but it has to count for something and that is starting on Thursday night.
Seamus Coleman started for the Republic of Ireland in Portugal at the age of 37
Seamus Coleman says the Republic players believe they can win on Thursday night(Niall Carson/PA)
“When you put on the green shirt, you are representing your people and it is an emotional occasion. We have had enough tough days as well so important to soak in those good days.”
The Republic got over two massive hurdles in Portugal and Hungary and now they have two more, first the Czechs and then if all has gone to plan, next Tuesday, the play-off final against the winners of Denmark v North Macedonia in Dublin.
Coleman had belief in November and it is still there.
“We’re looking forward to it,” he says.
“You know there was a time when maybe this didn’t look like it would be the case where we wouldn’t be in this position so I think we’ve got to be confident, embrace it, enjoy it, and yeah we’re all really looking forward to it.
“As professional footballers, everyone’s got nerves every now and again, but no, we’re not thinking like that, we’re thinking: We’re happy to be here, we’re looking forward to the game and bring that same confidence that we did that week.”
Ireland fans began arriving in Prague on Monday and more poured into the city over land, sea and air on Tuesday and Wednesday. By Thursday night, Wenceslas Square will be ringing to the songs of thousands in green, most of them without tickets for the game.
“It’s incredible,” says Coleman.
“It’s what this football team can do, I said it before the results last time, that this football team can lift the nation and we were proved right with that.
“We’re so grateful for their support, we’re so grateful that they’re getting here anyway they can, many flights, trains, whatever way they can to be part of it.
“As long as our supporters know that we don’t take that for granted and we want to give them another good night.
Seamus Coleman was back in action against Mansfield
Lack of game-time for Everton haven't blunted Seamus Coleman's edge in a green jersey(Peter Byrne/PA)
“It would be amazing to get to a World Cup.
“As a player you do want to do as much as you can in the game. After the last games, seeing what it did for our country, how it lifted our people, how it genuinely made people happier and gave them something to talk about, to get up in the morning and talk about was so important.
“On behalf of myself and all the players, as much as we want to do it for ourselves, the manager and all the staff behind the scenes, we want to do it for the people of our country as well.
“To see how the nation is feeling now is incredible and we’ve got a duty to try and make them ever happier.”
Czechia manager Miroslav Koubek took over the national team in December last year. The 74-year-old is to Czech football what Martin O’Neill is to Celtic and after a turbulent qualifying campaign the vastly-experienced club manager was brought in to crack a few skulls together and whip the team into shape for this play-off.
He has said that Ireland play a ‘simple brand of football’ which could be viewed as a snide remark at the ability of the Ireland players. Coleman doesn’t need anything extra to get fired-up to represent his country but that little nugget won’t hurt.
“I use everything as motivation,” he said.
“I would like to say I don’t, but I do. We’re really just focused on ourselves, we are in a good place as a team, we are in a good place as a squad, good place as a group and staff.
“We just want to focus on ourselves, doing our job correctly and taking on the information from the management and staff, using the support of the nation and focusing completely on ourselves.
“When we do that, as you can see from games gone by, we use that kind of confidence we have from that. We absolutely respect them and respect what they are saying but we will focus on ourselves and the job at hand.”
After his heroics in Budapest and against Portugal a few days previously, Coleman returned to Everton’s starting line-up but limped off in his comeback game with a hamstring injury and has struggled to break into the team since then.
Lack of minutes at club level haven’t affected his Ireland form in the past and he is confident they won’t this time.
“Of course everyone wants to be playing, that’s the way it works,” he says.
“I didn’t have many minutes before the last games but, to be honest, I train 100 per cent every single day.
“Sometimes to my own fault, maybe I sometimes go too hard and it’s cost me at times but it’s the only way I know and thankfully at club level we do train hard.
“As I say all the time, when you pull on the green shirt, when everything is at stake, with the games I’ve played in past, I’m feeling good and I’m ready for the game.”
Will Thursday night be the end for him? He hopes not, Ireland hopes not…
“I just want to be someone who is remembered as a good teammate,” he says.
“Someone that works hard every single day. I don’t want anyone to ever have an opportunity to say that he’s not giving his all.
“The motivation is putting on that green shirt for Ireland, it’s incredible, it’s something we dreamed of as a kid and underneath it all, it’s representing your people, my family, my mum, my dad, my brothers, my wife, my kids.
“Things like that are my motivation, always have been, I’m very proud to put on the green shirt for Ireland and never take it for granted.”