Shelbourne’s unholy battle

Shelbourne’s unholy battle
The Times

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The Irish champions travel to Steaua Bucharest needing to defy rank, history and a president who marks a win by building a church. By Michael Foley

AFTER the draw for the second round of Champions’ League qualifiers, Steaua Bucharest’s club president Gigi Becali called their draw against Shelbourne proof of the good fortune that would underpin their European campaign, reckoning they were already “90% qualified for round three”.

He is a man few might care to argue with. Less than 15 years ago, Becali made his living as a shepherd before making his fortune in property. A year ago he ran as a Romanian presidential candidate, his election slogan echoing an old motto traditionally associated with the old fascist parties of pre-war Romania, eventually trailing in with less than two per cent of the vote behind the Christian Democratic National Peasant Party candidate but narrowly ahead of a selection of independents.

Under his reign, few clubs across Europe have attracted notoriety and soap opera storylines like Steaua. Last April, both Steaua and rivals Rapid Bucharest were fined €700 and ordered to play their next games behind doors having taunted each other with racist chants instigated by the stadium announcer. The announcer was suspended for six months, while Becali refused to pay the fine, describing the sentiments expressed not as racist but as “metaphoric”.

He hasn’t been averse to punching members of the media, once proferring the opinion that all journalists deserve to be killed, and has maintained an aggressive feud with the football governing bodies in Romania and the national team.

Slipping up against Shelbourne on Wednesday is not an avenue his new coach Oleg Protasov might wish to go down. After a difficult evening in Tolka Park, he already has questions to answer. In conceding so much respect, Shelbourne might have allowed what opportunity they had to slip away. For an hour, Steaua passed the ball poorly, struggled to compete effectively in midfield and provided little attacking threat.

In contrast, Shelbourne looked compact. Comfortable. Only when their legs began to wilt and Steaua started to find the measure of their passes in the final quarter did we see the kind of trends unfold that Steaua expected.

Aside from one glorious chance near the end Shelbourne might have ended the game two, possibly three down despite a fine defensive display. Their tactical system, with Jason Byrne supplementing midfield while providing a link to Glenn Crowe up front, looked infinitely more suited to playing away from home but Shelbourne’s ambitions were wrapped up in safety.

When Byrne was substituted late on, Shelbourne opted for Curtis Fleming, exchanging an attacking conduit for a defensive buffer. This tactic kept their European ties alive into the second leg last year, but against a side of Steaua’s potential, they might regret not cutting loose at home.

Last year they went to La Coruna with a scoreless draw, and kept them in touch for a long spell before they eventually gave way. It is hard to expect any different this time.

With Steaua’s legs loosened and a little more time for Protasov to gauge the ability of his players, those in Bucharest will expect a rout. Over the years, 20 churches have been built across Romania by Becali to commemorate Steaua’s victories. In the context of his ambition, victory on Wednesday might merely inspire him to invest in a shiny new tabernacle.

Steaua Bucharest v Shelbourne, Wednesday, RTE2, 6pm, kick-off 6.30pm

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That article doesnt give Shelbourne much of a chance. I have to agree that our best chance to get a result is early on in the game at home. I think Nutsy's whole game plan is to keep the score low over the two legs and try to get a goal.

It will probably be 4-1-4-1, or 4-5-1 again or something like that. I hope we can get a goal away from home, but I dont think it will be easy.

I dont think Shelbourne will fold though, Steaua arent the same class as Deportivo

another article from a week earlier

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July 24, 2005

Heary focused on Shelbourne’s big fight
Owen Heary was a reluctant footballer in his youth but the Shelbourne captain is relishing his side’s Champions League odyssey. By Alex McGreevy

ON A calm summer evening in Millstreet, Co Cork, the sight of an Irishman and an Englishman fighting had gripped the attention of the nation. Thousands sat in their homes, focused on television screens, while the lucky ones with tickets roared Steve Collins to his remarkable victory over the seemingly invincible Chris Eubank.

This, and most of Ireland’s defining sporting occasions from the same period, passed over the head of a young Owen Heary in Cabra, Co Dublin. He was interested in running. Little else.

Soccer was certainly not a passion. He “kicked the odd ball against a wall” now and then, nothing more, but his father’s love for the game and managerial post with a local Leinster League pub team meant that Heary was destined to take up the game. On Wednesday in Dublin, Heary, the Shelbourne captain, scored the opening goal of a 4-1 win over Glentoran to see his club of seven years through to the second qualifying round of the Champions League for the second successive season. The battle of Ireland had not materialised. Out-of-season Glentoran had been outplayed in the first leg in Belfast and outclassed in the second in Dublin.

Heary was 12 years old when Ireland stood on the verge of the semi-finals at Euro 88. They had beaten the English in Stuttgart and, with Ronnie Whelan’s spectacular goal against the Soviet Union, it appeared nothing could go wrong. That was until Oleg Protasov levelled the score late in the second half.

Protasov is the man Irish soccer fans hold accountable for the Euro 88 exit and now, as the new Steaua Bucharest manager, he plans to prevent Irish football from progressing once again when his team stand between Shelbourne and the final qualifying round of the Champions League.

“A few of my teammates and some of the older people at Shelbourne have told me about how great a club Steaua Bucharest once were, and about their manager and his goal against Ireland,” said Heary. “I have to admit, a lot of that passed me by. In 1988, I wasn’t interested in the game. Track and field was my interest, running and running, that is all I wanted to do.”

Heary’s grounding in football came when his father threw him into the mix of pot-bellied seniors and arrogant youth of the Leinster League. His talent was soon noted and, aged 15, he joined Home Farm, a renowned schoolboy breeding ground, where he would meet and play alongside Roddy Collins, current manager of Shamrock Rovers and brother of Steve.

He was a part-time amateur, playing in a winter league, when he joined Shelbourne in 1998, looking forward to European fixtures but dreading hammerings on that big stage.

Today he’s a full-time professional, playing in a summer league and on the fringe of realising a Champions League dream.

Steaua is Romania’s leading club but does not enter the European Cup with the self-belief it once boasted as former winners of the most sought-after trophy in club competition. The collapse of the Iron Curtain left Steaua struggling to hold on to home-grown talent and they face Shelbourne with much the same squad that finished last season as domestic champions. There is uncertainty over the role of club captain Mirel Radoi, who was given a four-match suspension for leaving a national team training camp without permission.

The Football Association of Ireland faced criticism for forcing Shelbourne into a Premier League fixture with Bray Wanderers on Friday, 48 hours after the defeat of Glentoran and just days ahead of the meeting with Steaua Bucharest.

Struggling Bray stole a league point from the champions, wiping out a two-goal lead and leaving the Dubliners 11 points behind pacesetters Cork City.

The pressure is mounting, not least to win on Wednesday, but to retain the league title and ensure Shelbourne’s grand plan for Europe remains intact.

For Heary, who scored against Bray, that pressure is welcome.

“We get paid well to be in this position,” he said. “Everyone wants to be in our place. We must continue to improve at all times and I believe we will. I truly believe that an Irish team will reach the group stages of the Champions League. It is possible that will happen this year. If not this year, next year. It will happen soon.”

If that success comes for Heary and Shelbourne, it will not pass over the heads of his young son and daughter.

Champions League, Shelbourne v Steaua Bucharest, Wednesday, RTE2, 7.20pm, kick-off 7.30pm

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Gigi Becali sounds like the kind of club offical I can respect ;)

Becali is a facist !! I hate him