No one at Lansdowne Road on May 16 could possibly imagine as Roy Keane left the field after 64 minutes of the friendly with Nigeria that they were seeing the brilliant Manchester United midfielder in the green of Ireland for the last time.
After all, it was party time for the Irish. More than 40,000 saw their heroes against the Nigerians, and even a 2-1 defeat couldn't dampen confidence that Keane and his men were on the verge of great things in the Far East was tangible.
Good time to be an Irish football supporter. Fantastic time to be the Republic of Ireland captain, and one of the world's great players, surely?
Okay, Keane had a knee injury to overcome, but it didn't appear possible that this trifling concern would stop a ferociously-determined man at the height of his powers from taking centre stage in the world's greatest football tournament.
As it transpired, it didn't. His attitude, an increasing source of irritation for manager Mick McCarthy, did. His antics and outbursts simply pushed Ireland's no-nonsense Yorkshire-raised boss too far.
So, with eight days to go to their opening World Cup Group E game against Cameroon, the Irish captain and chief inspiration is on his way home, and a nation is in a state of shock.
It is also clear, as the phone lines to talk radio shows jam, public opinion is utterly divided. On one hand, how could the manager possibly send home Ireland's best player? On the other, he gave him no choice. The team comes first and to hell with any individual intent on causing upset.
But there's the rub. Ireland, with McCarthy having made a unbelieveably courageous decision, will be nowhere near the same force without the man who won the first of his 58 caps against Chile in Dublin back in 1991.
Let's be honest, Ireland without Keane is akin to France without Zidane or Spain without Raul... but worse. France and Spain have star players ready to take the up the slack, Ireland is far less equipped to survive.
Put another way, McCarthy's side is now just an injury to Mark Kinsella or Matt Holland away from having to depend on the wholly inadequate Lee Carsley.
Aside from his unquestioned talent, Keane brought so much to Ireland. More even than just previous experience to their first World Cup finals in eight years. He brought passion, fire and the fierce attitude to succeed. That will-to-win that would surely have driven his colleagues on and into the second round of the finals at least.
Keane, though, is no stranger to controversy with Ireland. He's been sent off. He's missed games at short, if any, notice. He's inspired journalists to use their newspaper columns to encourage the Lansdowne Road crowd to boo him. And he's even had a previous World Cup finals tantrum, a barney with Maurice Setters at USA 94 that was dealt with swiftly by then manager Jack Charlton.
To boot, he's rounded on the FAI for everything; the state of the training pitch in Dublin, the standard of hotel accommodation, the amount of leg room afforded to players during flights... the list goes on.
There was only so much the FAI's top brass could take, even a week away from the World Cup.
And while Keane believed that Ireland, by virtue of training on a sub-standard pitch in Saipan this past week, were preparing to fail by not preparing properly, the sense of unease which his outspoken actions were bringing to the camp left McCarthy with little option, certainly in the manager's mind.
Keane committed the cardinal sin in his book. Instead of leading by example, by showing tact and diplomacy, the skipper, who significantly chooses to room alone, went instead to the Irish media on Thursday with his gripes.
And with that decision he neglected his responsibility as captain; that as the manager's link between players and backroom staff he should have been able to smooth out the odd gripe or wrangle.
After all, he was the Irish squad's mouthpiece. The world was watching and he chose to underminde McCarthy. After all, it was the boss himself who organised the week-long stay in Saipan. And no matter how good or important Keane is, in a row with the manager there's was only going to be one winner.
Keane has gone and the awful truth has dawned. That game against Nigeria was, indeed, his last in the green of his homeland.
It was no way for the skipper to end his international career, and this disastrous, undignified episode is no way to prepare for a World Cup.
McCarthy has been brave, his squad will need to be even braver if they are to now survive beyond the first round. from onefootball
