1 I’ve always been a soccer nut, I had a ball in my hand from as soon as I could walk. The game I will never forget is Ireland beating England in the Euro ’88 championships. Two years previously, my dad had taken me to Lansdowne Road to see Ireland play Wales. It was Jack Charlton’s first game in charge, and my first ever match. I’ll always remember the ticket being ripped, being lifted over the turnstile, and that first glimpse of the pitch in the stadium. I was hooked.