LILLE, France — They say that almost anywhere you go in the world you can find an Irish bar. We’ve all been there, searching foreign lands for the familiarity, and of course sport, that emerald-hued establishments guarantee. I remember watching the 2012 African Nations Cup final surrounded by shamrocks in the northern Ghanaian city of Tamale. Turns out they love Guinness in Ghana.
In France, the recent Irish invasion has been welcomed with open arms. Ireland’s army of supporters have been injecting character, and plenty of craic, into every city they have visited, culminating in a night in Lille that reminded of the 1994 fairytale of New York.
While England and Russia fans were tearing up Marseille early in the tournament, the Irish were busy winning hearts and minds in Paris. They’ve done the same in Bordeaux and now Lille, boosting the city’s liquid economy by several thousand percent during their short stint.
French television has been giving regular updates on Irish escapades, each day there’s an update on the latest videos taking social media by storm. I’m sure you’ve seen the one where the Irish fans sing a lullaby to a baby on a metro, or the one where they change an elderly couple’s car tyre.
“They are always brilliant,” Ireland striker Shane Long said to Sport360 after victory over Italy. “Even between games, we see the videos popping up of the fun they’re having around the place – the lullabies, singing songs, cleaning up. I think they’re a credit to Ireland and after the game today when all the Italian fans left, it still felt full in there. Irish fans everywhere.”
Think #IRL fans pretty happy with that! Fantastic atmosphere, deserved win. #Lille will be up all night! #EURO2016 pic.twitter.com/TpD6XNSaY5
— Mark Lomas (@marklomasSport) June 22, 2016
So why does everyone love the Irish?
“I’m not sure why people seem to like us so much,” Paul, an Irish supporter on Lille’s Grand Place, said ahead of Wednesday’s game. “We’re staying outside Lille in the middle of the French countryside and we’ve been getting people in the village beeping their horns and shouting their support when we walk down the street. I think it helps that most Irish fans are polite and also that we always want to have a chat, regardless of where you’re from. People just see the green and it seems to make them happy.”
The smiles will spread to Paris next and a date with host nation France in the last-16. Replays of Thierry Henry’s handball in 2010 will be shown frequently between now and Sunday but rather than dredging up old memories, this Irish side and their supporters are ready to make some new ones.
RISE OF THE MINNOWS
The European Championship’s new 24-team format has had its fair share of detractors but there can be no denying that it’s facilitated some real football fairytales. Two of the tournament’s debutants in Wales and Iceland have made it through to the knockout stages, while fellow first-timers Albania far from disgraced themselves, narrowly missing out on a place in the last-16 on goal difference.
That Wales and Hungary are currently Euro 2016’s top scorers is a wonderfully unexpected development, while the latter’s goalkeeper Gabor Kiraly has provided one of the tournament’s light-hearted highlights. It was impossible to smile as, with the seconds ticking down against Portugal and his Hungary side already safely through to the next round, Kiraly attempted to emulate Thierry Henry’s standing-leg pass, grey tracksuit bottoms and all.
Don’t expect kamikaze Kiraly to repeat the trick against Belgium, though his side should feel confident of causing another upset against a side that is still struggling to find real harmony between its talented collection of individuals. Wales, too, have a real chance of reaching the quarter-finals after being paired with Northern Ireland. In a battle of the contrasting Brexit votes (Wales went for ‘Leave’ while the Northern Irish backed ‘Remain’) it is actually Gareth Bale & Co. who will likely be staying in Europe – for a few extra days at least.
Extra spice to the #WAL vs #NIR tomorrow? One voted #Leave, the other #Remain! #brexit #football #BalewillsoonbeanonEUplayer #EURO2016
— Mark Lomas (@marklomasSport) June 24, 2016
SURFING THE FOOTBALL WAVE
At the 2012 European Championship I discovered a brilliant way to take in a major football championship, ‘couchsurfing’ my way around three Ukrainian cities – Kharkiv, Donetsk and Kiev. The experience was an eye-opener, staying on the sofas of football fans certainly bringing with it a better snapshot of local culture.
I decided to give it another try in France and it has introduced me to plenty more colourful characters. There was Sam in Lyon, whose 92-year-old grandmother seemed just as excited about the Euros as her grandson. At least I think she did, my French is a little rusty. The two Italian supporters who I shared a room with were very friendly, too, though the kick (accidental, I hope) in the night from one of them would have been enough to send a ball flying over the bar a la Roberto Baggio in 1994.
In Saint Etienne I stayed with Tarek, an Algerian with a picture of 1982 World Cup hero Rabah Madjer proudly sitting on his wall. He told me all about his meticulously planned trip to the Rio this summer to watch Les Fennecs at the Olympics, and also picked me up from the Stade Geoffroy Guichard at 2am in the morning. Thanks again, Tarek.
Finally there was Mia in Lille – born in Hawaii but with a passion for Manchester United that suggested she was from Salford. United fans beware though, every time she gets a player’s name on her shirt their fortunes change; Adnan Januzaj and Shinji Kagawa have gone before, so now Juan Mata could be next out the door.
