MICK McCARTHY was tidying his garage recently and found a box of jerseys gained from swaps during his playing days.
There was a Denmark shirt, though he is not sure who it belonged to, and a few from the 1990 World Cup.
Franco Baresi’s was one — McCarthy remembers the Italy star calling after him down the tunnel for a swap.
And from that famous day against Romania there was Gheorghe Hagi’s, “still moving about in the box”.
Now 60, the jerseys did not bring a tear to the eye.
Instead, the Ireland boss felt that familiar reaction he gets from football.
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McCarthy said: “Certain things I’ve mellowed at and have a different perspective towards, but not football, not competing. I love doing that, it’s hard to describe.
“Anyone who works with me will tell you I’ve not lost the passion for it, or desire to win. Not at all.
“You should have that in every competitive game. Friendlies, it’s not the same.
“Pre-season friendlies, I hated them. I’ve said that before, they didn’t do it for me at all.”
International friendlies meant more to him as a player than those club chores, though he knows as a manager that the result makes no difference — even after beating New Zealand on Thursday.
He added: “At the end of my time, people will ask what was my win record, etc, and this game against New Zealand will count for that.
“But the reality is that by Monday I will have forgotten about Thursday, as will everybody else.”
Because tomorrow is what matters — Denmark at the Aviva Stadium with a place at Euro 2020 at stake.
BY HOOK OR BY CROOK
Win and Ireland can prepare for a finals when they will have at least two games in Dublin. Fail to do so and it is a tricky play-off in March and an away semi- final with a chance to reach a one-off final.
McCarthy spoke last week about how tomorrow could be a legacy-defining day for him in his second stint as Ireland manager.
No matter what happens, with a fixed-term contract, his tenure ends after Euro 2020. So his task is simple — get to the finals by hook or by crook.
He is not even thinking of the play-offs, has not looked at the permutations and will not entertain talk of the safety net. All that matters to him is winning tomorrow.
Yet he knows how difficult it will be against a Denmark side Ireland know everything about — except how to beat.
There have been five meetings in the past two years, though just one under McCarthy. Ireland have drawn four and lost one — the nightmare 5-1 in the World Cup play-off the last time the Boys in Green were in a do-or-die position.
FLYING HIGH
The other games saw three 0-0 draws and a 1-1 — the score draw under McCarthy.
But in truth the Danes were more hard-done-by than Ireland by that record and they are a team in form.
Aside from a penalty shootout exit to Croatia at last year’s World Cup, their only defeat in 34 games and in more than two years came against Slovakia last year when the senior players were on strike and the Futsal team played a full international.
McCarthy said: “If I’d gone that many games and only lost one and it was the Futsal team, I’d be thinking pretty good things about our team and we’d be feeling better about ourselves.
“They’re entitled to feel good about themselves, they’re entitled to that self-belief. But it doesn’t always mean you win.”
Not that the Danes need a win — a draw will do them after they saw off Gibraltar 6-0 in Copenhagen on Friday evening.
And, bar two set-pieces scored by Shane Duffy, the Danes have always snuffed out Ireland — a big worry as goals have been hard to come by for the Boys in Green, with just six scored in seven competitive games under McCarthy. Three of those were against Gibraltar.
KEEP IT TIGHT
The Ireland gaffer has experimented. David McGoldrick has been his first-choice No 9 though Seánie Maguire, Aiden O’Brien, Scott Hogan, James Collins, Callum Robinson and Aaron Connolly have all played.
McGoldrick got his first Ireland goal against Switzerland and Collins a debut strike against Bulgaria in September, while Maguire and Robinson broke their ducks against the Kiwis.
Boy wonder Troy Parrott also impressed on Thursday but whoever plays in attack, the Ireland boss admits this could be another game when the home fans have to sit tight and wait.
McCarthy added: “I’d prefer to have scored more, of course, but it is not like we haven’t tried to. All of our training sessions are about trying to score more goals.
“But we’ve only conceded how many? Four.
“Would it not stand to reason, and just because I say this doesn’t mean we’re going to go out all negative . . . but we haven’t scored that many so a clean sheet is going to be really bloody helpful.
“If it’s 0-0 with 15 minutes to go, that’s not a bad scenario. Would I rather be two goals up? Yes. Is that likely? Maybe not. We’ve only scored six goals so far.
“It depends who’s on top in the game, we don’t know what it will be like.
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“We’ve got to win the game. If we’re on top with 15 minutes to go, I’d fancy us.”
McCarthy’s men will not be thinking about swapping shirts with tomorrow night’s opponents right now but with players’ names now on international jerseys, there will be no forgotten Dane for any who do.
But let’s all hope that in 30 years’ time one of the Denmark players, searching in his garage, comes across the Ireland shirt worn by the winning goalscorer.