When the second-best side in Europe came to 1980s Dublin
THE FOLLOWING passage is an extract from Shattered Dreams, Sliding Doors: The Republic of Ireland's 1982 World Cup Qualifying Campaign.
'Here come the Belgians!' The BBC commentary team's refrain, while in paroxysms of laughter during coverage of 'International It's a Knockout,' is in Paul's head when he reads the Belgian squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifier.
He never did quite know why the arrival of the Belgians would cause so much mirth. After all, they didn't appear to slip and slide or fall over more or less than the other plucky contestants or bring any more mayhem to the party.
But for some reason, the arrival of the Belgian representatives in oversized shoes, or dressed as giant penguins, or whatever, used to reduce the BBC commentators to a quivering mess.
But the Belgians who are coming to Dublin to play Eoin Hand's Republic of Ireland on Wednesday, 15 October 1980, are not going to slip and slide and fall over for everyone's entertainment.
They aren't going to be wearing oversized comedy shoes and daft foam rubber costumes.
They aren't going to be firing water-filled balloons at their opponents. And they wouldn't give a BBC light-entertainment commentary team cause to even crack a smile were they to be present on the occasion.
The Belgians who are coming to play the Eoin Hand's Republic of Ireland are not some light-entertainment feature.
No, the Belgians who are coming to Lansdowne Road are one of the most serious outfits in European football.
The Belgians who are coming to play Eoin Hand's Republic of Ireland feature some of the most feared and respected players in football.
The Belgians who are coming to play the Republic of Ireland in the 15 October World Cup qualifier are coming off the back of the greatest football tournament campaign result in their history.
The Belgians, who are coming to play Eoin Hand's Republic of Ireland, are the second-best international side in Europe, having lost narrowly to West Germany in the final of the European Championship in Rome in June.
Guy Thys's side had surprised many commentators on the game with their performance in the European Championship in the summer. But their performance didn't surprise the Belgians.
They had been planning for just such a breakthrough ever since they failed to qualify for the 1974 World Cup. Missing out prompted a plan to rebuild their international side by focusing on the development and screening of young talent.
Crucially, pathways to senior football were created, aimed at giving young players better opportunities to graduate to senior sides earlier in their careers.
The plan began to pay dividends as early as 1977 when their U18 side won the Uefa youth championship hosted, as it happened, by the Belgian FA.
And the plan's success was brilliantly realised in the European Championship in Italy in the summer of 1980 when five of those who played with the youth side figured in the final against Horst Hrubesch and Co.
Drawn in a group containing England, Spain and tournament hosts Italy, Belgium were expected to simply make up the numbers.
Eoin Hand, who managed Ireland between 1980 and 1985. Billy Stickland / INPHO Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO
Thys had proclaimed England as tournament favourites before his team came from behind to earn a hard-fought draw against Ron Greenwood's men in Turin.
Victory in their second game against a technically superior Spain side meant the Belgians only needed a point against Italy to top the group. This they achieved with a 0-0 draw in Rome, grimly strangling the life out of the hosts with a defensive display borne of hard work, discipline, more than a dose of cynical play and an offside trap that could reduce any opponent to tears.
But Belgium had quality, too. Centre-forward Erwin Vandenbergh was the holder of the European Golden Boot, having scored 39 league goals for Lierse in the 1979/80 season.
The hulking Jan Ceulemans was one of the most feared attackers in Europe.
Behind him sat the highly regarded Eric Gerets — an attack-minded, teak-tough defender and one of the most respected right-backs in the game.
And in veteran midfield schemer Wilfried van Moer, Belgium possessed one of the best football brains in the world, according to Manchester United and England midfielder Ray Wilkins, who had faced the Belgian playmaker in Turin.
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Guy Thys names his squad a week and a half out from the Lansdowne Road clash — and, ominously, it contains all of the players who featured in the European Championship final.
Eoin Hand names his 22-man preliminary squad on the same day. The most notable difference from the squad for the Dutch game is the inclusion of Manchester United keeper Paddy Roche, who is recalled to the international fold for the first time in five years.
Roche, who plays second fiddle to Alex Stepney at Old Trafford, comes in, according to Eoin Hand, because of his experience.
Intriguingly, the squad released to the press includes 'A.N. Other' — reportedly the powerful Brighton & Hove Albion forward Michael Robinson.
Robinson expressed an interest in playing in green several years previously while at Preston, qualifying by virtue of his Corkonian grandparents.
But he then recanted, saying he wanted to keep his options open should England come calling.
But that call never came, and so he pressed on with getting clearance to play for the Republic of Ireland.
A space is left in the squad for him, but when it becomes apparent that he won't gain international clearance in time to figure against Belgium, Aston Villa's Terry Donovan is added to the squad in his stead.
Two days later, Hand reduces the squad to 18. Almost as soon as he is in, Terry Donovan is out again.
And out with him goes Porto's Mick Walsh, who's been enjoying a new lease of life in Portugal; his axing reportedly leaving him very disappointed.
Manchester United duo Roche and Kevin Moran are also dropped from the squad.
That said, Moran's omission may prove temporary given the injury problems faced by David O'Leary, still troubled by a lingering Achilles problem.
The Arsenal man hasn't trained for a fortnight after aggravating the injury against Nottingham Forest in the league.
Arsenal's David O'Leary was one of the stars of the Ireland team. Billy Stickland / INPHO Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO
The Gunners face Manchester United on the Saturday before the Belgium game. If David O'Leary doesn't figure in that game, then he won't figure for the Republic of Ireland the following Wednesday.
Eoin Hand is already considering pulling Mark Lawrenson back into the centre of defence.
And as if Eoin Hand didn't have enough to worry about, a potentially bigger problem has been bubbling up ahead of the Republic of Ireland's qualifier in Paris against the French at the end of the month.
That game, set for Tuesday, 28 October, is set to clash with the fourth round of the English League Cup. Five of the eight ties will involve Irish players.
Fifa has confirmed that the FAI have no power to compel the clubs to release their players, presenting Eoin Hand with a major headache.
Four key members of his squad — Hughton, Stapleton, Devine and O'Leary — are set to feature in the clash of the two north London giants, Tottenham
Hotspur and Arsenal.
Both clubs had considered rearranging the game in light of the Irish fixture, but the game has now been set for 27 October, the night before the France game.
Both Spurs and Arsenal are willing to let their players travel straight to Paris after the cup tie is settled.
But Eoin Hand and the FAI are extremely unhappy with the prospect of the players having such a short turnaround before the France clash.
Gerry Daly, now at Coventry, is in the same boat, and Gerry Daly hopes that he won't be put in a position where he must choose between club and country. It's a great honour to play for your country, he tells the press, but, on the other hand, Coventry pay his wages and he will have to abide by the club's decision, whichever way it goes.
It's a major worry for Eoin Hand. But there's little or nothing he can do about it. It's one for the men in blazers to debate and rule on. For now, Eoin Hand has the second-best team in European football to concern himself with.
***
On the Saturday before the clash with Belgium, David O'Leary, as expected, is ruled out of the World Cup qualifier.
Kevin Moran is drafted back into the squad. That evening, France entered the qualification fray – travelling to Limassol to play Cyprus.
Eoin Hand hoped to be in attendance, but with Limerick United due to play Thurles Town the following day, the scouting mission was abandoned.
In his absence, France put seven past the hapless Cypriots and laid down a marker.
After the Republic of Ireland's narrow win in Nicosia, John Giles said he believed the qualifying positions would be settled by points rather than goal difference.
Given the French tally, the Irish camp hope this isn't a prediction that comes back to haunt them.
But for now, with plenty of points to play for, points simply have to be the priority.
***
Ireland's Steve Heighway. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo
Eoin Hand names his Republic of Ireland side to face Belgium on the eve of the game.
There are two changes — veteran Liverpool winger Steve Heighway returns to patrol Ireland's right flank.
And Kevin Moran, who hadn't made the original trimmed-down squad of 18, replaces Pierce O'Leary at centre-back. It's a hard few days for the O'Leary clan.
There's also one positional change — Mark Lawrenson dropping back into central defence beside Moran in place of Pierce's injured older brother, David.
Lawrenson is relieved, having, by his own admission, struggled in midfield against the technical Dutch, despite scoring the winning goal.
That said, his athleticism in the middle of the park and his willingness to cover for the forward forays of the O'Leary brothers had brought both stability and flexibility to the Irish play.
And, crucially, it allowed Brady, Grealish and Daly to get about the Dutch higher up the pitch.
Eoin Hand explains his thinking on Moran to the press after Tuesday's training session.
If his team were setting out to contain the Belgians, then Pierce O'Leary would be playing.
But with the onus on his side to attack and win, he believes that Moran's aggression could be a key factor. The more so as he's likely to be squaring up to the muscular Jan Ceulemans.
Moran's involvement is also likely to allow Lawrenson to occasionally make the long, penetrating runs from central defence that have increasingly become his trademark.
If the Irish are to unlock the Belgian defence, Lawrenson's ability to commit opposition midfielders could prove an important weapon.
Heighway's return is also welcome, offering the promise of width and service for Givens and Stapleton and much-needed big game experience against a side of rude quality.
Peter Byrne of The Irish Times believes that the Belgians may well be the outstanding team to visit Dublin in the last 15 years.
Ominously, eight of Guy Thys's matchday selection figured in the European Championship Final.
Shattered Dreams, Sliding Doors: The Republic of Ireland's 1982 World Cup Qualifying Campaign by Paul Little is published by Pitch Publishing. More info here.
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