Friendly
18.11.2003 at 00:00 - Lansdowne Road
Opportunity with the Republic of Ireland will knock for the younger set over the coming months and also for one seasoned old pro.
Graham Kavanagh yesterday enjoyed the irony of being numbered among the “newcomers” in Brian Kerr’s squad for the match against Canada when, at 29 years of age, he is in every other sense a veteran.
Kavanagh has forced his way into the squad by his consistently good form in the lower divisions. The success enjoyed by Cardiff City in winning promotion from the second to the first division under his captaincy last season commanded attention.
He was a late addition to the Irish squad that travelled to Switzerland in October for the final disappointing match in the European Championship qualifying campaign. He agonised in the stand that night as Ireland slumped to a 0-2 defeat, frustrated at his inability to get on the pitch to influence things.
Now he will be given his chance against Canada tonight (7.30pm) and he laughed as he contemplated the youthfulness of the Irish squad: “I am sure there are probably players in the squad who will look up to me because of my age and that. I’m inexperienced at international level but I’ve played probably 500 games in England and that experience will definitely help me.”
This represents a second coming for Kavanagh who was capped three times as substitute for Ireland between 1998 and 1999.
He described the period between then and now as an “"exile”" and suggested the disappointment of missing out on Ireland’s action in the intervening years had left him better equipped to deal with the challenge of bridging the gap between club and international football.
He said: “People are talking about the old faces going out and new faces coming in. I’ve been around the squad for five or six years now and I’m finally getting my chance because this is my first start. That’s a bit unusual in terms of my age.
“But in saying that throughout my career a lot of things have happened to me late on. I was late developing and only started getting into the first team at 20 and 21.
“The fact that it is happening now at 29 might be a good thing, it might be a blessing in disguise because of all the experience I’ve had. All the ups and downs will certainly have helped and because of that I think I’m a better player now.”
Kavanagh will be in central midfield, probably alongside Matt Holland who at 29 years, is a veteran of 36 international matches. Holland is four months younger than Kavanagh and only Kenny Cunningham (, at 32), of the current squad, is older than this pair.
The talk around the Irish camp over the past couple of days has revolved around the emerging youngsters.
Players like goalkeeper Joe Murphy aged 22, the injured Liam Miller also 22, and Colin Healy aged 23, Andy Reid (21), Steven Reid (22), John O’Shea (22), and Richard Dunne (22) will be expected to usurp positions that until now were held by Mick McCarthy’s World Cup squad.
Manager Kerr confirmed that one of his tasks prior to the kick-off of the World Cup qualifying campaign next year was to absorb some new players into the squad and he said: “Priorities? ... one would be to win the match, two would be to blend in some of the players who haven’t played so much over the last three years.
“I would think they are the two priorities but planning for this match is a bit of a long term one. I’m not looking for short-term returns on this, I’ll be looking at longer-term returns, but the team is getting to be quite a younger group now.”
Team captain Kenny Cunningham was philosophical when he commented on a trend that will, inevitably, usher his departure from the scene.
His ambitions for Ireland mean he will accept this gracefully when it happens in spite of his natural reluctance to depart from international football.
It was typical of the man that he chose to focus on the positive spin-off of the recognition of Graham Kavanagh’s ability, and he said: “I think it is a great encouragement to players, Graham’s recognition.
“The fact that he earned a couple of caps some years ago might have caused some people to think that at 29 his time had passed him by.
“But I think he made a great point when he suggested that as a player he is probably a more rounded player now than he was four or five years ago.
“I’m sure he is more than capable of grasping this opportunity and I’m sure it is a great encouragement to those players who think that when they come to their late twenties that their time has passed them by at international level.”
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