Flashback - Who were your childhood soccer heroes?

PAUL MCGRATH AND Niall Quinn from Ireland.

Roberto Baggio and Matthias Sammer from further afield?

Those were some of the names that popped up when we asked our writers to reveal who were their soccer childhood heroes.

Do any of them match with yours? Let us know in the comments section below.

Sinead O’Carroll

“When I was starting to get into football, it was the Spice Boy era of Liverpool. So, really it’d be a toss up between Steve McManaman and Jamie Redknapp (yes, he of the shiny trouser and unstoppable chatter).

“Also, a solid mention for Ray Houghton. I don’t remember 1988 but that goal in USA 1994….enough said.”

Steve O’Rourke

“Roberto Baggio aka Il Divin’ Codino first appeared on my radar when he moved to Juventus, my favourite Italian team on the basis they wore black and white jerseys, in 1990.

“If I remember correctly, and Wikipedia tells me I do, his move sparked riots among Fiorentina fans so I naturally thought, ‘this fella must be good’.

“Indeed, I loved him so much that I’d alway ‘be him’ in after school games when everyone else want to be Niall Quinn or Paul McGrath and despite the fact, as the fat kid, I was playing in goal.

“I never did get over his missed penalty in the 1994 but he did inspire the greatest-free-kick-based-online-football-game-of-all-time, so that helps.”

Kevin Moran of Ireland and Roberto Baggio of Italy
Pic: INPHO

Paul Hosford

“I’ve always been a contrarian. And, growing up in a house full of Liverpool fans, I was adamant that I didn’t like football until I was about 5.

“That was when I discovered Paul McGrath. Admittedly, the attraction started based on our first names, but then there was the 92/93 Premier League season.

“I actually don’t remember that season itself, but my parents got me a season review of it on video that I watched so much it wore out. McGrath won PFA Player of the Year, Villa came second and my life as a miserable Villa fan had begun.”

Paul Fennessy

“I started properly supporting Tottenham during the latter half of the 1993/94 season. Back then, the Spurs team were, quite frankly, rubbish. Every weekend I would go to the trouble of staying up late for Match of the Day and to my chagrin, they would almost always lose.

“Nevertheless, a saviour was about to emerge. Having spent the entire summer lambasting Jurgen Klinsmann for his diving antics at that year’s World Cup, I suddenly changed my tune when it was announced that he had signed for Spurs.

“He quickly endeared himself to fans, opening his account against Sheffield Wednesday, and perfectly capturing the mid-90s irony-fuelled zeitgeist with a celebratory dive, which I endlessly copy in the park to this day.

“Of course, he departed for Bayern Munich the following summer but it was nice while it briefly lasted.”

Jurgen Klinsmann
Pic: INPHO

Rónán Duffy

“I don’t remember Italia ’90, I was too young. My love of football though comes from a childhood spent watching a scratchy video that had highlights of every Ireland game from that World Cup, cut with some of the best slow-mo montages going.

My favourite part of that tape was Ireland’s final group game, a 1-1 draw against Holland. More specifically, it was the moment when Niall Quinn‘s lanky right leg slid in to squeeze the ball into the side of the net after a fumble by Hans van Breukelen.

“Quinny is an Irish footballing legend who, in my opinion, doesn’t quite get the credit he deserves. If there are two goals that have nurtured my love for Irish football more than any others, it’s two goals scored 11 years apart both against Holland. I may have been there for Jason McAteer’s but Niall Quinn is still my childhoodfavourite.”

Niall Quinn and Hans Van Breukelen
Pic: INPHO/Billy Stickland

Murray Kinsella

“I had a troubled relationship with soccer as a youngster and could have been harshly described as a ‘glory hunter’. When I did eventually settle on a club, Spurs were the beneficiaries of my loyalty and I couldn’t get enough of Teddy Sheringham.

“I wrote to the club and got them to send a signed photo of the classy striker, a prized possession. Something about Sheringham’s creativity and laid-back effectiveness appealed to me, and I still love that type of player.

“When Sheringham went to Man Utd, so did I. Shamefully, I got the white away jersey, when Sharp were the sponsors, with ‘Sheringham 10′ on the back. I now support Leeds United funnily enough, but Sheringham will always be my all-time favourite.”

Teddy Sheringham.
Pic: INPHO/Andrew Paton

Sean Farrell

“From an Irish point of view, Denis Irwin was an obvious choice. But in my formative years as a centre back (before I was shunted right, then left) Mathias Sammer was the lanky ginger bloke I wanted to be. Igor Stimac gets an honourable shout as well but he was just a very poor man’s Sammer.”

Patrick McCarry

“As a wannabe goalkeeper growing up, my soccer heroes were shotstoppers. Seb Rossi, Theo Sneljders, Walter Zenga, Gianluca Pagliuca.

“My favourite, however, was Packie Bonner. Inspired by his Euro 88 and his run of 7 billion consecutive games in goal for Celtic.

“I met him in The Square Shopping Centre in 1992 and he signed a picture of his Italia 90 penalty save that I had cut out of an Ireland calendar. It was a prized possession for years and years.”

Packie Bonner
Pic: INPHO/Billy Stickland

Niall Kelly

“Liverpool played Dundalk in a pre-season friendly in Oriel Park in 1994. I got soaked standing on the terrace, my pen burst in my pocket and turned my leg bright blue, but all I really cared about was hanging around the team bus in the hope of getting Jamie Redknapp‘s autograph.

A fortnight later 19-year-old Robbie Fowler scored a four-minute hat-trick against Arsenal and Redknapp was bumped from top spot in my list of heroes. I don’t think I even watched the game — if I remember it correctly I was out at someone’s seventh birthday party.

“But Fowler’s three goals, particularly the third where he bundled the ball past David Seaman, were acted out in my back garden for a long, long time to come.”