111: Gary Breen, Coventry City, Merlin’s F.A. Premier League 2001 Official Sticker Collection

Long before the 1863 Laws of the Game were codified by the newly formed Football Association the various versions of the sport played all had a few things in common. The basic aim of the game, as highlighted by the genius punditry of Michael Owen, was to kick a ball in a certain place more often than your opponent. While some versions were more liberal about how the ball was moved about the general consensus was that it should be kicked. Moreover even the early games of ‘mob football’ involving entire villages, inflated pigs bladders and extreme violence were clearly carried out as team games.

The fact that football is about two groups of eleven players trying to get the better of each other seems to be forgotten by some fans who seem more engrossed in the career of individuals rather than the fortunes of their local or familial club. Supporters of Argentina’s most talented tax evader could hide behind a veneer of following Barcelona until his recent moves to Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Miami forced them to splash out on some flirty new replica shirts. Snide remarks aside players of the quality of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Roberto Baggio and Ibrahima Bakayoko will always be looked upon to inspire their teammates or revitalise their fortunes. Baggio’s efforts to drag Italy through the 1994 World Cup, David Beckham’s exceptional performance against Greece in 2001 and even Wilfried Zaha’s dismantling of Brighton and Hove Albion in the 2012/13 play-off semi-final elevated those players to talismanic status and made those of us absorbed in those games fearful of what might happen without these heroes in future competitions.

Similar concerns must have hit the Republic of Ireland when, on the eve of their 2002 World Cup campaign, talismanic captain Roy Keane stormed out of their Saipan training camp. His expletive laden rant at manager Mick McCarthy, ending with the anatomically challenging demand to “stick it up your bollocks”, before his departure left the Boys in Green a man short for the tournament. Despite the private support of Keane’s criticisms the squad rallied and earned credible draws with Cameroon and Germany before dispatching Saudi Arabia to progress to the second round. They were denied a quarter-final berth by a penalty shootout defeat to Spain but came out of the tournament with many new admirers with particular praise handed out to defender Gary Breen.

Breen had earned his place in Mick McCarthy’s squad following his strong performances for a Coventry City side who struggled to light up Division One following relegation the previous year. Despite this he was out of contract upon his arrival in Japan and his performances attracted a range of suitors. This may have also been aided by the excellent chant to the tune of The Beatles’ ‘Yellow Submarine’ suggesting that “we all dream of a team of Gary Breens”. At the end of the tournament he had agreed terms with Italian giants Inter Milan but failed a medical while the commentators’ favourite rumour linking him to Barcelona proved to be no more than that. Instead Breen moved to West Ham United only to suffer relegation at the end of the 2002/03 season. After just eighteen appearances he moved to Sunderland to reunite with Mick McCarthy who subsequently brought him to Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2006. Clearly a match made in heaven albeit one with a heated dressing room bust up after Jason Euell grabbed a late equaliser for Southampton at Molineux in 2008.

One of the easiest criticisms to level at a successful club is that they are “a one man team” particularly if their standout star is inflicting misery upon your side. Although sports science seems to have provided Manchester City with a relentless goalscoring robot it hasn’t quite managed to duplicate the DNA of one player and thus, beyond No Score Draws’ fantastic mug, we can only dream of a team of Gary Breens. For what it’s worth the man himself was very sceptical about the chances of a team of his clones stating that “you wouldn’t win many games” but, fourteen years on from his World Cup exploits, during his time working as a pundit at Euro 2016 he found Irish fans still pining for eleven of him on the streets of France. Gary Breen reflected on his 63 caps stating: “Sometimes when you are fortunate to live your dream, the reality is not quite what you thought it would be, If you meet famous people they never quite live up to the billing but for me, playing for Ireland did.” That kind of commitment to the cause, especially at international level, is something you definitely wouldn’t mind mass-producing.