Issue 13 Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Ireland V. Brazil

Kevin O'Callaghan

IF Robbie Keane and company want some insight into Brazil’s beautiful game, they need look no further than Kevin O’Callaghan. The ex-Ireland international has played on both winning and losing sides against the South Americans and can also count Brazil legend Pele as a former team-mate. Part of Jack Charlton’s side that stunned the Samba Kings courtesy of a Liam Brady goal in 1987, O’Callaghan won the last of his 21 caps during that famous victory at Lansdowne Road. It was some revenge for the winger after suffering a 7-0 drubbing at Brazil’s expense in Uberlandia back in May 1982 — a scoreline that remains the Republic of Ireland’s record defeat.

 As for Pele? Well during his time at Ipswich Town, O’Callaghan starred alongside the three-time World Cup winner in the Allies team for the movie Escape To Victory. “I think I got a late call-up for the game in ‘87 after someone else pulled out injured,” recalls O’Callaghan. “I played quite well considering I’d spent most of the previous week celebrating with Portsmouth after we got promoted. “They were running rings around us a bit at the start, but we battled back and ended up having a lot of the ball. And then Liam Brady scored that sweet goal. “It was fantastic — especially after we got hammered 7-0 by them in Brazil just before the 1982 World Cup. “

That was Brazil’s last game before the tournament in Spain. Zico, Socrates, Falcao, they were a magnificent team. “They really should’ve won that World Cup, but Rossi got that hattrick didn’t he. “Actually we didn’t play that badly in the first half in that 1982 game. I remember putting a cross over for Brendan O’Callaghan midway through the first half and he missed an open goal. “Then they just blitzed us in the second half.” O’Callaghan burst onto the scene as a galloping 17-year-old winger at Millwall and his talent soon came to the attentions of Bobby Robson.

Born in Dagenham, the son of a Corkman, O’Callaghan made his debut for Ireland’s U-21s in the 1978 Toulon Tournament and two years later was signed by then Ipswich Town boss Robson for €332,000. He played an integral part in the Tractor Boys’ 1981 UEFA Cup success and established himself as a regular in Eoin Hand’s Irish set-up. After missing out on qualification for the ’82 World Cup in Spain by a whisker, Ireland embarked on a largely disastrous tour to play Brazil, Chile and Peru (who were later replaced by Trinidad and Tobago as opponents). “We went on an end-of-season tour to South America which maybe wasn’t such a good idea as it was during the Falklands War,” O’Callaghan remembers. “We were playing Chile in the first game, and we flew into Argentina first, but when we landed in Buenos Aires all the lads with English passports were frogmarched off to be interviewed by the police. “It was unbelievable, luckily I had an Irish passport as I had got one to play in the U-21 tournament in Toulon a few years earlier. “It all got sorted out in the end and the lads were let go, before we headed on to Santiago for the Chile game.”

It was during his time at Portman Road in the summer of 1980 that O’Callaghan made his big screen debut, oddly enough as a goalkeeper, alongside fellow Tractor Boys John Wark, Paul Cooper and Kevin Beattie. “The movie was being filmed in Hungary and we stayed for nearly a month and it was a great laugh,” said the 46-year-old.  “If you see the movie, the overhead goal Pele scores is unbelievable. The slo-mo camera cost so much per second to run, but Pele was able to nail it first time. “To pull off an overhead kick like that at 44 was unbelievable, I was 18 at the time and I couldn’t do it! “He was great, but to be honest meeting Bobby Moore meant even more to me as I grew up a West Ham fan. “Bobby actually didn’t play in any of the five-a-sides we used to have. He liked a bit of a drink and a party and he would stay up quite late, so five-aside wasn’t really on his mind. “Pele would be up trying to organize a game every time there was a break in filming. He loved it. “Michael Caine was a gent too. I got to film a scene with him where he breaks my arm so that Stallone can play and we got on great as he’s from the Old Kent Road and was a Millwall fan and I’d just recently left the club. “We went out for a few beers with Pele one evening and his assistant brought out his guitar and a few bottles of brandy and we’d a great night.” O’Callaghan was part of the Millwall Youths side that captured the club’s first ever FA Youth Cup and after successful spells at Ipswich and Portsmouth, returned to The Den in 1987 to steer the class of Sheringham and Cascarino into the old First Division. After his own career was cut short by a series of injuries he is delighted to see his old mate Teddy still banging in the goals in the Championship for Colchester. “Teddy is unbelievable. I mean to be playing at 40 is just fantastic —n he’s been very lucky with injuries and he’s a great pro. I still keep in touch with him and the lads from Ipswich whenever I can,” said O’Callaghan. “I had a problem with blood supply to my calves and after a frustrating battle eventually packed it in (football) when I was just 32. “After the Brazil game in ’87 I was in the squad for a Euro 88 qualified and Jack was regularly checking up with my boss John Docherty at Millwall. “But I was injured quite a lot over the next few seasons so never got back in. “I was in hospital getting a screw out of my foot after a metatarsal injury on the day of the Romania game during the Italy World Cup.  “I remember just getting in the door in time to see Dave O’Leary’s penalty go in and thinking ‘I could’ve been there’. “It was just one of those things.”

 After retiring O’Callaghan went on to become head of the Youth Academy at Millwall before leaving during Dennis Wise’s time at the club after nurturing the talents of Steven Reid and Richard Sadlier. He is now completely out of the game and works for a friend’s engineering company, but along with the regular reunions for Ipswich Town’s UEFA Cup winning side, he has another occasional reminder of his hey day. “I always know when Escape To Victory is on TV as I get everyone asking me ‘How’s your arm?’” he laughs. “I’m married with two girls who are 20 and 22 now, they’ve seen bits and pieces of the movie, but never the whole thing. “I went to the premiere, but I haven’t watched the whole thing since. Actually someone bought me the DVD for Christmas and it’s sitting on the floor here with the wrapper still on. “Funnily enough a few weeks after we’d finished filming the movie I was back at Ipswich and broke my arm in the first game I played that season. “I was going through on goal and collided with the keeper and heard a crack. There was little chance of Stallone replacing me in the Ipswich team however!”

by DAVE COUGHLAN