Joe Brolly points out Clifford's single 'most important quality'
Having written Kerry off as a one-man team over the summer, former RTE pundit Brolly has been called out by many after a surge in form saw Jack O'Connor's men lift another Sam Maguire.
Brolly instantly defended his criticism as 'pub talk' and, in the aftermath of Kerry's scintillating display in Sunday's All-Ireland final, the Barrister said he 'didn't give a f**k' about people calling him out. David Clifford of Kerry kicks a score despite the efforts of Brendan McCole of Donegal. Pic: Dáire Brennan/Sportsfile
'You have to understand,' he said on the Free State podcast with Dion Fanning. 'It's the entertainment value, it's the conversation.'
Discussing the match as a whole and how Donegal proved incapable of containing the Kerry attack, Brolly referred to Clifford as superhuman.
'What do you do with Superman?' he began. 'I wrote it in my column this morning. I had to laugh when I read it again. Joe Brolly. Pic: Free State with Joe Brolly & Dion Fanning via X
'After he got his ninth point… it was such an amazing thing to happen, he was sent clean through on goals, goes round the goalkeeper, everybody was in the air already – and he missed!' Brolly said, referring to a scuffed effort from Clifford to roll the ball into an empty net.
'I wrote it was like Superman dropping a woman who had fallen from the top of a skyscraper. He looked down at his foot mystified.'
When it was put to Brolly that Clifford later celebrated his teammate, Joe O'Connor's goal like it was his own, the 56-year-old explained why that exact feature is a key part of Clifford's greatness. David Clifford of Kerry has a shot on goal. Pic: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
'That is such an essential point when it comes to his greatness,' he began.
'The first time I really appreciated that was how he revelled in his Fossa teammates. He revelled in it, and never presented as better than them or as being higher up in the pecking order. He just absolutely blended in.
'That humility is his most important quality. From the point of view of longevity with Kerry, from the point of view of his teammates being inspired by him all the time.'
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