Latest news with #DamienDuff
Irish Times
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Football Families review: Affecting behind-the-scenes tale of what it takes to get to the top
Soccer documentaries are all the rage, whether it's Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney's Welcome to Wrexham – the charming story of how an underdog club sold its soul to Disney – or Sunderland 'Til I Die on Netflix . RTÉ now laces up its boots with Football Families (RTÉ One, Thursday), a behind-the-scenes series about Dublin's Shelbourne FC and its underage academies. The appeal of Shels was obvious when Football Families was commissioned last year. The club was riding high in the league while its manager, Damien Duff , was largely credited with helping make the League of Ireland cool (it was between him and Bohemian FC and their infinite churn of novelty Fontaines DC shirts ). Twelve months later, alas, the wheels have come off. Shels have been dumped out of the Champions League qualifiers and are struggling to stay mid-table. Worse yet, Duffer has headed off into the sunset after becoming an accidental meme when footage of the former Ireland international watching his side from a grassy knoll went viral (he was serving a touchline ban at the time). That's bad luck for Shels fans and more so for Football Families, given how keen it is to push Duff as the face of the club. But if viewers can look past his departure, there is a lot to like, with the film telling the affecting story of a number of bright prospects at the Shels academy. READ MORE We meet Jayden Marshall from Tallaght, who dreams of making it big and is coming to terms with the trauma of the family home burning down several years ago. Then there is 15-year-old Cillian O'Sullivan from Howth, small for his age but potentially talented enough to compensate for his lack of stature. We are also introduced to under-17s goalkeeper Ali Topcu, whose father, Atakan, is gung-ho about his son's progress, to the extent that he gave up his day job to help Ali progress his career. Ali Topcu in action. Photograph: RTÉ Cillian O'Sullivan from Howth, Co Dublin. Photograph: RTÉ They are a likable bunch, but Football Families falls down in several areas, including basic accuracy. For instance, when Shelbourne play Cork City, the opposition is incorrectly and repeatedly referred to as 'Cork'. It's a sloppy error. After all, Cork City is a much bigger club than Shels, with a more successful academy. Can you imagine RTÉ making a documentary featuring Manchester City and referring to it as 'Manchester'? Then there is the name of the series itself. As with many, if not most, Irish people, when I hear 'football' I think of the Sam Maguire, of David Clifford lofting another two-pointer over and of Mayo doing whatever it takes to not win the All-Ireland. 'Soccer' is, in Ireland, the widely accepted term for the 11-man game – as is, indeed, the case throughout the English-speaking world. That was also historically true of the UK – my old issues of Shoot magazine were full of the 's' word. [ Joanna Lumley: 'I love Ireland as much as you can if you're not an Irish person' Opens in new window ] Such niggles aside, however, the series offers a moving snapshot of the challenges involved in making it to the top. Only a handful of Shelbourne academy players will break through to the League of Ireland, and even fewer will play for a big club on the Continent or in Britain. Whether it's fair to put such pressure on young shoulders is another question entirely, but this is a fascinating portrait of Shels during their (short-lived) imperial phase. It's just a shame that Duff was out the door and off into the sunset before it made it to air.
Irish Post
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Post
Ireland's most promising young footballers showcased in new TV series
SOME of Ireland's most promising young footballers feature in a new television series which airs this week. Football Families goes behind the scenes at Shelbourne F.C. Filmed during their historic 2024 season under manager Damien Duff, the three-part RTÉ documentary follows the club's most promising young talent as they strive to make it as professional footballers 'Stats prove that there's a lot of players who don't make it,' Shelbourne Academy Director Colm Barron says in the show. 'That percentage that have that mental focus, that resilience to get through – it's not one in a hundred, it's one in ten thousand,' he added. Shelbourne Academy Director Colm Barron Speaking in the documentary on what it takes to make it, then Shelbourne manager Damien Duff adds: 'I hope us winning the league is inspiring the next generation of young boys and girls to work hard and chase their dreams of making it as professional footballers. 'But they can't get carried away. They may be blessed with talent and work really hard, but most of them won't make it. That's how cutthroat football is.' Duff stood down as manager of the club in June 2025. The series shows the impact their 2024 success had on the club as well as the younger players and their families. 'For Shelbourne fans, 2024 was the stuff of dreams, with both the men and women's senior teams winning titles, and the underage squads making a big impact throughout the elite development leagues,' an RTÉ spokesperson said. Cillian O'Sullivan features in the documentary 'Each episode of Football Families tells the stories of different young players and their families, whose lives revolve around football,' they add. 'These teenagers are committed to achieving their dreams in the face of extreme pressure, injuries, and setbacks. 'The series follows them as they endeavour to make the big step up to the league champion squad in the dog-eat-dog world of professional football. 'The chances of making it are slim.' This series begins on Thursday, July 31 at 10.10pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player. See More: Damien Duff, Football, Ireland, Shelbourne FC
RTÉ News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
New documentary shines light on Irish football's rocky road
Trying to make it as a professional footballer is like walking up a mountain with a sack of bricks on your back; the climb gets steeper and the sack gets heavier every time you take a forward step. It's hard to comprehend just how difficult it is to reach the summit, but a new three-part RTÉ documentary peels back the curtain, following some aspiring stars in Shelbourne's academy as they try to navigate the road to the top. Football Families tracks players' journeys amid the the backdrop of Damien Duff's senior side winning the 2024 SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division title. We meet Tallaght native Jayden Marshall, a left-sided centre-half who arrived from Crumlin United. When the family home was engulfed by a fire, football became a sanctuary. His dad asked the firemen to rescue one memento from the blaze: the Republic of Ireland shirt Jayden wore on his debut for the Under-15s: "You can have all the money in the world," he says, "but you can't buy one of them". Goalkeeper Ali Topcu is shown refining his skills in his back garden. An oversized goal is erected to test his agility, with the bumpy lawn sharpening reaction times. His father quit his job as a scaffolder to fully focus on his son's career. "Now my aim is to see Ali become a superstar," he declares. There's Cillian O'Sullivan, the diminutive and technically gifted Howth native know locally as 'the kid with the football'. And we're introduced to remarkably mature 11-year-old Joe Adewale, who announces: "My dream is to retire my parents and make my parents proud of course. Footballers spend money recklessly, they're buying lots of designer clothes, they're getting fake teeth. Football is a big business." Joe's older brother Derin is well placed to hand down valuable advice. Two years ago he joined Serie A club Lecce from Bohemians. The change in culture, language barrier and – crucially – an unfortunate knee injury derailed his move, and he returned to Shels Under-20s. Derin featured for the Reds in their recent FAI Cup clash with Fairview Rangers, chipping in with an assist in a 4-0 victory. Duff, who has since departed as first-team boss, says: "The dream scenario is four, five, six academy graduates playing for the first team." But that's a massive ask in such a competitive environment. "It's very tough for them," says Shelbourne academy director Colm Barron. "On one hand, they need to commit with unwavering faith that they'll make it. But at the same time, they have to confront the brutal reality that they may not." It's well documented that Ireland is miles behind when it comes to resources in the grassroots game. In April, the government put €1m towards an audit of League of Ireland clubs as part of longer-term plans to provide funding for academies. That audit will be completed by mid-August, but the investment can't come soon enough for those at the coal face. "You become everything," adds Barron. "If you look at what a Category 3 UK academy club would have, you've got a head of player care, you have a head of sports psychology, you have a head of sports science, you have a head of coach education. "We just don't have that infrastructure, so between the managers and coaches and the resources you have - and there's many of them that that are voluntary even working in the National League - without them we'd be absolutely lost. "They go above and beyond for players, whether it's collecting them from school to get them to training, or helping out with food, fees whatever we can do to try to help players, we do that. You become stretched in that way where you nearly become everything to the players." A new series featuring Shelbourne Football club's most promising young talent from across the country as they strive to make it as professional footballers ⚽ #FootballFamilies | Starts Thursday at 10.10pm — RTÉ One (@RTEOne) July 28, 2025 The challenges are the same for the boys and the girls. Exciting Treaty United starlet Madison McGuane features. Her mother knew she had something special when Madison travelled to a boys tournament in Birmingham aged eight despite suffering an eye injury. She had to wear an eye patch but took it off for the games and came home with the player of the tournament trophy. McGuane already has a plan mapped out for her future: "I'd love to get a scholarship and maybe go to America, play football over there and then go play with a WSL team." She may well do that (McGuane is already an established midfielder in the SSE Airtricity Women's Premier Division), but that path is getting harder all the time as the levels in the women's game rise exponentially. "When you talk about football as an industry, it's the male and female game," adds Barron. "Both sides are falling further and further behind. That's the reality of it. I was at a tournament about a year and a half ago in Spain where I watched Espanyol Under-14s girls play Barcelona Under-14s girls in the semi-final of a tournament. The standard was exceptional, just exceptional. The athleticism, the awareness, the speed of their play. "What they have is the infrastructure there to go in and train properly and understand about diet, nutrition, hydration, training four nights a week, all of them things that create, hopefully, a top-level footballer. They may not have the financial backing, but the infrastructure is there to support them within it. That's massive." It's a grind; a daily challenge that demands absolute commitment from everyone involved. For Barron, and the many coaches like him on this island, it's a selfless job with one allure: "The passion of developing players is ultimately what drives you, you know? There's no lucrative rewards for coaches. The reward is hoping that you can help players along a pathway for them maybe to become full-time footballers, but if not, to become better people and maximise their potential, which is what we try to do." Watch the first episode of Football Families this Thursday 31 July on RTÉ One, 10.10pm.
Irish Daily Mirror
23-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
What time and TV channel is Shelbourne v Qarabag on today?
It has been a rollercoaster season so far for Shelbourne as they said goodbye to Damien Duff as manager, but Joey O'Brien will be hoping for one of the biggest results in Shelbourne's history when they take on Qarabag. The Reds did enough to get over the line against Linfield last week to book their spot in the second round of Champions League qualifying. Things will get a lot tougher with Qarabag coming to town, and the Azerbaijan champions will be heavily favoured coming into this one. Here is everything you need to know about the game. Where is the game on? Today's game takes place at Tolka Park in Dublin. What time is kick-off? The game kicks off at 7.45 pm. What TV channel is it on, and can I stream it? Premier Sports 1 will show the game live, and it can be streamed through certain Now TV packages. Betting Odds Shelbourne 4/1 Draw 5/2 Qarabag 4/7
The 42
14-07-2025
- Sport
- The 42
Mipo Odubeko strikes to give Shelbourne slender Champions League edge over Linfield
Champions League first-round qualifier, first leg Shelbourne 1 Linfield 0 JUST WHEN IT looked as though this first leg was edging towards a frustrating missed opportunity, Shelbourne acted with decisiveness to take the advantage in their Champions League derby with Linfield. Moments like this will allow for new boss Joey O'Brien to emerge from the shadow of Damien Duff and give the Tolka Park faithful more hope of brighter days to come in Europe this season. Shels had been dominant throughout the first half but a feeling of control also had a nagging sense of malaise. Then O'Brien made a triple substitution 11 minutes after the re-start. One of those fresh faces was Sean Boyd, thrown on alongside Mipo Odubeko when plenty might have expected it to be a straight swap given his lack of impact. Then it came just over 60 seconds later. Odubeko won a flick on, Boyd returned the favour with a neat pass and his strike partner sent Drumcondra into a state of delirium with a sharp change of direction and finish. It didn't lead to the floodgates opening and Linfield, to their credit, remained resolute to keep this tie delicately poised heading to Windsor Park next week. As well as over the guts of €4 million at stake in prize money, progressing through this round of the Champions League guarantees a Uefa Conference League play-off spot later this summer, and the opportunity to grasp history for the club. There is still so much work to be done in Belfast but, on this evidence, Shels should head north confident of re-asserting their dominance. When the half-time whistle blew Linfield's Kirk Millar got a grip of his soaking blue shirt, peeled it off his torso to bury his face inside. He got a firm pat on the back from a member of staff heading for the tunnel. Millar collected a bottle of water and took a gulp, and when he let the jersey go again he blew out his reddened cheeks. Advertisement It was a tough, energy-sapping 45 minutes in a kind of Dublin dead heat for the Irish League champions. But, crucially, the tie was still scoreless. On 23 minutes it looked as if that would not be the case when referee Luis Godinho pointed to the spot for what he adjudged to be a handball from Ben Hall when JJ Lunney fired a shot into a sea of bodies. The Portuguese official was sent to side of the pitch for a VAR review – the first one here at Tolka Park – and accepted that the Linfield man's arm was not in an unnatural position. He revered the decision and anticipation of a breakthrough was replaced by disappointment. Shels had already come close twice through Evan Caffrey in a matter of seconds in the seventh minute. He glanced a near-post header off the post from a Harry Wood corner and then crept in from the right flank to get on the end of a Paddy Barrett cross. Euan East had slipped and it was just Caffrey alone eight yards out. There was a hint of hesitation with the effort but that should not take anything away from goalkeeper Chris Johns who made a fine reaction save and quickly scrambled to gather the ball on the line. From that point on it was complete dominance in terms of possession, as you would expect given Shels are midway through their Premier Division campaign and Linfield are only a month into pre-season with two friendlies under the belt. It looked that way here yet, as the half wore on, the sense grew that bigger questions would be asked of Shels and their approach after the break. They had One misplaced pass from Kerr McInroy across his 18-yard box allowed Ethan McGee have a shot on goal. It flew well wide but was a reminder that complacency and sloppiness could not be allowed creep in. Tense, high-stakes nights like this require an element of clinical confidence. One of the biggest cheers of the night from the travelling fans came seven minutes after the re-start when Mark Coyle's header back to Conor Kearns had too much on it and led to their first corner of the night. Nothing came of it but it at least offered encouragement. O'Brien was the first manager to show his hand, making that triple sub on 56 minutes that led to switching to two out and out strikers. It paid almost immediate dividends, Odubeko winning a header from Kameron Ledwidge's clearance, Boyd latching onto it and slipping in a nice pass under pressure for his partner to take in his stride. Odubeko's first touch was decisive, taking the ball onto his left and giving him enough space to get a shot away just inside the box. The finish went across Johns, and a couple of covering defenders to rustle in the bottom corner. The breakthrough was down to that change of approach from the Shels boss, ensuring more of a presence in the final third to allow for a different kind of pressure on a side that looked tired 20 minutes into the game. There was still an element of frustration and nervousness around the ground because the second goal wouldn't come, Boyd flicking a near-post chance over with nine minutes remaining. The second leg in Windsor Park will bring a different kind of energy and challenge with the tie just edging in Shelbourne's favour. Shelbourne: Conor Kearns; Mark Coyle (captain), Paddy Barrett, Kameron Ledwidge; Evan Caffrey (Danny Kelly 56), JJ Lunney, Kerr McInroy, Harry Wood (Ellis Chapman 78), James Norris (Tyreke Wilson 56); Ali Coote (Sean Boyd 56); Mipo Odubeko (John Martin 87). Linfield: Chris Johns; Matthew Orr, Euan East, Ben Hall, Dane McCullough; Josh Archer, Jamie Mulgrew (captain) (Chris McKee 71), Ethan McGee; Kirk Miller, Matt Fitzpatrick, Callumn Morrison (Kieran Offord 71). Referee: Luis Godinho (Por)
