Latest news with #SoccerPodcast
RTÉ News
31-05-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Vitinha and the enticing PSG v Inter midfield battle
RTÉ Soccer Podcast: Richie Towell is looking forward to seeing PSG's Vitinha in action in Saturday's Champions League final against Inter Milan. Watch or listen to the full episode on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.
RTÉ News
12-05-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Emily Whelan on Glasgow landmark and burning Irish ambitions
Emily Whelan's Glasgow City journey reached a new landmark recently. The Republic of Ireland attacker made her 100th appearance for the Scottish outfit, almost three years after moving north from Birmingham City. It's been a really positive switch for the 22-year-old, who penned a fresh three-year deal last January that will see her stay in Glasgow until at least 2028. The league title looks beyond Glasgow City this season - they're three points off Hibernian with two games to go - but seven-times-capped international Whelan is settled and happy there. Success and, ultimately, opportunities to impress for Ireland are the goals. "I didn't think I was anywhere near that (100-game mark)," she told the RTÉ Soccer Podcast. "It's great to see that I've made that many appearances, it's great that I can do that at a club like Glasgow City. I'm really happy with it. "I was at Birmingham and it was coming towards the end of the season. I needed to make a decision whether I wanted to stay at Birmingham or move elsewhere. Eileen Gleeson was at Glasgow at the time. She had a call with me and was telling me about the club, I spoke to Laura Montgomery the CEO and she sold it to me. "They had agreat environment, a great atmosphere.... it's a great place to be." Whelan was part of a development squad that played against the Ireland Under-19s in a behind-closed-doors game back in February. Trying to dislodge the likes of Kyra Carusa and Amber Barrett from that forward unit is a big ask, but Whelan is among a cluster of strikers making a case to be in the supporting cast. Those development games are an important chance for those on the fringes to show what they can do. "I think it's a great idea that development squad," Whelan said. "It was great to be part of, I did learn a lot and it bridges the gap between the Under-19s and the seniors. It's great to give people a chance to develop more, get better and then hopefully make that step into the senior team. "Everyone wants to play for their country. It is so competitive. We have so many amazing players within the national league, the WSL, the Championship - there's so many different leagues where we come from. "I feel like when you're in on such a roll at your club, you're not really thinking about that, you're just focusing on your club. "For Saoirse (Noonan) for example, she's been amazing this season (at Celtic). She got the opportunity and she took it. Hopefully I can keep working hard, focusing on scoring goals here, getting minutes and that will help me in the long run." Whelan began her career at Shelbourne and continues to monitor the SSE Airtricity Women's Premier Division from afar. The standards are going up all the time she says, while in the Ireland setup, the levels are constantly rising. "From when I was called in (to Ireland) first... it's gone up a while new level, which is great," Whelan added. "It's great we have such a competitive team. I'm glad that it's competitive, you're working towards something. "I want to play for Ireland. I want to be there, but I know if I can just focus on Glasgow City right now, do what I can here, hopefully maybe get into more development camps and then make the big step across to the seniors again. "The main thing is just to what I can here, focus on my results here and playing the best for my team, because if I wasn't here then I can't get there, do you know what I mean?"
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
'Brilliant to see' - Jake O'Brien's Everton rise catches eye of Champions League winner
Jake O'Brien's surge in form under returning Everton manager David Moyes has been noted by the Republic of Ireland setup. The centre-back was in danger of drifting to the periphery of the national squad as he struggled to earn minutes under previous Blues boss Sean Dyche. espite a big money summer move to Merseyside from Lyon, the 23-year-old did not start a single Premier League game under Dyche - who even started injured defenders ahead of him. That changed with the arrival of Moyes in January. O'Brien has become a mainstay of the first team over the past two months and has started the last nine matches in all competitions, albeit at right-back. READ MORE: 'More than people will ever know' - Everton dressing room response to Kevin Thelwell exit READ MORE: Friedkin Group are trying to improve in every way and it could transform Everton next season His national bosses have been watching. Ireland's assistant coach John O'Shea, a Premier League and Champions League winner at Manchester United, was at Molineux on Saturday as O'Brien completed another match with Everton securing a draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers. It was a result that extended the club's unbeaten league run to eight games - a streak that started with O'Brien's introduction to the starting XI. Of O'Brien's form, O'Shea, who made his career out of being a centre-back capable of playing elsewhere, told the RTE Soccer Podcast: 'It's just been brilliant to see because you know the type of kid that Jake is, how dedicated he obviously remained in training at Everton in terms of when the frustration would have been building for him in terms of not playing and not getting game-time. "But the dedication he's shown to knuckle down, keep training hard and then whatever happens, clubs change their managers and he's got the chance to be ready. "But that's down to his dedication and professionalism that he was ready to take that chance and has not looked back since.' O'Brien spoke to the ECHO of his determination to fight for a starting spot in Blues line-up even after the opening six months of his Blues career did not go as he hoped. For all that he struggled to win the trust of Dyche, at no point did he question his decision to join the club. He said in January days before his first league start against Tottenham Hotspur: 'I just thought in terms of just coming here, just for the family and everything, it's close to home. It's just a great club. I know there's a lack of game time, but I don't regret coming here. There's still a lot of time to show what I'm about.' O'Brien has started to show that, his blossoming relationship with Jesper Lindstrom adding greater resilience down Everton's right. He is growing in confidence from an attacking perspective too and grabbed his first competitive goal for the club with a late diving header to help the Blues earn a point at Brentford last month. O'Shea continued: "He's in a fantastic position at his club now where he's nailed that spot for himself. Obviously he'll have someone coming back fairly soon I think to fight for that position [club captain and Republic of Ireland international Seamus Coleman returned from injury at Wolves]. "But it's brilliant to see and the more players we have playing week in week out, ideally at the highest level they can possibly play at, I think that will make a difference for us mentally and physically to win those tight games."
