24-05-2025
John Joe Patrick Finn gets late run as PSG crush Reims in French Cup final but Republic of Ireland call-up looms large
IN DECEMBER 2020, John Joe Patrick Finn became the youngest player to line out Getafe aged 17 years and 42 days.
But the 74th minute substitute can rarely have experienced a game in which it was so obviously a case of men against boys.
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PSG lift the French Cup trophy following win in the final against Stade Reims
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John Joe Patrick Finn came off the bench for Reims in the French cup final - he now could be included in Heimir Hallgrímsson's Ireland squad
His
After that initial breakthrough, the progress of the Spanish-born-and-reared son of a Mayo father, since deceased, and a French-Cameroonian mother had stalled in Madrid.
Since moving to France in January, he has now made 17 appearances, eight from the start, earning his first call-up to the Ireland squad.
When told of his likely inclusion by
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He did so and was back in touch before the evening was out with an emphatic yes.
But, if international football represents a step-up, it is not as big a leap as trying to take on
There was a time when Reims were the leading light in French football.
That era has long since passed and this was not so much a passing of the baton but a beating around the head with it.
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Finalists in the inaugural European Cup in 1956, Reims were defeated by Real Madrid in the decider, as they were three years later when the sides met again, not helped by the fact that Raymond Kopa had moved between the clubs in the interim.
That was the club's heyday, their most recent league title won in 1962, their last Coupe de France four years earlier.
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This showpiece game, played in front of 77,101 fans at the Stade de France, came in the middle of two bigger contests in the greater scheme of things.
They drew 1-1 away to Metz in the first leg of their promotion-relegation play-off with the second to come on Thursday.
Finn started midweek but had to be content with a place on the bench here. When three changes were made at the start of the second half, he was not among them.
But, whoever was sent on, it was something of a fool's errand as, by that stage, PSG were 3-0 up and it did not flatter them.
The opening two goals were scored by Bradley Barcola whose goalkeeper brother Malcolm - a Togolese international - was on trial with both Bohemians and Dundalk last year.
Neither signed him and he has since kept the bench warm for Pacos de Ferreira instead.
The forward is, naturally, the more talented of the siblings but, if he caught the eye with his goals, Désiré Doué was not far behind.
The 19-year-old - already a senior international - was not even supposed to start but was promoted from the bench when Khvicha Kvaratskhelia pulled out after the warm-up.
Whatever relief Reims may have felt was short-lived as the teenager played a key role as Luis Enrique's side tore them apart.
Barcola had two chances in the first four minutes but lost his footing with the first and was cut short by Joseph Okumu after he had skipped past Hiroki Sekine.
Ousmane Dembelé had a shot blocked before a delightful spin by Doué in the box carved open space for him to shoot with his effort just over.
Reims had survived the opening quarter-hour but by 20 minutes, they were 2-0 down. First, Doué played through Barcola who got away from Okumu to finish well.
Then, the teenager was the provider again when he supplied the cut-back for Barcola to rifle home.
And it was all over bar the shouting in the 43rd minute when Achraf Hakimi was clinical in front of goal to score a third.
Finn's debut for Reims had been as a starter against PSG in January when he impressed in a 1-1 draw in the Parc de Princes.
But he had to wait until there was little more than a quarter of an hour to play to test himself against a team who have won Ligue Un in all but two of the previous 13 seasons.
There was little he could do but his eagerness to look for the ball in tight spaces and ability to find a teammate suggested he could be an asset for Ireland.
