Paul McGrath (soccer player)
| Paul McGrath | ||
 McGrath (2018)
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| Personnel | ||
|---|---|---|
| Surname | Paul McGrath | |
| birthday | 4th December 1959 | |
| place of birth | Ealing , London , England | |
| size | 183 cm | |
| position | Central defender | |
| Juniors | ||
| Years | station | |
| Pearse Rovers | ||
| Dalkey United | ||
| Men's | ||
| Years | station | Games (goals) 1 |
| 1981-1982 | St Patrick's Athletic | ? (?) |
| 1982-1989 | Manchester United | 163 (12) |
| 1989-1996 | Aston Villa | 252 (9) |
| 1996-1997 | Derby County | 24 (0) |
| 1997 | → Sheffield United (loan) | 7 (0) |
| 1997-1998 | Sheffield United | 5 (0) |
| National team | ||
| Years | selection | Games (goals) |
| 1985-1997 | Ireland | 83 (8) |
| 1 Only league games are given. | ||
Paul McGrath (born December 4, 1959 in Ealing , London ) is a former Irish football player . The son of a Nigerian and an Irish woman was a defender on the national team in his home country for more than a decade .
childhood
Paul McGrath had a difficult childhood from birth. Pregnant Betty McGrath decided to secretly give birth to her child in London from a liaison with a Nigerian who left her shortly after the pregnancy became known. Fearing both her father's reaction and reprisals within the Catholic environment of her hometown Dublin from her illegitimate son of mixed race origin, the traumatized mother gave young Paul up for adoption just four weeks after he was born . As "Paul Nwobilo" the shy boy grew up in several orphanages and in the midst of an environment as the only dark-skinned child he developed inferiority complexes, which decades later in adulthood would be reflected in excessive alcohol and suicide attempts. In football, on the other hand, Paul, who was growing up to be a model athlete, lived a different side through which he enjoyed early recognition.
Athletic career
Club career
As a student, McGrath first played for the Pearse Rovers before he was then used in the youth team of Dalkey United. At the latter club, he already aroused the interest of Billy Behan , who was scouting for Manchester United at the time. However, he then became a professional footballer in his native Ireland at St Patrick's Athletic , where he did not become a full-time footballer until 1981 and had previously worked as a sheet metal worker and security guard. McGrath made his debut in August 1981 in a league cup game against the Shamrock Rovers at Richmond Park and due to his consistently good performance, the "Black Pearl of Inchicore " was named Ireland's Player of the Year in its first - and ultimately only in Ireland - season ("PFAI Players' Player of the Year").
In April 1982, McGrath moved to Manchester United for £ 30,000, which was then coached by Ron Atkinson . The center- back made his debut at Old Trafford on November 13, 1982 in a 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur and quickly became one of United supporters' favorite players. In 1985 he won his first trophy with the FA Cup with a 1-0 final win against FC Everton and by then had developed into one of the best defensive players in English football. In the following years, however, injury problems on the knee, but above all his increasing alcoholism, should ensure that McGrath could not secure the desired regular place under the new coach Alex Ferguson . Ferguson, who, in contrast to Atkinson, who only condemned his actors' alcohol problems in the case of failure to perform on match day himself, attached importance to the fact that "a football club is not a drinking club", clashed with McGrath several times. In 1989 McGrath had finally hit rock bottom; he tried to escape his increasing problems with a suicide attempt and the United club management finally offered McGrath a "pension" in the amount of 100,000 pounds and a personal benefit game ("testimonial match"), which the Irishman refused. Instead, Ferguson signaled potentially interested clubs that McGrath was ready for a transfer.
Despite an offer from his former sponsor Ron Atkinson - now employed by Sheffield Wednesday - McGrath signed a contract with Aston Villa in 1989 . There the Irishman found his footballing strength back, although knee problems continued to plague him and he kept going through new lows off the field. An example of this was his performance as a driver in midfield, through which his new team almost overran the opposing FC Everton with a 6-0 lead - while he tried to hide his self-inflicted wounds with long sweatbands. The Graham Taylor- coached club from Birmingham played in the 1989/90 season to win the English championship and finished in second place behind Liverpool FC . This was followed by the appointment of Taylor as the new English national coach with a disappointing fourth from last place in the subsequent season, a sporting crash under the new sporting director Jozef Vengloš , who was then replaced by Ron Atkinson. The first season of the new Premier League was significantly shaped by the performance of McGrath, who was the central control point in the defense of Aston Villa and at the end of the 1992/93 season in addition to winning the second runner-up - now behind his old club from Manchester - by his fellow league players was named England's Footballer of the Year . He won his first trophy with Villa in 1994 when he of all places defeated Manchester United 3-1 in the final of the League Cup (one of the first to congratulate was Alex Ferguson, who congratulated McGrath with the words "Well done, big man." ). Two years later he said goodbye to Birmingham with another league cup win - Leeds United were clearly defeated 3-0 in the final. To this day, McGrath (nickname: "God") is regarded by Villa supporters as one of the club's best players, which is constantly expressed in the fact that jerseys with his name are still selling well.
For a short time McGrath was then still under contract with Derby County and Sheffield United , before he ended his turbulent career and a total of eight knee operations in 1998.
Irish national team
In the Irish national team, which experienced a sporting boom under Jack Charlton in the 1980s, McGrath was a central player and was mainly used in midfield. He completed three major tournaments with the European Championship in 1988 and the subsequent two World Championships in 1990 and 1994 and was briefly team captain of Ireland in four games in 1992 after the resignation of Mick McCarthy . Special recognition was given to his performance in the 1994 World Cup game against Italy , when McGrath eliminated the opposing playmaker Roberto Baggio and, with his fighting spirit, played a large part in the 1-0 surprise win against the tournament favorites.
McGrath's national team career lasted between his debut on February 6, 1985 against Italy and his last appearance on February 11, 1997 against Wales over twelve years and included 83 international matches and eight goals.
After football
In 2006 the autobiography "Back from the Brink" was published, which McGrath had written together with the journalist Vincent Hogan. The work was voted the best Irish sports book of the year ("William Hill Irish Sports Book of the Year").
successes
Web links
- McGrath biography in the Guardian
- McGrath Biography (BBC)
- Paul McGrath in the soccerbase.com database
literature
- Paul McGrath: Back from the Brink: The Autobiography . Arrow Books, 2007, ISBN 0-09-949955-X .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | McGrath, Paul |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Irish soccer player |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 4th December 1959 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Ealing , London |