McGinn: The dream is still alive
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| AFP |
He may be a child of the 1980s but, until recently, Niall McGinn must have dreaded that decade’s mere mention. After all, with both club and country – Aberdeen and Northern Ireland – the shadow of the ‘80s and it achievements has tended to linger like a curse.
At Aberdeen, countless players and managers had departed bemoaning unrealistic expectations and unflattering comparisons to the Alex Ferguson-inspired halcyon days. Who could compete, came the lament, with the nostalgia surrounding a team that humbled the Old Firm and beat Real Madrid in a European final?
It was scarcely better with Northern Ireland, where fans harked wistfully back to their own ‘80s icons. The current generation, it was said, would never live up the side that reached two successive FIFA World Cups™, stunning the hosts at Spain 1982.
Recently, though – and almost simultaneously – there has been a casting off of these historical shackles. Whether it is in the green of his country or the all-red of his club, McGinn is becoming accustomed to big crowds, important wins and, most importantly, an enthusiasm for what the present and future holds.
“It’s been a similar story with both teams,” he told FIFA.com. “Scoring goals and winning games on a consistent basis is always the hardest thing to do in football, and it’s been the fact that we’ve been able to do that with both teams which has got people going.
“With both Aberdeen and Northern Ireland, the fans have been able to get on board because they see that something positive is happening and that they have a team they can be proud of. And, as players, we’re all loving it. Personally, I’m just trying to make the most of this period because I know this can be a crazy game and that things can turn very fast.”
Fortunately, fortunes in football can soar just as quickly as they can plummet. Having formed part of the Northern Ireland side beaten by Luxembourg en route to finishing second-bottom of their Brazil 2014 qualifying section, two points behind Azerbaijan, McGinn knows that better than most.
Less than two years have passed since that humiliating defeat, yet Michael O’Neill’s side are now fighting it out at the top of their UEFA EURO 2016 qualifying section. So how is it that a team that slumped to an all-time low of 129th on the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking is now peering down on group rivals such as Greece, Hungary and Finland?
“Ever since Michael has come in as manager, the training has always been good and he’s been very positive in his approach,” said McGinn. “But the most important thing has been getting a buzz about the dressing room again and, really, that only comes with results. Those didn’t come for us in the last campaign even though there were quite a lot of positive performances. So turning performances into points has been vital.
“Getting results away from home has been a massive too. We’ve always known, with the ground and the atmosphere, that we’re capable of beating anyone in Belfast. Teams know coming to Windsor Park that they’ll always be in for a tough game. But sorting our away form has been important, especially as we knew that three of our first four EURO qualifiers would be away from home. To come out of that run with nine points and follow it up by beating Finland has been fantastic.
“Everyone’s just buzzing at the moment. It’s a great time for us and the dream is still definitely alive.”
"Another couple of wins against the teams challenging us and I think we’d have one foot in the finals."
Niall McGinn on Northern Ireland's EURO 2016 campaign
Encouraging the Irish to dream is the fact that this EURO will be the first with 24 places up for grabs, with the top two in each section qualifying automatically. O’Neill’s side currently occupy one of those berths in Group F and sit just a point behind leaders Romania. Better still, they already hold four and eight-point cushions over Hungary and Finland respectively, with the struggling Greeks a further two behind.
“When the draw came out, and with the extra places available, the players all knew how big an opportunity this was,” admitted McGinn. “The manager made that clear to us too - that this was our best chance to qualify for a major tournament in a long time. We’re not getting carried away but there’s a massive prize at the end of this process and we all want to grab it. And the momentum’s with us and Romania at the moment.”
Something will have to give, however, when the group’s dominant duo lock horns in Belfast next month. Lose to the Romanians on 13 June, and Northern Ireland know that their rivals will smell blood. Win, though, and McGinn and his team-mates will be within touching distance of France 2016.
“It’s a huge game,” acknowledged McGinn. “Another couple of wins against the teams challenging us and I think we’d have one foot in the finals.”
For McGinn, victory in this crunch encounter might even top the most headline-grabbing experience of his international career thus far. That came in October 2012, when the Aberdeen star stunned Portugal and their star No7 by scoring the goal that secured a shock 1-1 draw in Lisbon.
“That was my first international goal, so it was always going to be special,” he recalled. “But the whole surroundings that night, and the fact it was [Cristiano] Ronaldo’s 100th cap – ruining his night, stealing the limelight a bit – made it extra special. It’s a moment I’ll definitely remember for the rest of my life.
“That said, coming on against Hungary [in a EURO qualifier last September] when we were 1-0 down, scoring the equaliser and then setting up the winner, was just as big. That also set us up really nicely in the group and it will definitely mean more than the Portugal game if we make it to the EURO.”
Though visions of France continue to tantalise, McGinn’s ambitions are not confined to the international arena. The 27-year-old has rebuilt his club career since being judged surplus to requirements at Celtic and now stars in the team posing the serial Scottish champions’ greatest threat in years.
With Rangers out of the equation, Aberdeen have seized their chance, following up on a campaign that brought their first silverware in almost two decades with a title challenge that only recently petered out. With crowds up significantly and the Dons once again able to cherry-pick stars from their top-flight rivals, the outlook at Pittodrie is as bright as it has been for decades.
“Things have been good ever since I came here,” said McGinn, who signed for the club in 2012. “The main thing for me after Celtic was to play football and pick the right club and I feel my career is back on track now. Aberdeen’s been great for me and I’ve never played as much football in my career as I have in the last three seasons. It’s always nice to be at a club where you know that you’re wanted, and it’s a very positive time to be here.
“As a club, we’ve definitely progressed. The fans have been coming back in their numbers and it’s just a great place to be playing football at the moment. All the foundations are there. We’re definitely getting closer to Celtic and a lot of credit has to go to the manager (Derek McInnes), who’s been brilliant ever since he came in. We’re attracting some very good players now and showing that we can be a really big club again.”
McGinn’s enthusiasm comes with an admission that both of his teams, while undoubtedly progressing on their respective paths, have not yet reached their desired destinations. So, were this conversation to be repeated a year from now, what would he hope to be reflecting on?
“Success,” he concluded. “With Aberdeen, that would definitely be challenging Celtic and winning silverware. As for Northern Ireland, there’s only one objective - getting to the EURO.”
These are ambitious goals. But should McGinn and his team-mates succeed in achieving them, those ‘80s spectres will never have seemed more distant.