Seamus Coleman is a no-nonsense player in a league filled with nonsense

Last summer, I had the opportunity to sit down with former Donegal manager Rory Gallagher at a Super Valu launch at Croke Park.

I had never met Gallagher before, so I decided that the best course of action would be to engage in the smallest of small talk upon our introduction.

“Do you get down to Dublin often, Rory? Do you think you’ll be here in September?” I asked him.

He smiled and said that he would venture down to the capital every now and then but that he spends most of his time in Killybegs, where he is the manager of the local Super Valu store.

“Killybegs. That’s where Seamus Coleman is from, isn’t it?”

“Aye. I’ve known Seamus for years. He’s a lovely lad. He would have played for Donegal too if he had of stuck with the gaelic instead of soccer.”

“Really?” I asked puzzlingly.

“Yes. He was a cracking player. He was gifted.”

I thought of Rory Gallagher last night when I saw that Coleman had returned to football for the first time in 10 months.

The Ireland captain started in the Everton U23’s victory over Portsmouth at Goodison Park after returning from a horrific double leg break, and before long, he was back to his fearless, abrasive best, tearing into a tackle with Portsmouth midfielder Jez Bedford.

Seamus Coleman putting in a good slide tackle in his first game back in 10 months pic.twitter.com/Aj4VU152C7

— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) January 23, 2018

I would like to imagine that, in an alternate universe, if his path had led him down a different route, that Coleman would have been that no-nonsense corner back that most intercounty forward’s would hate.

A player that would have propelled himself into the Bernard Brogans and Diarmuid Connollys of this world like a scud missile, much to the delight of those hailing from outside of the capital.

But, instead, the likes of Jez Bedford has to live with Coleman. This relentless, forceful, abrasive full-back that the Irish public very much identifies with.

In a country where James McClean won a Sportsperson of the Year award, in a year where he scored two goals in nine games for that country as an attacking player, it demonsrated that there’s more to winning Irish hearts than pure skill and just scoring goals.

In games where McClean doesn’t score, which is 81% of his games for the national team, he still often wins the affection of Irish supporters with his aggression in defence, even though some of us would prefer a little more accuracy in this particular area of his game.

But Seamus Coleman is not James McClean. That’s not being disrespectful to James McClean, but only one of those players were linked with a move to Bayern Munich last season.

Then again, to pigeon-hole Coleman as a relentless, forceful, abrasive full-back does not paint the full picture either, as he is also technically adept.

He’s great on the ball, he can dribble and take on players on the overlap, and while his crossing isn’t elite, it is servicable for a nation like Ireland.

It can just be uncomfortable to come to grips with the fact that your nation’s best player is a right-back, and not a player who can command more influence on a match like a central midfielder or a forward.

This sentiment was never more obvious than when Coleman literally dribbled in a goal against Georgia in a FIFA World Cup qualifier in 2016.

Across 90 minutes, at home, against a team ranked between Qatar and Kenya in the world rankings, in a competitive fixture, Ireland’s most productive attack came via a right-back who powered his way towards goal before receiving multiple fortuitous breaks.

Coleman is Ireland’s best player, of that there is no question, but so much of what he does that resonates with us often has nothing to do with the technical aspects of football, for which we so readily admire the Premier League’s best players.

Seamus Coleman looks back on a famous night in Lille in Euro 2016: Two Shades Of Green, @RTÉ2, tonight, 9.30pm . pic.twitter.com/i1JdHcBK6L

— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) December 29, 2016

The admiration for Coleman often stems from his speeches. His steely eyed look before Ireland take on a football superpower like Italy or France. The tackle on Bedford.

His comments on Bedford:

“That was more for me than it was the young lad!

“I just told him that at the time as well and he was fine with it.

“I knew tackles and things like that were never going to be a bother. That one was more for the few fans that were here that there are no psychological effects.”

His views on the modern Premier League:

It was great to see Coleman make his return last night against Portsmouth, but it’s arguably greater to see that your country’s best football player could be a better human than he is a footballer, which speaks volumes considering his ability with regards to the latter.

The Premier League could use more players like Seamus Coleman, even if Irish football desperately needs more like Sanchez and Ozil.

The FootballJOE quiz: Were you paying attention? – episode 10