SOCCER:The Spartak Moscow player feels he has a lot more to give in the green jersey, writes EMMET MALONE
A LOT has changed for Aiden McGeady over the last few seasons. He once looked a little wide-eyed about the time he spent with the Republic of Ireland but now, a month or so short of his 26th birthday, he is one of the squad’s more established players and the team’s brighter stars. And, as he sits and takes stock of things ahead of tomorrow’s friendly game against the Czech Republic he looks well aware of both.
It is more than seven years since McGeady made his international debut amid some fanfare in London against Jamaica. The Glasgow-born winger defied persistent pressure in opting to play for Ireland and his selection followed some fairly frenzied stuff in sections of the media about the potential consequences of not capping him.
Now, there is much the same clamour about James McClean, the young Derryman who would, having shown the same sort of determination to wear the green jersey, ostensibly replace him. McGeady looks unruffled, though, observing calmly that these are the accepted facts of being a professional footballer.
The new arrival has made a decent case for inclusion over the course of a dramatic few months at Sunderland but McGeady would be a hard man to drop. He may not score as many international goals as he, or anyone else, would like but he has nevertheless grown into the role in recent seasons, exerting an influence out on Ireland’s (mainly left) flank and acting as the spark for a fair amount of the team’s less direct attacking play.
A couple of years ago Giovanni Trapattoni used to criticise the defensive side of his game but not any more. McGeady’s growing status is reflected by the fact that in the qualifying campaign just completed, only one outfield player (Glenn Whelan) played more football than him and, while he continues to have his critics, he feels he has produced his best football at this level to date.
“I’d say so,” he says. “Before, the last campaign in the World Cup, I started quite well, sort of lost my place in the team and was in and out. But this campaign, I’ve played every single game pretty much and, overall, I’ve been more consistent. Having said that, I still believe I’ve got a lot more to give.”
How much more he might have mustered had he taken the easy option and stayed in Scotland is open to debate but McGeady surprised quite a few 18 months ago by passing up the opportunity either to remain at Celtic or take the well-trodden path down to England in favour of something more adventurous. Trapattoni pretty much told him not to do it, concerned it might not go well, but McGeady went to Spartak Moscow, displaying a willingness to gamble on his ability in a rapidly-improving league that has since paid significant dividends both in terms of greater experience and, he admits, improved standing.
“I feel I have improved as a player but also that I’m not viewed upon as an SPL player and everything that goes with it,” he says. “I know not everybody respects the SPL the way they do the Premier League because it is obviously not the same class but I feel it is viewed unfairly in that way. Spartak, though, has probably gone better than I thought. I signed for a lot of money and there is always that pressure of going there and not doing well but it has been a breath of fresh air for me and since I’ve been there I’ve done well.
“It’s been a bit of a culture shock, of course, but it is a great place to live. It is a great city, Moscow. The main thing is that every game you travel for is a flight away. It is not a drive. And the way the manager wants you to live is slightly different as well.”
McGeady has embraced it all, learning enough of the language so far to get by comfortably and settling well into life in the Russian capital. He has also endeared himself to Spartak fans with his performances while he and his partner Claire made themselves more widely popular when she opted against returning home to have their first child, Kai, last year. “Well, it wasn’t me who had the kid,” he says quickly. “My girlfriend dealt with it unbelievably. Most people would have said ‘no, I’m not staying in Moscow; maybe I’ll go back home to my family’ but it was just me and her and she dealt with it brilliantly. It’s one thing she [Kai] can say when she grows up, that she was born in Moscow.”
Barring mishaps, she’ll be able to say her dad played at a European Championships too although what happens McGeady after that is, he admits, very much up for grabs. At his current rate of progress McClean could indeed threaten to take his place in the Ireland team during the next campaign while Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, the Russian international who can happily play out wide on the left, has been signed by Spartak from Everton during the winter break.
The 25-year-old, however, is happy to take things as they come. “I’ve not thought about it,” he says when asked about his future, especially at club level. “I’m a Spartak player so I’ll see what happens in the next year depending on how it goes on the pitch, whether we qualify for the Champions League or not or how the Euros go. You never know but I’ve not thought about where I want to play next. Whatever happens, happens.”
With McGeady, you suspect, it’s likely to be interesting.
