Rebel without a pause: the relentless James McClean
Sideline Cut: The Derry footballer brings the tang of his home city to Copenhagen
James McClean: his leg tattoo reads “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.” Photograph: Charles McQuillan/Getty
Barcelona may be the cradle of football civilisation, and may one day gift the world with another Lionel Messi, but deep down they know they will never be capable of producing a player like James McClean. That’s because it’s impossible to imagine the Irish winger emerging from anywhere other than Derry City.
Here he comes again: storming through the dank Saturdays of another November in which he is cast as a figure of hatred across England’s football theatres for his personal decision not to wear a Remembrance Day poppy. Here he is railing against the BBC, Voice of Blighty, for highlighting a heavy tackle he made but ignoring the bottles and coins then flung at him from a contingent of last Saturday’s Huddersfield crowd enraged by his presence.