Al Finucane

Born in Limerick in 1943, Al Finucane is regarded as possibly the greatest defender ever to feature in League of Ireland football. Signed by Limerick F.C. from local youth side Reds United, a 17-year old Finucane made his debut for the club in a 2-2 draw with Shamrock Rovers in the League of Ireland shield. Playing primarily as a wing-half (he would become more associated with the centre-half berth in later years), his reputation among his Limerick teammates became such that he was handed the captaincy of the Shannonside club while still in his early 20’s, and amongst opponents, too, Finucane garnered tremendous respect. Eschewing many of the more traditional, overly-physical aspects of defensive play, his positioning, composure and distribution were among his most celebrated attributes.

As part of a largely local Limerick team, Finucane was the losing captain in the 1965 and 1966 F.A.I. Cup finals, with Shamrock Rovers denying the Shannonsiders on both occasions. Having been voted Irish Soccer Personality of the Year in 1967, he led his side to a first Dublin City Cup in 1970, before the club finally got their hands on Irish football’s greatest prize the following year, Finucane climbing the Dalymount steps after Limerick’s 3-0 F.A.I. Cup final replay victory over Drogheda.

Already established in the inter-league side (regularly captaining the selection, most notably in the 1971 League of Ireland “Jubilee” match against the English League, he would win a total of 16 caps), Finucane was drafted into the senior international team in 1967, being deployed as a sweeper in a disappointing 2-1 European Championship qualifier defeat in Turkey (the player's own performance was singled out as one of the few positives for the Irish team). Although retained for the next outing, Finucane’s culpability for both Czechoslovakian goals in a 2-0 defeat at Dalymount Park saw him being excluded from the international reckoning for a period of two years, before being recalled in the midst of a four-match winless streak for Ireland for a World Cup qualifier against the same opposition, at the same venue. While the Czechs again took the spoils, Finucane would remain a key player for his country over the next two years, but unfortunately, without being part of a winning Irish side. By the time Finucane won his eleventh and last cap as captain (11 other League of Ireland players also featured that day) in a 6-0 European Championship qualifier defeat against Austria in Linz, the team had gone 20 matches without a victory.

Denied any real success in the League of Ireland itself, Finucane transferred to the all-conquering Waterford side in 1973, hoping to contribute to what would be an incredible seventh championship win for the Suirsiders in just nine seasons. A win over Finn Harps in the final of the inaugural League Cup was the highlight of that first year, however, and although Waterford would play their part in many league races in the second half of the decade, championship honours would ultimately escape Finucane. His greatest day as a Waterford player came in 1980, when (at the age of 37) he captained them to their first F.A.I. Cup win in 43 years, becoming only the second player (after Johnny Fullam) to skipper two clubs to victory in that trophy.

A return to his hometown club in 1981 was rewarded with a third F.A.I. Cup medal in 1982, before Finucane departed for Waterford again in 1986. The defender made history in the club’s European Cup Winners’ Cup tie against Bordeaux that year, when at 43, he became the oldest ever player to appear in a European match. A subsequent stint at Newcastlewest saw Finucane cement another record, as the player with the greatest total amount of League of Ireland appearances. Perhaps equally remarkable was the fact that in a 28-year League of Ireland career, Finucane never once received a red card, and indeed was only booked on three occasions.