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Fitting tribute to a footballing Nureyev

< PAUL HEALY

I have written before of my adulation of the mesmerising Liam Brady.

His brilliance as Arsenal’s playmaker in the late 1970s made him one of the most popular footballers on both sides of the Irish Sea.

Footballer of the Year in 1979, he moved to Italy and enjoyed great success there too.

Attending his Republic of Ireland testimonial game (against Finland at Lansdowne Road in 1990) was a great thrill for me. I distinctly remember Brady – by then approaching his mid-30s, and out of favour with Jack Charlton – being the classiest player on the pitch that night, his first touch superb, his control and passing a delight.

He was a footballing Nureyev.

Monday night’s RTE documentary – ‘Liam Brady: The Irishman Abroad’ – did not disappoint. Broadcast on the 50th anniversary of Brady signing schoolboy forms at Arsenal, this was a slick, enjoyable programme, a fitting tribute to a modest man who is a football legend.

Two things stood out for me. The respect and love felt for Brady amongst former playing colleagues and supporters in Italy was touching, and indicative of how significant his influence in Italy was, this in an era when players from the English League rarely made such a transition.

The second thing that stood out from the documentary was the quality of so many of his goals…the archives treating us to a stunning variety of left-footed finishes that graced the grounds of England and Italy.

As I wrote in my book ‘Sporting Heroes’, Liam Brady played the game in real life the way we played in our dreams. Flashback

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