Gavin Cooney

IRELAND’S ATTENTION IS now on the future but alas is fixed to a far more distant horizon than anyone would have liked. 

There will be no World Cup for Heimir Hallgrimsson and his players, and they are now instead begin the first tentative steps to Euro 2028 in Tuesday’s friendly with North Macedonia. 

Their World Cup dreams shattered, the players must also consider discrete futures, both their own and of some of their team-mates. 

Seamus Coleman said in Prague he wouldn’t dare use a moment of collective despair to consider his own future, but Hallgrimsson says the decision will be Coleman’s alone and that he wants his spiritual leader to continue. 

Chiedozie Ogbene is on the same hymn sheet. 

“I am really inspired by Seamus Coleman”, says Ogbene. “The speeches he gives before games, the way he carries himself. What is he now, 36?” 

We tell him it’s now 37. 

“The way I live my life I always dreamed to have the opportunity he has”, continues Ogbene. “People might say it’s luck, but I tell you now, he lives a very disciplined life and he sacrifices more than everyone else here, hence why he is still playing at this level at 37 and playing in the Premier League.

“He is a really good motivator for me, he has always pushes me since I have been in camp, he has given me the toughest love but it is always for the greater good and hence why I’ve had a really good international career. I always lean on him for stuff, regardless of how old he is, I would love to still have him in this camp.

“He is still very influential for everybody, he always gives an emotional speech which cuts me through the heart, I always go out there and give everything and fight for him. I really enjoy playing next to Seamus Coleman, and we are really fortunate to have a player like him. You have to see it, you have to be in here to see it.” 

Ogbene meanwhile now has to think about his own future. He dropped down the Championship table at the start of the season, leaving Ipswich for Sheffield United for some regular playing time to regain match fitness and sharpness following a long layoff with an achilles injury. The move has not worked out, however, with Sheffield United flooding their squad with loan players to the extent they have a surplus relative to the permitted quota in matchday squads. Ogbene has therefore been largely left to play with the U21s. 

“It’s funny how football is”, says Ogbene,  “at the start of the season I never thought I would not get opportunities. I had an opportunity and thought I took it but it didn’t happen, so I have to leave all that behind me now and worry about what I can control, train as best as I can and what will be, will be. I don’t know, things can change for me overnight, you never know what can happen at Ipswich, but I will show the best of myself with any opportunity I can and then leave the rest to God.” 

While peripheral at club level, Ogbene remains central for Ireland, and was outstanding in Prague, defying his lack of recent action to play into extra-time. 

“I am very fortunate I am in a place where I am playing with top players, and I am valued here”, he says. “I feel that love like no other place, no other club has given me the love I get from the Irish fans and the players here. The style of play suits me, the manager believes in me and it does help when you have all that going for you. I am always privileged to come to these things, coming into Ireland camps I get goosebumps. It has always been a dream of mine, probably why I excel here at this level, as it is the pinnacle for me. I am lucky I have get that trust I don’t get anywhere else. I always take the games very seriously, I always take every opportunity very seriously.” 

The next occasion will be difficult for many to take seriously: a contractually obliged friendly against North Macedonia, the other semi-final losers in Ireland’s play-off bracket. Hallgrimsson has to assess Ogbene’s readiness to go again after the physical and emotional toll of Thursday night. The game is sold out but it remains to be seen how many of those ticket holders will turn up to the event they hoped it would not be. Regardless of this game, however, Ogbene believes the reconnection between fans and players can lead to something significant in everybody’s future. 

“We’re very fortunate”, says Ogbene. “When football hasn’t been going the best for us the fans have always stood by our side. What they showed there [in Prague] was incredible. We hope that we can give them more than they’re giving us. They’ve always been there for us during difficult times. To not win and the stadium is roaring. It’s a good sign.

“I just wish we could give them a win. I’m hoping that the fans are connected to the players now. I can see them growing to the players, the new generation players. I think something special is going to happen in the future.”