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Macauley and Doyle in action during the 2013 Allianz National Football League. Ryan Byrne/INPHO
Legend

'Exceptional' Johnny Doyle is nine years older than me - and he was still able to outrun me

Kildare veteran ranks among the best, says Dublin’s Footballer of the Year Michael Dara Macauley.

MICHAEL DARA MACAULEY has paid a glowing tribute to Johnny Doyle, rating the retired Kildare star as “an exceptional footballer” and “definitely one of the best I’ve played against.”

The two went head-to-head on a few occasions in midfield and although Dublin usually came out on top, Macauley was left in no doubt as to his opposite number’s sheer class.

“I’ve had the misfortune to mark him a few times in Croke Park,” the reigning Footballer of the Year said.

He’s just one of those special players that can really light up Croke Park. He’s done so a lot of times at this stage so I was as shocked as anyone to hear that he was retiring.

“He’s a big loss, a big loss for the game in general, for Leinster football and for Kildare.”

Doyle announced his inter-county retirement on Sunday evening at the age of 36, and although he’s nine years his junior, Macauley says he struggled to keep up at times.

“He just doesn’t stop. He doesn’t stop running. I’ve had that said about me before but Johnny’s a different story now.

I had a few years on him but he was definitely still able to outrun me.

He added: “He’s one of those players, he was never over-reliant on his physicality, he was over-reliant on his skill. That’s one of the things that players embrace about him.

“He was all about the football and he’s a super lad. I know him off the field as well, I would have met him at a few different things, and he’s a lovely lad.”

The highlight of Doyle’s inter-county career came in 2000 when he won the Leinster Championship and although he deservedly won an All-Star when Kildare came close in 2010, an All-Ireland title remained just out of reach.

“I suppose it’s probably like the Ciaran Whelan saga”, Macauley said.

“Johnny had a very successful career, he’s done a lot of good things.

I suppose he would have loved to get his hands on the elusive Celtic Cross. He came pretty close in 2010 but it just wasn’t to be.

“No one knows how these scripts are going to work out but I think Johnny can look back and definitely be very proud of his career.”

Been there, done that – so what advice did big brother Eoin give Alan Cadogan on life as a dual player?

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