LAST UPDATE | 11 Oct 2022
KATIE MCCABE THOUGHT she was in trouble when she got the phone call.
Why is Colin Bell ringing me, she wondered.
She was on holidays in the off-season of 2017 when she was asked to be Ireland’s youngest-ever captain. The legendary Emma Byrne’s successor. At the tender age of 21.
“I was delighted, I didn’t believe it, but yeah obviously I’m here now still. You can’t get rid of me just yet,” the 27-year-old laughs, cutting a relaxed figure on the eve of the biggest game of her international career thus far. She previously grinned that questions on the matter make her feel old.
Here, she stands, on the cusp of making history and guiding the Irish women’s national team to their first-ever major tournament in the 2023 World Cup.
A win in tonight’s historic play-off against Scotland at Hampden Park [KO 8pm, live on RTÉ 2] will either secure the coveted ticket, or see Vera Pauw’s side progress to an inter-confederation tournament.
“Five years from the day I was asked to be captain, I wouldn’t have pictured us being in this position,” Arsenal star McCabe concedes.
“But I’ve learnt a lot about myself with the captaincy, I wouldn’t have been able to be where I am without the support network I have around me within the team, those senior players to lean on in difficult moments.
“You learn a lot, it was learning on the job, but I wouldn’t be where I am today without the support of a core group of players within the team right now, I’m obviously thankful to have them beside me.”
In hindsight, she won’t shy away from how overwhelming it was.
Remembering that weight, that burden.
But now speaking with an impressive maturity.
Learning and growing through the years. What exactly did she learn about herself?
“This is getting deep isn’t it? I need to go training!
“No look, with getting the captaincy at such a young age, what’s the word…the identity, it can overwhelm you, you can try and be someone you’re not and it can change you very quickly. At the start, I was thinking, ‘What would Emma Byrne do in this situation?’
“You look at the great captains that I had in teams, you look like Robbie Keane, really important captains and leaders and it is, ‘What did they do?’ But it’s not about that, you can pick bits and pieces, but it’s about you, obviously being yourself.
“I was given the captaincy because of how I was as a person, how I was as a player, what Colin saw in me at the time, as a leader. It was about being myself and leading in my own way, it wasn’t what anyone else would do. I’ve grown with that, I think, it’s been a pleasure to do that.
“And having those senior girls around me at the time to pick me up in difficult moments if I was maybe not doing the right thing, was really important, and still is to this day.”
Just before McCabe was asked about her experience of being chosen as Ireland captain at such a young age, Pauw was. The manager was sitting on her left-hand side at the top table, and she suggested asking the player herself, before adding:
“I usually choose older players but probably there was nobody available. The thing is you get an extra pressure in the frame of your career, you want to be free to make mistakes and hide yourself at times, Katie has the personality that she doesn’t want to hide, she is capable of carrying that on her shoulders from a very young age, but there is not many like Katie.”
She also came in for high praise from Scotland’s midfield maestro Caroline Weir at their own pre-match presser. “Katie McCabe is probably their best player,” the Real Madrid star noted. “I’ve played against her many times for Arsenal. She’s their captain and a leader.”
Game recognises game.
Interestingly, it was now-Scotland manager Pedro Martínez Losa who first signed McCabe for Arsenal at the age of 20 in late 2015.
“Pedro was my first manager at Arsenal,” she explained yesterday. “He brought me into the club I admired growing up and supported, having a lot of Irish girls representing Arsenal then too. I’ll be looking forward to seeing him tomorrow, but it’s all about Ireland for me. I’ll be saying hello to him!
“He signed me as a young kid with a dream to play for Arsenal. I was fortunate to play under him and then I left on loan to get more game time, which was great, came to Scotland, learned a lot, picked up a trophy and came back. It is nice to see him have the Scotland job now.”
Tonight’s reunion may not be the friendliest, truth be told; McCabe previously revealing she thought her Arsenal career was over when she returned from that loan spell at Glasgow City, having not been part of Losa’s plans.
Perhaps that was motivation to drive on, a point to prove?
“I was going to leave but obviously there was a change of managers. Joe [Montemurro] wanted me to stay and that was it. Not necessarily a point to prove – I knew myself what I could bring to the team. And when I came back it was about being myself and showing that bringing it. I’m still here to this day representing Arsenal, which I absolutely love.”
She hasn’t spoken to clubmate Jen Beattie, who plays for Scotland — “Maybe we’ll be friends again on Wednesday, who knows?!” — firmly focused on the job at hand tonight.
On the cusp of history.
That weight, that burden. Can she feel it now more than ever?
“There’s not a weight on my shoulders. I feel the support and the love and the backing from the nation. I wouldn’t say it’s a weight necessarily. I think we all know what’s at stake. It’s another game of football at the end of the day.”
