OTHER THAN THE odd hankering for KC’s, the well-known Douglas Village chipper, Steven Beattie is settling in just fine.
He’s been in Chattanooga for about two-and-a-half months now. The city, nestled deep in the spectacular valleys and mountain ranges of East Tennessee, is halfway between Nashville (two hours northwest) and Atlanta (to the southeast). As the weather tips over the 20 degrees mark, he steps out on the balcony of his apartment to chat. He misses his adopted home of Cork quite a bit but he’s grateful for the new opportunity and the experiences it’s already offering him.
“I lived with Johnny Dunleavy for three years in a lovely part of Mayfield and I really enjoyed it there but it was an apartment complex and nothing else to it,” he says.
“Here, there’s a pool on the first floor. There’s a gym with a rock-climbing facility – that’s how big it is. I think I’m able to do my job a lot better than I would back home. That’s regarding the recovery aspect, the way of life. You’re not going home in freezing cold, wet weather after training. Here, the sun is out and you can sit at the pool and get your legs back that way. It’s not a knock on the league. It’s just that the facilities aren’t there.”
Beattie enjoyed consistent success with Cork City, claiming an FAI Cup in 2016 and then being a crucial part of the double-winning side the following year. Yet, despite being a pro athlete, there was still a difficulty in shaking off a wider perception people had of the League of Ireland.
“It wasn’t petulance and people don’t mean it in a bad way ” he says.
“But they’d say things like, ‘I didn’t realise you get paid all year’ or they’d ask you, ‘Do you still go on the dole for two-and-a-half months?’ You put blood, sweat and tears into something. When you’re going through the mud in CIT at eight in the morning for pre-season in January and then you’re playing in the Aviva in front of 30,000 and a few weeks later somebody is saying, ‘Oh, your season is finished, you must be in the dole queue’…Off the field, John (Caulfield) had everything taken care of in Cork: certain food before and after training, the facilities in UCC – it was second to none. But as an example, we trained here this morning. Then I was in the cryotherapy chamber at 1.30. It’s effectively a four-person freezer and I was in there for three-and-a-half minutes. Then at 5pm today I’m in the NormaTec boots that use the compression therapy to help your muscles recover. It’s not for the lack of professionalism back home. Those things just don’t exist. My body’s never felt so good and it’s a direct correlation of having those things available to me.”
It says much that such an elite level of resource and care is available to Beattie and his team-mates despite his employers being quite a way down the football pyramid in the United States.
Chattanooga Red Wolves are a brand-new team and began their campaign last night with a United Soccer League 1 (USL) game against North Texas in Dallas. Beattie made history by scoring the first goal in the club’s history, though they went on to suffer a 3-2 loss.
With Major League Soccer as the top ‘tier’, underneath is the 36-team, two conference USL Championship. Then, it’s USL 1. So, even though there’s no promotion and relegation, the Red Wolves are effectively in the third division. Right now, there are only 10 teams but that number will more than likely double in the next 12-18 months.
Beattie is no stranger to the US system, having spent four years at Northern Kentucky University on a scholarship. A standout in college football, he was drafted by MLS side Toronto FC but it was the wrong place at the wrong time. The team was struggling, Aron Winter was in his first season as manager (which would prove disastrous) and Beattie was immediately on the outside. Frustrated, he went on trial to the Puerto Rico Islanders, then plying their trade in the second tier, and secured a pro contract. Three days later, he snapped his cruciate ligament and was out for the bones of a year.
The whole American experience was bittersweet but throughout his time in the League of Ireland (with Bohemians and Sligo Rovers too), and even before that during a spell in Iceland, he felt he had something to prove in the US. There was unfinished business and he always had the desire to return, should the right opportunity arise.
“It was about rediscovering, really,” he says.
“I turned 30 and the last thing I did in Ireland was to play in the Champions League qualifiers. It was always such a big thing for me. Ever since I was a kid and you hear that music for the first time, it was always something I wanted to do. It stuck with me. After that, I was ready to go. As a footballer, you always want something to aim at. I’d done what I could do in Ireland and then it was about another challenge. America was always on the back-burner ever since I got drafted and when I got to see the MLS setup. It was always my goal to get back. There’s the coaching opportunities here too for when I eventually finish. Previously, I had talked to Louisville – who were coached by James O’Connor from Dublin at the time and who’d go on to win the USL championship. And Cincinnati – who have since become an MLS franchise – were interested as well. I weighed everything up and John knew exactly where I was coming from. He’s smart, he’s been around. He’s seen it, done it. He told me there was a contract on the table but knew I was interested in going back and we were always honest with each other”.
Still, Beattie admits it was incredibly tough to leave Leeside. He had immersed himself in the city and grew to love it. He wasn’t just accepted by the City fans but adored by them. Not an easy feat for a Dub. He was hugely involved in the club’s community commitments and constantly interacting with supporters. He endeared himself even more to the hardcore loyalists by criticising ‘the Dublin media’ and famously celebrating his penalty in the 2017 Cup final by shushing the Dundalk fans behind the goal.
“I can never speak highly enough of Cork and what the people of Cork meant to me. And I think it’s vice versa,” he says.
“I think it was a match made in heaven from the first day I got down there. I genuinely just got this feeling from John and from being in the city for a few days that there was something special there. They’re so passionate about their football team and I tried to play with the same passion that they took to me with. Now, I scored on my debut which helps everybody. But the biggest thing about the fans, and Cork people generally, is that they’re a very proud bunch. After the FAI Cup final in 2016, there were grown men in tears. And when we came back to the city and were on Patrick Street, the place was basically closed down. I took a step back and thought, ‘This is the pinnacle of my football career’. I never went to England and played in the Premier League or Championship. This was me. I was in Cork and happy out.”
Such sad news last night. Aoife fought an amazing fight. We will all miss seeing you after the games. Always waiting with a smile and kiss on the cheek. Thanks for all our good luck cards before the final. Condolences to all Aoife’s friends and family at this difficult time. RIP pic.twitter.com/ZUNzNAh2uj
— Steven Beattie (@steven5beattie) March 21, 2018
“Aoife, who passed away and who had Down’s Syndrome, was a big fan and she took to me and we clicked. Her sister Amanda asked myself and Kieran Sadlier to carry her coffin. That’s how deep things run in Cork. If you’re a genuine fella, I think people feed off that. You’re not just a fraud.”
I’m sitting here and there’s a Cork City shirt in the corner. Tony Tobin wrote me a poem when I left and he actually sent me over a frame of myself and the poem. At no other club would you get that, y’know? It was a special time and if I do come back home, I’d like to finish my career with Cork. I might be too old and too injury prone by then, probably! But for anyone on the outside looking in, it’s such a special story. The club was on its knees. There was very nearly no club until FORAS took it over. And to be part of that and part of the history of the Double, it’s something I’ll always treasure. It did break my heart (to leave). It really did. I still get messages on a Friday night from people saying to come back. One fella asked if I’d come back on a season loan.”
The Red Wolves is something radically different. While Cork City are a traditional heavyweight in a domestic league and carry inevitable season-on-season expectations, Beattie’s new team have no history. It’s a debut campaign. A blank canvass. And despite there being interest from other clubs, it was the newness that appealed most to the Skerries native when deciding to sign.
“It’s a brand-new slate,” he says.
“We can set our own goals and standards. It’s not something I’ve had before. In Cork, I walked into a team with established pros that had already won everything. But here everyone is shaking hands on the first day. Nobody has been here. That’s the really attractive thing for me. A new project.”
“I’ve signed a two-year deal, with the club having an option for a third. The security was important to me because your bases are covered, whereas back home it’s 52 weeks one year, then suddenly you get a call to say it’s down to 48. The team owner, Bob Martino, rang me personally when I signed. He wanted to thank me for choosing his franchise and for trusting him. And that personal touch went a long way with me. You’re not just another player. They’re proud that you’ve chosen them. And that’s something you want to embrace. They’re top people here and they have big plans. A new training complex has been announced and it’ll be ready in six or seven months. By January 2020, there’ll be a 6,500-seater soccer specific stadium here as well.”
There are some familiar faces too with former League of Ireland striker Eamon Zayed and Cork centre-back Colin Falvey both members of the Red Wolves squad.
“Myself and Eamon were on local TV here doing a live interview and, to be honest, I don’t think anyone understood a single thing we said,” Beattie says with a laugh.
“We walked into training afterwards and the ladies from the club said, ‘Yeah, you were great but we didn’t really know what you were saying’. We have a lot of Spanish-speaking players on the team and I think we need interpreters more than they do.”
Beattie has been named as captain by manager Tim Hankinson, an experienced figure within US football. It’s a role he experienced a handful of times with Cork but owing to the cosmopolitan nature of the Red Wolves dressing room, it has been a bit more challenging.
“Because we have so many players who count Spanish as their first language, I’m trying to pick up some little things,” he says.
It sounds stupid but instead of ‘turn’, they prefer ‘solo‘ because it means you’re by yourself. Using stuff like ‘bueno‘ for ‘good’ or ‘well done’ – easy words and just for a bit of encouragement. I’ve never had that before. Usually it’s ‘any fucking chance’? Or ‘man up your arse’. If you say something like that here, the lads are looking at you and the ball will go the other way. We have a fella from Ghana too, just to throw that into the mix. His first time in America was when he landed. And we have a lad from Albania who didn’t have a lick of English when he arrived. He had an interpreter for the first two weeks. I’d text him, just saying ‘You alright, mate?’ But he thinks it’s ‘maté‘, like the Spanish drink. So now he goes, ‘Beats, my maté’ and I just don’t have the heart to tell him. But I love it. It’s something new and fresh. When I do get into the coaching side of it, I’ll have to deal with all of that anyway. I’m like the UN – fellas from all over the shop coming in. It’s an experience. It’s an honest bunch. They’re working hard. No bullshit. No egos. They’re just enjoying being pro soccer players…and I can’t believe I’ve just said ‘soccer.’”
“I’m not a massive yeller and I’ll never slaughter lads on a pitch,” he adds.
“If I think it needs to be upped, I’ll scream and shout but I’m not moany or bitchy. But because we have a new group, I think I will have to be more vocal. We have a relatively young back four and a youngish midfield so I’ll have to lead by example. And when things aren’t going well, that’s when the true side of you comes out. How do you handle adversity? I always play at 100% and train how I play. I crunched lads in tackles after two days here and I think they were looking at me thinking, ‘Who’s this nutcase?’ But that’s how I am and expect someone to do the same to me. If they smash me in a tackle, I’m not going to say anything. No bother, shake hands. I don’t mind that. I think that, maybe, they’re not used to the hard tackling in America. It’s more athleticism. So I’ve tried to instil that in the team. If we’re soft we have no chance.”
Beattie, who excelled for a long time at full-back at Cork despite being a natural attacker, has featured on the right of a front three in recent friendlies for the Red Wolves after a discussion with Hankinson, who’d seen him in a variety of roles.
“I’m the only right-back in the world who was wearing number 10,” he says.
“Here, it’s a bit of a free role where I can come inside and create. I’m enjoying it and scored in friendly last week and it was just great to get back on the scoresheet and impacting the attack rather than worrying about a tricky winger running at you. For two years, I was waiting for John (Caulfield) to come over and say, ‘Right, off you go to practice your finishing’ but then you’re playing right-back again and it’s, ‘Ah, shite’. But you were just delighted to be on the pitch so you didn’t complain! Here I’ve just been doing more and more finishing work just to try and get my eye for goal back because it seems to have gone missing.”
Despite the new adventure being well up and running at this stage, Beattie’s profile picture on Twitter is still that famous one of him encouraging some pesky Dundalk fans to keep the noise down at the Aviva. It’s the same on his WhatsApp.
“I miss it a lot,” he reiterates.
And the biggest thing I miss is walking out at Turner’s Cross. I won everything I could there. I got to experience the people I did. I made the friendships I did. I got to live in the city. I wouldn’t swap the memories for anything else. If I do move home and buy a house, it will probably be in Cork – that’s how close I am to the place. I wouldn’t have changed it for the world. Not a hope. It’s pretty much my identity. I had played with Bohs and Sligo but I made a name for myself in the League of Ireland with Cork. People always associate me with Cork.”
“In my statement, I said that they’d lost a player but gained a fan and genuinely I get frustrated when they don’t win. When they were struggling in the early part of the season, I was pissed off as much as everyone else and texted the lads and some fans saying, What’s going on?’ I probably should update the WhatsApp picture and stuff but they’re memories. The penalty at the Aviva is probably one of my top ones that will stay with me forever. The throw-in for Seani (Maguire) in the first Cup final too. It’s very hard to just get rid of them because then you’re forgetting. So, for the moment they’ll stay put.”
Murray Kinsella and Andy Dunne dissect Ireland’s disappointing Six Nations campaign, and discuss the pros and cons of rugby’s new law proposals in the latest episode of The42 Rugby Weekly:
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