Pep’s milestone, Andrews off to a great start
I enjoyed last weekend’s soccer – at least until I realised that another of the dreaded ‘international breaks’ was upon us!
Far from being washed up, Mr ‘1000 games in management’ has a… er, Pep in his step again. Pep Guardiola reached the 1000-games-as-manager milestone in familiar style, his rejuvenated Manchester City team pretty much coasting to a 3-0 win over defending Premier League champions, Liverpool.
A true ambassador for ‘The Beautiful Game’, Pep has won 716 of those 1000 games – a stunning statistic. He’s won them in style too. Long may Pep continue to innovate, entertain, and generally grace the sport.
Also last weekend, Sunderland continued their remarkable form, stopping league leaders Arsenal in their tracks. A late equaliser secured a 2-2 draw for Sunderland. Arsenal still lead Manchester City by four points.
Spurs and an in-form Manchester United drew 2-2, three of those goals coming in the closing stages. Former Republic of Ireland international Keith Andrews maintained his very promising start as Brentford manager, his team defeating Newcastle 3-1. Andrews is confounding the doom merchants – and fair play to him. Meanwhile, Aston Villa are on an impressive run, their 4-0 win over Bournemouth taking them into sixth place.
As for Leeds United, they were utterly uninspiring in a timid 3-1 loss to Nottingham Forest. On current form, Leeds are undoubtedly relegation ‘contenders’. That may change of course.
If it doesn’t, expect manager Daniel Farke to be out of work well before Christmas.
*Good luck to the Republic of Ireland in our World Cup qualifier against Portugal at the Aviva Stadium tonight (Thursday). Kick-off at 7.45 pm.
Big GAA Weekend
There’s still life in the GAA year. St Brigid’s v Ballina is a mouth-watering prospect at King & Moffatt Dr Hyde Park in the Connacht Club Championship this Sunday.
Strokestown and St Croans’s (Roscommon’s intermediate and junior representatives respectively) are in action too. Wishing all three Roscommon clubs every success this weekend!
Attending the recent Connacht IHC quarter-final at King & Moffatt Dr Hyde Park between Four Roads (Roscommon) and Tooreen (Mayo) were Cian McGarvey, Senan Crosbie and Mikey Fallon. Photo: Bernie O’Farrell
Stars that touched our hearts: Ilie Năstase
(An occasional series, in which we remember sports stars who moved us – irrespective of medals, titles or longevity)
I’ve always been drawn to the entertainers. Mavericks, even. Alex Higgins. George Best. Muhammad Ali. Seve Ballesteros. Jimmy White. Frank Worthington. René Higuita (the Columbian goalkeeper of Scorpion kick save fame). And a host of other footballers (I’ve read so much about him, it feels like I knew the splendidly eccentric Len Shackleton; I didn’t).
John McEnroe was captivating on the tennis circuit –part-magical shot-maker, part-human volcano – but even ‘SuperBrat’ couldn’t get my pulses racing in the way that Romanian entertainer par excellence Ilie Năstase did. McEnroe’s boorishness was a turn-off; Năstase’s charm was such that you tended to indulge his tantrums.
From the first time I saw him, I was a huge fan. Năstase (pictured) was a gifted tennis player – but one arguably got as much joy from the entertainment value he brought to the sport through his theatrics and those (occasional) tantrums. He was the clown prince of tennis. Oh he could play too. Năstase won two majors, and despite his erratic behaviour he was world number one for a 40-week stretch.
Jimmy White once said of Alex Higgins that he was the only player other snooker players would covertly sneak into a venue to watch (i.e. joining the other spectators). That was the scale of Higgins’s early impact. I’m quite sure Năstase had the same effect on his fellow pros. He was wonderful to watch.
His antics? I loved them. A handful of his funny/combative ‘moments’ are on YouTube. Eccentric, with a flamboyant playing style, he seemed to want to entertain as much as to win – shades there of Higgins’ philosophy, of Best’s too. But Năstase was temperamentally unpredictable, erratic in his behaviour, as prone to angry, abusive outbursts as he was to making spectators laugh and smile. Like McEnroe, he often argued vociferously with umpires. Năstase was known to stage sit-down protests on the court, even to walk off in dissent over officiating calls.
Still, humour was central to his histrionics. On one occasion he ‘borrowed’ a spectator’s dog, placed it on the baseline, and suggested that the pet could do a better job than the umpire.
At Wimbledon, when volunteers were dragging covers over the court to protect it from rain, Năstase joined in, and did a shift with them. Another time, he took an umbrella from a spectator and shaped up to face his opponent’s serve while holding it above his head.
Of course memories of Năstase’s actual tennis skill should never be overshadowed by his clown-like conduct. He was supremely gifted, frequently mesmerising opponents and spectators with his brilliance. Here, he could be compared to golfing genius Ballesteros. Of course Năstase should have won more, but then that can be said of most eccentric geniuses. As it was, he won those two majors – the US Open in 1972, and the French Open the following year. Twice he was a finalist at Wimbledon. In all, he won 64 singles titles worldwide (and 45 in doubles). Not bad for the Court Clown.
A former member of the Romanian Senate, and now aged 79, Năstase lives in Bucharest. He has been married five times. One more, and it will be ‘six love’ (Mrs Năstase, I jest).
Controversial and chaotic he most certainly was. At one stage, the media labelled him ‘Mr Nasty’. He wasn’t without his flaws, and he most certainly misbehaved – and aggravated. But that’s also true of a million and more people who never gave us the joy this man did.
Năstase thrilled with his talent, and entertained like no other tennis player in history. He was one of sport’s greatest characters.
Ilie Năstase, thank you for the memories.
