It was a missed opportunity for Irish football as Kenny recalls. "It was around '78, John Giles had this idea going back then that he would get all the best young players in the country - and we were full-time back then - to try and compete in Europe, " Kenny recalls. "But it never worked out. John wanted to play a really good brand of football and the pitches in them days certainly weren't as good as they are now.
So that never really worked out but it was a great experience with some fantastic players at the time. We had the likes of Jim Beglin, Ray Treacy and Paddy Mulligan and all these sort of fellas. " Bray Manager Harry Kenny celebrates his sides second goal against Dundalk in August ©INPHO/Tommy Dickson Kenny shared some memories of what Giles was like as a manager at Rovers and also recalled taking on a young Gianluca Vialli and Roberto Mancini in an exhibition match. He also considered the debate regarding comparisons between the greatest League of Ireland teams of all time, including Rovers of the '80s and Dundalk.
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Stephanie Roche explains name change after Shamrock
But in terms of the modern day challenge, for Bray and everyone else, of trying to catch the current champions, Kenny said, "It'll be very difficult to compete with Dundalk where they are financially. But it's going to be difficult for everyone else to catch up with them and I'm hearing that they'll win the league for the next five or six years.
Stephanie Roche explains name change after Shamrock Rovers moveIreland striker Stephanie Roche has played her last ever game of football! The new Shamrock Rovers striker will go by the name Stephanie Zambra next season, following her marriage earlier this year to Bray Wanderers midfielder Dean Zambra. Roche made the move last week from Peamount United to Rovers, ahead of the Hoops’ high-profile return to the Women’s Premier Division.
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To be fair, during the off season I always like to do something different. Because when I take a break from football I always like to also try to stay fit and do spinning classes and try to stay fit as best as I can with something different. “But this is totally different to me and the first few days I had to learn how to walk as a dancer. And that sounds so simple. "But my feet were cramping when I got home that night because I was pointing my toe for so long, so it is just completely different muscles being used. " READ NEXT: Katie Taylor's Croke Park fight moves a step closer as Amanda Serrano agrees to Dublin rematch FAI sign off on Brisbane base for World Cup finals Gareth Southgate drops quit hint as he opens up on mental health toll of England job Conor McGregor named among most popular athletes of 2022 despite not fighting Clifford brothers run riot as Fossa win Munster Junior Championship Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alertsStory SavedYou can find this story in My Bookmarks.
He was also part of a crop of Rovers players who joined the then-Milltown based club when Ireland legend John Giles took charge of the club in the late 1970s. On this week's Team 33, Kenny joined Joe and I to talk about both his career as a player and managing in the League of Ireland. You can listen to the full interview with Harry on the podcast player below or stream on iTunes. It also includes an interview with Backpage Football co-editor Neil Sherwin on the issue of fake news in the football sphere. Back in October, we spoke to ex-Bray Wanderers and Drogheda United boss Mick Cooke on Team 33 about his own memories of being part of Giles' Shamrock Rovers. The ambition had been to bring a greater level of professionalism to the League of Ireland in the 1970s but as Giles himself explained previously, unfortunately obstacles existed which prevented the positive changes he was hoping to spark.
The 58-time capped striker - the runner up in the 2014 FIFA Puskas Goal of the Year award - married Zambra in front of friends and family at the Tulfarris Golf Resort in Wicklow. Dean Zambra has been at Bray Wanderers since the start of this year. He was previously with Longford Town. Stephanie is currently in training for a different sport altogether - she is rehearsing for RTE's popular show, Dancing with the Stars. She said of her tough new regime: “I had someone message me on social media saying ‘ah it is better than pre-season training’ and I replied ‘no it’s not, it’s ten times worse’ than that. “It has been all go since two weeks ago we started training. So it has been all go and six hours in training or more everyday so it’s full on. “It’s just totally different.
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