WES HOOLAHAN
You’ll be 34 by the time Ireland’s first game at Euro 2016 comes around. Does that make you appreciate this tournament more? Yes, probably. If I’m included in the squad it will be my first tournament, and the chance to play for your country in a major tournament doesn’t come around often. Going back 10 years I was playing in the League of Ireland, which was brilliant for me, but playing in the Euros was always a dream of mine. I don’t know why I’ve reached my best form now. Maybe it’s finding the right position, getting game time and more experience. I’m able to cope with the big games now. Playing in the hole in a 4-4-1-1 or a 4-3-1-2 has suited me.
What were the most memorable moments for you during the qualifying campaign? Winning the first game in Georgia in the last minute, plus the two games against Germany, with a late draw in Gelsenkirchen and a win at home. And the play-off game in the fog in Bosnia was crazy! You couldn’t see the other end of the pitch, the back four or the keeper. That was tough, but we got a great result. What are your earliest memories of watching the Republic of Ireland? The 1990 World Cup in Italy, when we reached the quarter-finals, and then Ray Houghton scoring against the Italians four years later. I was a mad Irish supporter and you dream of scoring a goal at a tournament. The day before a match, I like to visualise the game: what positions I’m going to be in on the pitch, what I would do if I get the ball, and dreaming of scoring. Before the first match against Sweden I will visualise going out there, making a good impression and hopefully helping us win.
With 24 teams for the first time, the tournament is quite convoluted, isn’t it? Yes! The top two and four of the six third-best teams go through, is that right? It’s a bit complicated. But we won’t be thinking that far ahead – we’ll just be concentrating on Sweden, seeing if we can get a result, and then moving on to Belgium and Italy. We’ll be the underdogs but we came out of a hard qualifying group and beat Germany, so they’ll probably fear us more than we fear them.