EVANS DUO ARE GLAD TO REPAY PARENTS
IT HAS been quite a journey from the tough Rathcoole council estate, north of Belfast, to the shores of the Cote d’Azur for Jonny and Corry Evans.
Standing in the Stade de Nice tomorrow, they will take time to reflect on the sacrifices made by their parents when they become the first brothers to represent Northern Ireland at a major tournament.
The family uprooted from Belfast with their daughter Katie when Jonny was offered a scholarship at Manchester United at the age of 15, with Corry following his older brother into the club’s academy soon afterwards.
Mum Dawn found it hard to adjust at first. Dad Jackie, a defender who left Chelsea and Arsenal in the 1980s without playing a first-team game, gave up his job at a Belfast factory making aircraft parts and drove a minibus for United’s junior teams while studying for a sports business degree.
When they watch from the stands in Nice as their sons walk out for Northern Ireland’s Group C opener against Poland, it will all seem worthwhile.
Jonny, 28, admits that he sometimes forgets how lucky the family are to have the two brothers at Euro 2016 — an achievement denied Danny and Jackie Blanchflower at the 1958 World Cup when the latter was seriously injured in the Munich air disaster months earlier.
Recalling a recent conversation with his former United and current West Brom team-mate Darren Fletcher, he said: ‘I was talking to Darren about his two boys and saying: “When they’re footballers”. Darren turned to me and said: “Jonny, that might never happen. You don’t realise how fortunate your parents are that they’ve got two sons both playing at a very good level and going to the Euros”.
‘That hit home to me, how fortunate we are. This will be a great occasion for us, personally. Not many brothers have done that.
‘I don’t think you appreciate what they went through because we’re not privy to their serious conversations at night, when the kids are in bed. You know: “Is this the right decision?”. We’ll always be indebted to them because they sacrificed their lives really, especially our mum.
‘We were always out playing football anywhere we could, the street. Corry was Roberto Carlos and I was Paolo Maldini.
‘Because of what happened to my dad, he probably felt a bit of a failure. He never let us get carried away thinking we’re going across the water to become professional footballers.
‘But he always told us we were better than him by far and that gave us confidence growing up.
‘If you see us together in the same team, I don’t think you get a prouder moment. If I go to watch Corry play, I have so much pride — even more than when you’re playing in your own games.’
The family still live close together even though Jonny left Old Trafford for West Brom last summer after making 196 appearances.
Corry, 25, has been at Blackburn since 2013 having never made a first-team appearance for United.
It has not always been easy for the winger-turnedmidfielder to follow in his brother’s footsteps.
They still have the video footage of Corry scoring the winning goal for their junior team Carnmoney Colts in a cup final of a tournament in Holland after taking Jonny’s place because he had travelled to the Dallas Cup with United at the age of 10.
‘I was still determined to get to a high level and emulate Jonny,’ said Corry. ‘There was a chance I couldn’t have made it.
‘But my parents always had belief in me and pushed me. It’s probably a relief that they don’t have to deal with the disappointment of myself not making it.
‘They can be proud of what they’ve raised and sacrificed for our careers.’