Legendary Republic of Ireland footballer Paul McGrath celebrated his 63rd birthday over the weekend, withfans taking to social media to reminisce about his career.
McGrath's story is well known at this point. He began his career at St Patrick's Athletic before having a hugely successful spell in England with Manchester United and Aston Villa. The defender had a glittering career and in 1993, was named the PFA Player of the year for the 93/94 season.
At International level, McGrath was a rock for Ireland and was a key part of Jack Charlton's hugely successful side. His crowning glory came at the 1994 World Cup, where the injured McGrath put on a defensive masterclass to dominate Roberto Baggio as Ray Houghton's early goal gave Ireland a famous 1-0 win over Italy at Giants Stadium.
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As fans wished McGrath a happy birthday on social media, they shared their fondest memories. clips and photos of the Irish legend. One such photo was of a certain Diego Maradona facing off against McGrath at Wembley stadium.
In a game marking the centenary of the football league in England, a team of Internationals known as the 'Rest of the World XI' faced off against a side consisting of players playing in the English top flight. The game took place in 1987 in front of 61,000 fans at Wembley.
McGrath was selected for the home side and faced off against Maradona who was playing as an attacker for his side. Bobby Robson and Terry Venables managed the English and International sides respectively.
It was a star studded affair, with even the great Pelé making an appearance in a non-playing role. The home side consisted of top stars in the league at the time including Bryan Robson and another Irish legend in Liam Brady.
The Rest of the World XI was packed full of world-class stars like Gary Lineker and Michel Platini.
Despite this firepower, the International side were kept scoreless by a McGrath led defence. The English XI ultimately won 3-0 on the day, with goals being scored by Norman Whiteside and Bryan Robson who bagged a brace.
At the time of the game, McGrath was playing for Manchester United. Maradona was plying his trade for Napoli and was at the peak of his powers having led Argentina to World Cup glory the previous summer.
"It wasn't a happy experience," McGrath said when asked about playing against Maradona on the Tommy Tiernan Show in 2019.
"He did one thing that I just thought was ridiculous. Someone blasted a ball at him - And I think he had been out with Bryan Robson the night before - He just put out his leg and stopped the ball on the end of his toe and held it there.
"I'm supposed to be marking him, and I'm standing about ten yards away just looking at him , and he kept the ball on his toe, then he just puts it on the ground and runs off.
"I was just looking at him thinking, how did you do that?"
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