Finn Azaz experienced a landmark in his career on Tuesday night, with the 23-year old coming off the bench against Switzerland to make his Ireland debut.
The midfielder has been building towards this point in his career for quite some time now. A product of the West Brom academy, he would join Aston Villa in 2021 but never made a league appearance for the club. He would spend time on loan at various clubs in the English lower leagues, going on to really make his mark at Plymouth Argyle.
After helping them to promotion from League One last season, he would impress once again in the Championship in the current campaign. He would then join Middlesbrough in a permanent deal in January and looks to very much be on an upward curve in his career.
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Ireland debutant Finn Azaz reveals links to sporting legend
While Fizz Azaz was born in England, his links to Ireland are very strong. His father hails from Cork, with a young Azaz spending quite a bit of time in that part of the world during his youth.
Speaking to the media after the Swiss game, he also revealed a link to a certain Cork GAA legend.
It’s always been a goal for me. It’s a really proud moment for myself and my family..
My dad Tim was here. He grew up in Cork and went to school in Dublin. My family is down in Cork. My great uncle, Brian Murphy, if you look him up, he was a famous hurler and footballer. So it’s running in the family...
It was always Ireland. As a child I came here often obviously because of my dad. It’s always been a goal of mine to play for Ireland...
It’s been amazing. I want to say thank you to all the lads, to Séamus [Coleman] and all the staff for welcoming me into the group. Séamus sent me a message straight away when I got the call-up. I’ve been speaking to him, he’s been giving me advice and welcoming me.
Brian Murphy represented Cork in both Gaelic football and hurling at inter-county level in the 1970s and 1980s, experiencing remarkable success in both codes.
He would win two Munster titles and an All-Ireland in football, as well as seven provincial titles and and three All-Irelands in hurling. Remarkably, he would also claim four All-Stars, split evenly across the two codes. He is one of only four men to win All-Stars in both Gaelic football and hurling.
With his great nephew now an Ireland football international, there is clearly no shortage of sporting talent in that family.
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