When David Clifford pulls on his Kerry jersey to face Clare in Sunday's Munster final, he'll line out against several players he knows well from his days playing Sigerson Cup.
"(Eoin) Cleary, I played with him in UL, Emmett McMahon, Daniel Walsh, Ciaran Downes and a few fellas like that. They are serious footballers," Clifford said at SuperValu's launch of the All-Ireland Football Championship.
"UL has been the main feeder for them, but other colleges as well. It gives fellas a chance to realise they can do it amongst the best.
"Clare are a very difficult opponent. We've always had good battles with them, in some of the games, maybe pulled away towards the end. We've been lucky enough to get goals in a lot of those games coming down the stretch. We expect it to be a very tough task. We're well aware of the dangers that they bring."
26 June 2021; David Clifford of Kerry in action against Cillian Brennan of Clare during the Munster GAA Football Senior Championship Quarter-Final match between Kerry and Clare at Fitzgerald Stadium in Killarney, Kerry. Photo by Dáire Brennan/Sportsfile
Though they were relegated from Division 2 of the National League this year, Clare did have some good performances. They were six points up with 12 minutes to play against Dublin in February, but Dessie Farrell's side ended up winning by one. Clifford agreed "100 per cent" that Clare should have won that game.
"Even looking back to last year they beat Roscommon [at Croke Park] as well, so we're well aware of what they're capable of," said the 2022 Footballer of the Year.
"We'll be looking forward to it and really trying to get our analysis right and really prepare for it and hope to get a performance on the day."
Prior to Kerry's 20-point Munster semi-final victory over Tipperary last month, the Kingdom panel spent time in Portugal for a training camp. Clifford said it was a "very enjoyable" five days in the Algarve.
'Where we are in Kerry the weather isn’t hectic'
"To be able to spend that much time together as a group," he said.
"Obviously very tough on the body and stuff like that, having to do so many sessions on consecutive days is probably something you wouldn't be used to.
"But no, very, very enjoyable and it was a chance for us to spend a bit of time together and just slow things down a small bit and, like I said, spend more time on the tactical side of the game and stuff like that.
"If you take where we are in Kerry, we’re training in Currans, generally the weather isn’t hectic. You’re going out on the field and you’re not generally going to be able to work through stuff.
"Then fellas are coming down from work, fellas are travelling from Cork. They have work the next morning so your time where you’re together is actually limited, so it’s just about that really. Being able to slow things down a bit and talk things through a bit more.
"There was a lot of bonding happening. Like that, a lot of time spending time together and having time to do things you wouldn’t be able to do in terms of recovery and things like that."
22 April 2023; David Clifford of Kerry, left, and Cathal Deely of Tipperary shake hands after after the Munster GAA Football Senior Championship Semi-Final match between Kerry and Tipperary at Fitzgerald Stadium in Killarney, Kerry. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
Earlier this week, the draw for the group stages of this year's All-Ireland SFC took place. Should they defeat Clare in the Munster final, Kerry will face the Leinster final runner-up (either Dublin or Louth), along with Mayo and Cork. If Kerry lose the Munster decider, they will play in a group with the Ulster champions (either Armagh or Derry) along with Monaghan and Donegal.
Clifford, who was speaking before the draw was made, said he likes "the sound" of the new format.
"I would say that our approach to it doesn't change much to, say, the old Super 8s approach where you're going out to try to win Munster and then you're going to have three good games, similar to the Super 8s; one at home, one away and one at a neutral venue," he said.
"So I suppose whatever teams do end up reaching a quarter-final, you're going to be well road tested and you're going to be in a very strong position. Yeah, I think overall I'm really looking forward to it and it seems very positive."
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