In the 2002 All-Ireland final, when Henry Shefflin possessed one less winners’ medal than Clare’s Davy Fitzgerald, DJ Carey eased any concerns that a young Shefflin may have been feeling. Scoring a ‘sublime point from the under the Hogan Stand without even taking the ball to hand’, Shefflin took this opportunity to remind Fitzgerald that “Class is permanent boy, class is permanent…” In time, Fitzgerald would infamously remind Waterford’s John Mullane that “I’ve two All-Irelands and you’ve got fuck all”. Such is the hierarchy of inter-county hurling.
Inter-county football is little better. Living under the yolk of inter-changeable dominance as demonstrated by Kerry and Dublin, treachery offers one outlet against the scourge of tradition. Between 2010 and 2014, Jim McGuinness was the biggest traitor of all. The instigator of a ‘footballing super-bug… resistant to all known forms of football’, McGuinness’s Donegal team met tradition head on, both provincially and nationwide. To consider in isolation Donegal’s one All-Ireland and three Ulster titles won during his tenure is to miss the point. Unburdened with the expectation of upholding any perceived playing style, McGuinness demonstrated an ability to identify, arrange and execute a game plan to devastating effect. Was it attractive to watch? Not necessarily. Yet, when Jimmy started winning matches, football indelibly changed thereafter.
With news of his appointment as the assistant manager to Roger Schmidt at China’s Beijing Sinobo Guoan, broken this morning by the Irish Times, McGuinness has demonstrated a proclivity for change largely unprecedented amongst major figures within the GAA. Upon Michael Murphy’s return to Donegal from Clermont in this year’s Toughest Trade, the enjoyment of experiencing a professional sporting career abroad scarcely seemed to interest the Donegal captain. Home was where Murphy’s heart was. Although the financial capabilities of China’s Super League clubs have no doubt played a part in McGuinness’ decision, just how this one-time Billy Connolly lookalike, occasional tearaway-cum-eternal student came to cross sporting and cultural barriers quite so spectacularly is worthy of inspection.
Making use of his academic roots in sports psychology, McGuinness was notably appointed as a performance consultant by Celtic in late 2012 - in 2014 McGuinness' skills set would be similarly sought out by Paul McGinley for the benefit of the 2014 Ryder Cup team. Working primarily with the club’s younger, academy players initially, the unusual nature of this initial crossover between footballing codes seemed nonetheless rooted in shared national identities. With the integral involvement of Dermot Desmond and Neil Lennon at the Glasgow club, the appointment of McGuinness only a few months after Donegal’s All-Ireland win appeared logical, if not still somewhat reminiscent of Clive Woodward, Southampton and his own brief spell as a performance consultant therein.
However, becoming increasingly involved – up to the point of first-team duties – under the subsequent management teams of Ronny Deila and Brendan Rodgers, McGuinness’ noted eagerness for self-advancement within football has culminated in his working towards UEFA grade coaching qualifications. Possessing little of the reported arrogance associated with Woodward and his reclusive period with the Saints, McGuinness' involvement with Roger Schmidt on this latest project demonstrates their shared sense of the absurd.
One is left only to consider therefore why, how and when Roger Schmidt and McGuinness cultivated a relationship the like of which would enable this development. Having most recently departed Germany’s Bayer Leverkusen, Schmidt’s managerial reputation remains highly respectable. Touted as a potential replacement for Claude Puel at Southampton, his decision to embrace the emerging Chinese Super League mirrors the surrealistic move McGuinness has made resultantly. Yet, Schmidt’s inauspicious playing career, coupled with a successful spell working with Ralf Rangnick (now with the highly-contentious RB Leipzig) at Red Bull Salzburg, demonstrates a carefree attitude toward traditional career paths that McGuinness almost identifies with. Having ‘never wanted to be a football manager’ to begin with, Schmidt, like McGuinness, appears unburdened by convention.
McGuinness encountered Schmidt first when working with Celtic, keeping in touch via email thereafter. After sharing some thoughts on football and what McGuinness identifies as their shared ‘core principals’, the reduced media scrutiny upon the Chinese Super League may likely enable a degree of experimentation such as made McGuinness’ appointment possible.
McGuinness is sure to inspire an additional Irish interest in the aggressively ambitious Chinese Super League. At forty-four years of age, McGuinness' involvement in the non-playing side of professional football is already impressive. It is doubtful perhaps that he shall ever return to inter-county Gaelic football management. Should his provisional two-and-a-half year spell with Schmidt and Beijing Sinobo Guoan progress positively, the eventual return of Schmidt to one of Europe's top leagues could provide yet another unexpected development for McGuinness' career.
What GAA fans may take from this experience, therefore, is largely rooted in the retrospective. A peripheral playing figure as Donegal claimed their maiden All-Ireland title in 1992, McGuinness' subsequent managerial style signified the importance and potential of the collective. Publicly harangued and dismissed for their unsatisfying style of play, the aesthetics of Gaelic football never seemed to concern McGuinness. Realistically, his ability to consider Gaelic football beyond such a remit enabled his great success at home, and now abroad also.
Although we are familiar with the idea of the great footballer, hurler, rugby or soccer player who can quickly excel in each and every sport they turn to, McGuinness is demonstrating a career path that has little precedence.
Picture credit: Sportsfile
