It’s a whole 22 years since John O’Shea was tasked with marking a Sporting Lisbon teenager in a preseason friendly on the opening night of the new Estádio José Alvalade. His grin says ‘not this again’ when he’s reminded of the game, having already had the memory dredged up last year when Portugal were the opposition during his interim spell as Republic of Ireland manager.
“I can’t remember it. Amnesia,” says O’Shea with a smile, before it all comes rushing back.
“The jet-lag game,” he says – jet lag being his excuse after he was given a torrid evening by one Cristiano Ronaldo – a performance, as the legend goes, that persuaded Alex Ferguson to sign the then 18-year-old.
O’Shea has long since argued that t
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