SEAMUS COLEMAN has again revealed his admiration for Donegal captain Michael Murphy.
Coleman and Murphy could have been team-mates on the Donegal senior side, but for the Killybegs man’s success in soccer.
Picture: Seamus Coleman and Michael Murphy with Damian Delaney and James McCarthy in 2013.
The Everton captain is a big fan of Murphy.
Today, Coleman was featured in Everton’s match programme before their 3-2 Premier League win over Wolverhampton Wanderers.
One of the questions to Coleman asked who his favourite sportsperson outside football was.
“For me, because i’ve got that connection with Gaelic football back home, I admire a lad who plays for my county, Michael Murphy,” Coleman said.
“He is quite a big name back home and he has really carried Donegal for the past 10 years or so. He is a great professional and a real winner.
“I have had the chance to meet him plenty of times and he is a very likeable fella, too, which is very important for me.”
Coleman attended this year’s Ulster semi-final when Donegal overcame Tyrone in Clones and is a big Gaelic football fan.
A few years ago, Murphy outlined how he believed Coleman – who played underage football for Donegal – would have been ‘a star’ had he pursued his GAA involvement.
“He was always a prominent player,” Murphy said in 2014.
“One day we, Glenswilly, came up against Killybegs in Dunkineely in the U15 ‘B’ league semi-final. It will always stick in my head. He was centre back and I was centre forward and it wasn’t the most pleasant 60 minutes I ever had.
“It was a time before centre backs would be so forward-thinking, but he had me on the back foot the whole time.
Michael Murphy bears down on the Meath goal during their Super 8 game. Photo Evan Logan
“We got hammered as Killybegs were very strong at that time. I was thinking the whole time that I was the forward here and he was the defender. There’s no doubt in my mind he would’ve made it with Donegal and would’ve been a star of Gaelic football.”