BELFAST, Northern Ireland — It was just a few days shy of his 13th birthday, but Michael O’Neill was old enough to recognize that the goal he was celebrating meant more than just victory.
It was June 25, 1982, and the World Cup was taking place in Spain. O’Neill, the future coach of the Northern Ireland national team, was in front of his parents’ television awaiting the biggest soccer match in his country’s history.
“They went there without many expectations,” O’Neill said, adding, “but sometimes, a team comes together.”
What happened that day in Valencia would go down in Northern Ireland folklore.