Shamrock Rovers XI v Brazil
| Event | Friendly | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Date | July 3, 1973 | ||||||
| Venue | Lansdowne Road, Dublin | ||||||
The Shamrock Rovers XI v Brazil association football friendly match was played in Lansdowne Road in Dublin, Ireland, on 3 July 1973 between the Brazil national team and a team billed as "Shamrock Rovers XI", made up of Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland international players. Brazil won the match 4–3; it was the first time in eight years that any team scored three goals against them. The match is the only one played since 1950 by a team representing the entire island of Ireland, although the name "Ireland" was changed to "Shamrock Rovers XI" after objections from the Irish Football Association.
The match was played at the height of The Troubles in Northern Ireland as a gesture of friendship and solidarity. Louis Kilcoyne, the owner of the domestic Shamrock Rovers football team, persuaded João Havelange of the Brazilian FA to include a match against an "Ireland XI" on the itinerary for their nine-match summer tour of Europe, reportedly promising him the Football Association of Ireland's (FAI) vote in the 1974 election for President of FIFA.
Kilcoyne's brother-in-law and captain of the Republic team, Johnny Giles, and Derek Dougan of Northern Ireland were friendly with each other. They supported the project and persuaded many of their respective teammates to participate.
The Irish Football Association (IFA) was opposed to the match, seeing it as setting a precedent which might encourage moves for the IFA to merge with the FAI. Further, the Republic of Ireland manager, Liam Tuohy, who also managed this team, subsequently disclosed that the FAI also had reservations. In deference to these concerns, the "Ireland XI" had to be called a "Shamrock Rovers" selection, after the leading League of Ireland club connected to the Kilcoyne family. (In actuality, all the team played in the English League.) Also, only the Brazilian national anthem and flag were sung and displayed, although A Nation Once Again was among the tunes in the pre-match entertainment.
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