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The late Liam Miller’s former teammate at Manchester United and manager at Sunderland, Roy Keane, has announced the full line-up for the tribute match at Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
Keane will captain the Manchester United Legends team which will take on a Celtic/Republic of Ireland side for the fundraiser on Tuesday, September 25th. Miller died earlier this year from oesophageal cancer at the age of 36.
The line-up was announced at a briefing in the offices of O’Flynn Group in Ballincollig, Co. Cork, attended by Cork developer Michael O’Flynn, chairman of the organising committee and a neighbour of Miller in Ovens.
Keane said he was heartened by the response of the many well-known soccer players when he contacted them about the match. He stressed the all-star line up was a tribute to the esteem in which Miller was held in in the sporting community.
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“Liam sadly passed away last February, but he remains a teammate of ours and this tribute is an opportunity to celebrate his career on the pitch but also to remember the man he was away from football.
“It is fitting the game will be staged in Liam’s home town of Cork, a great sporting county, and I am very confident the public will come out to show their support to Liam’s family on September 25th.”
He described Miller as a quiet man with immense skill on the pitch.
“I know a lot of these lads are busy. They have a lot of commitments but as soon as I got in touch with them, they were all delighted to come over and to come on board.
“Obviously they want to pay their respects to Liam and I think they are all looking forward to catching up as well for a chat.”
Referring to the age and condition of the players, Keane said: “When the players turn up, your pride kicks in and I’m sure that they would want to do well and put up a decent performance.
“I am not sure what shape a lot of them are in. I think one or two might struggle - probably myself. Denis Irwin is pushing on a bit. Maybe myself and Denis might just have 45 minutes, but I think the rest of the lads will be okay for the full 90 minutes. But we will obviously rotate.”
Mr O’Flynn said he remembered Miller playing underage football and GAA. As a youngster, he played for local team Éire Óg and could have lined out for his county in a GAA capacity.
Mr O’Flynn said it was agreed that the most suitable way to celebrate and recognise Liam’s involvement in GAA sport at a juvenile level was to have exhibition games, in both hurling and football, at half-time involving boys and girls from Éire Óg.
A number of people who knew and worked with Miller helped to organise the tribute match, including Keane; former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson; veteran Ireland player John Giles; Manchester United chief executive Ed Woodward and Cork City FC manager John Caulfield,
Tickets for the game will go on sale via ticket.ie on Monday, August 13th and will be variously priced ranging from €10 concession terrace tickets for OAPs and students to €90 premium level tickets in the South Stand at the 45,000 capacity GAA stadium.
Tables of 12 at a Black Tie gala dinner are priced at €4,000. However, since the event was first announced there has been unprecedented demand, predominantly from the corporate sector, and tables are now sold out with a waiting list.
The game was initially due to be held at the 7,300-capacity Turner’s Cross in Cork, with tickets selling out within minutes of going on sale in July.
The GAA was heavily criticized, especially on social media, over its initial refusal to allow the match to go ahead at the higher-capacity Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
The organisation said it was prohibited under its rules from hosting games other than those under its control in its stadiums and grounds and this could only be changed by GAA Congress in February
But the match will go ahead there after the organisation performed a U-turn on the matter.
Miller was capped 21 times by the Republic of Ireland and played professionally for Celtic; Manchester United; Leeds United; Sunderland; Queen’s Park Rangers and Hibernian, as well as in Australia, before returning to Leeside to play with Cork City.
He died at Marymount Hospice in Cork city on February 9th. He is survived by his wife Clare, his children Kory, Leo and Belle, his parents Billy and Bridie and his extended family.
The Manchester United Legends are:
1. Roy Keane
2. Ryan Giggs
3. Nicky Butt
4. Ronny Johnsen
5. Paul Scholes
6. Denis Irwin
7. David May
8. Louis Saha
9. Rio Ferdinand
10. Quinton Fortune
11. Andy Cole
12. Michael Clegg
13. Mikael Silvestre
14. Kevin Pilkington (Goal Keeper)
15. Dion Dublin
16. Roy Carroll (GK)
17. Gary Neville
18. Alan Smith
The Celtic/Republic of Ireland Legends are:
1. David Forde (GK)
2. Stephen Carr
3. Kevin Kilbane
4. Richard Dunne
5. Kenny Cunningham
6. Keith Andrews
7. Kevin Doyle
8. Stephen McPhail
9. Andy Reid
10. Robbie Keane
11. Damien Duff
12. Lee Carsley
13. Colin Healy
14. Shaun Maloney
15 Paul Lambert
16. John Hartson
17. Neil Lennon
18. Stylian Petrov
19. Shane Supple (GK)