Unemployed Aaron Hughes not ready to say goodbye just yet

Five years ago, Aaron Hughes had had enough. Northern Ireland were going nowhere fast: Nigel Worthington's team had won one game in 12 months - against the Faroe Islands - and qualification for Euro 2012 was out of the question with two games remaining. The captain had been considering it for some time but, disillusioned after a 4-1 defeat to Estonia in September 2011, he thought the moment was right to retire.

Hughes was 31 and battling to hold down a place at Fulham. Committing himself to fruitless qualifying campaigns and regular batterings was a distraction he could do without, no matter his love of playing for his country. After 79 caps since his debut in 1998, appearing at a major tournament seemed a dream more distant than ever.

The idea, having revealed his decision in an interview on BBC Radio Ulster, was to depart after the dead-rubber qualifiers against Estonia and Italy a month later. “There are a few reasons why I would want to stay on, but there are more for me to say it is time to call it a day and concentrate on my club football,” Hughes said.

But he missed the planned farewell due to a groin injury. Those games, a 2-1 home loss to Estonia and a 3-0 defeat in Italy, saw the IFA relieve Worthington of his duties and that December Michael O’Neill was named Northern Ireland’s new manager.

Unable to say goodbye, Hughes gradually grew open to a return. The new manager was made aware of a potential U-turn, a convincing discussion took place over the phone and the O’Neill masterplan began to take shape with a key defender committing to the cause. “I was thinking: ‘We are never going to do this [QUALIFY], so what’s the point?’” Hughes admitted recently, but O’Neill’s ideas provided newfound belief.

It did get worse before the remarkable rise took hold. O’Neill’s first game was a home friendly with Norway, they lost 3-0 and Hughes was taken off at half-time. Days later an inexperienced team, not including Hughes, were walloped 6-0 by Holland. Doubts must have crept in but he clung on and despite the wait, how handsomely it has all paid off.

Five years later and on his 101st international appearance and now aged 36, Hughes finally achieved his goal - in a decisive match against Ukraine, tasked with keeping the impact of their main man Yehven Konoplyanka as minimal as possible.

Hughes’ watertight marking did not just limit Konoplyanka, he ensured the Europa League winner’s influence was near non-existent. Some in the Northern Ireland camp joked about the Sevilla player, a decade Hughes’ junior, being in the veteran’s pocket.

As individual match-ups go at this tournament, there may not be any as contrasting. Konoplyanka, entering his prime, shone so bright in La Liga last season he has attracted the admiration of a number of Europe’s biggest clubs; simultaneously Hughes was struggling to get a game for Melbourne City in the A-League and his career seemed to be stuttering to an underwhelming end.

Moving his family halfway round the world last summer, Hughes had envisaged being a key cog in Melbourne’s title challenge. Instead, suffering from a couple of minor if persistent injuries, his impact was reduced to six appearances in the first half of the campaign. He did not feature from January onwards and was one of five players released in April.

Yet he was always a certainty to be named in O'Neill's squad, as long as he maintained his fitness level. Hughes's role extends beyond performances on the pitch. He may no longer wear the armband - Southampton's Steven Davis is captain - but his leadership remains significant. Indeed Davis said this month that he still "looks up to Hughesy".

Some of Northern Ireland's younger players have sought advice, too. Paddy McNair, the Manchester United wing-back, pinched himself when he first started playing alongside Hughes, a childhood hero. They have spoken to each other about the privilege of representing a nation of only 1.8m people and doing them proud.

Northern Ireland, a team that up until recently was almost resigned to their most talented underage players defecting to the Republic, are on the verge of the last 16 before Tuesday night’s meeting with world champions Germany in Paris, while their neighbours look destined for an early exit. Is hard for any observer to watch on without admiration.

Now the aim, for a group that will never settle with their lot, is to prolong the experience. And for Hughes, at least, a feeling lingers that after finally getting a taste of tournament football 18 years into his international career, he is not quite ready to say goodbye just yet.

Guardian services