Episode 887: The Player’s Chair with Damien Duff

There are very few players as popular and loved as Damien Duff in the history of Irish football.

He was a footballer so extravagantly gifted that he seemed to exist on a different plane to the rest of our players. Where so many pros had to sweat and strain for everything, Duffer’s natural ability seemed to make the game look easy.

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The truth, as told to Richie in this latest episode of The Player’s Chair, was rather different. He was driven to succeed by the sort of innate self-confidence that doesn’t really need expressing, but his relentless work ethic was what got him to the top.

Here he discusses the initial culture-shock of the English football dressing-room, making it in that maelstrom, and being motivated by the tough times.

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He and Richie also discuss the stupid things they did with their wages, the pocket-money from his Mam that he still lives off of, and why – after a life dedicated to one thing – he dreads a day off and the thought of never finding something to love the way he loved football.

It’s The Player’s Chair, Episode 5 – with Damien Duff.

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Big Dan Shanahan, when we were (cricket) Kings, and vanity plates – COOL REFRESHING PODCAST AVAILABLE NOW ????https://t.co/FBR9f9HUzA pic.twitter.com/s6S06YMKnU

— Second Captains (@SecondCaptains) June 21, 2017