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Team 33: The story behind the upcoming doc about the Irishman who saved Barcelona

A couple of years ago on Team 33, we spoke to Fergus Dowd about the fascinating story of Patrick ...



Team 33: The story behind the...
Soccer

Team 33: The story behind the upcoming doc about the Irishman who saved Barcelona

A couple of years ago on Team 33, we spoke to Fergus Dowd about the fascinating story of Patrick O'Connell, the man who was credited with helping to save La Liga giants FC Barcelona from near oblivion in the mid-1930s as the Spanish Civil War raged.

His story had been resurrected by Dowd and the other members of the Patrick O'Connell Memorial Fund, whose aim was to simply have some memorials erected to honour the Dubliner who also led Real Betis to their only La Liga title in 1935 and also managed other storied Spanish clubs like Racing Santander, Real Oviedo and FC Sevilla.

The documentary trailer...

Don Patricio Film from mulberry media on Vimeo.

That journey has now culminated in the creation of a new documentary by Spain-based journalist Michael Anderson that is due to be released in May.

Featuring contributions including Ireland manager Martin O'Neill, O'Connell's descendants and historians among others, it will chart the often complicated life of a man who also played for Ireland and Manchester United prior to a playing career in exile. 

So this week on Team 33, Fergus Dowd and Michael Anderson joined me on the show to discuss O'Connell and the story that will be told on the silver screen.

You can listen to the full interview with Fergus and Michael on the podcast player or stream/download on iTunes, while Joe and Derek also popped in to talk Wes Hoolahan and more:   

Team 33: The story behind the upcoming doc about the Irishman who saved Barcelona

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Recent interviews on Team 33 include former Man United cult hero Andrei Kanchelskis, ex-England international Carlton Palmer, former Newcastle and Everton left back Alessandro Pistone, Chelsea legends Bobby Tambling and Paddy Mulligan, Dutch legend Johan Neeskens, ex-England striker Darius Vassell, Liverpool legend David Fairclough, former Ireland midfielder Mark Kinsella and former Everton forward Tomasz Radzinski. Plus our in-depth chats with Tony CotonPackie BonnerNobby SolanoRon Atkinson and Alan Curbishley are still available on iTunes. You can find them all in one place by subscribing to Team 33 on iTunes.

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