Stephen Ireland had similar qualities to Frank Lampard, and could have been unbelievable, according to his former teammate Shaun Wright-Phillips.
The Cork native joined Manchester City in 2005 and was even awarded the an-of-the-match in his first Premier League start against Everton.
Ireland became a mainstay at City and was even named their player of the season for the 2008/09 season.
At international level, Ireland scored four goals in his first six matches for the Republic of Ireland and looked set to be the next star player to come out of Cork.
It all came to an end, though, as Ireland’s form seemed to have dropped off completely having only played those six matches for the national side.
While Wright-Phillips’ initial run with City ended before Ireland’s arrival, the two players would form a great partnership on his return the Etihad in 2008.
Speaking on OTB Sports’ exclusive UEFA Champions League Final Preview show in association with Pepsi Max, Wright-Phillips discussed how talented Ireland was.
“For me [playing with Stephen Ireland] was great,” Wright-Phillips said. “I am an attacker, I like to run in behind, I don’t always expect to dribble past people.
“I like to play and move, and the way that me and Stevie [Ireland] linked up in the games that we played was perfect.
“He automatically knew without me shouting, he could understand what I wanted to do.”
Wright-Phillips had spent three seasons at Chelsea before his return to the Etihad, playing alongside some of the great midfielders of the game, including Frank Lampard.
However, he suggested that there was no drop off in terms of quality when he returned to a City side with Ireland in it.
“When I went back there playing with him, I didn’t feel too far away from the quality that was at Chelsea at the time with your Lamps [Frank Lampard],” Wright-Phillips said.
“He can hit you from pretty much anywhere on the pitch, and Stevie had all of those attributes in his locker.
“He could get up and down the pitch as well. He was a very fit player. He was just outstanding to play with.”
Manchester City's Stephen Ireland looks dejected after the final whistle as Burnley's players celebrate.What happened to Ireland?
Ireland’s loss of favour with City management, as well as his general loss of form seemed to spell the end for his international career in 2009.
While he could not say for sure what happened, Wright-Phillips did offer some explanation for Ireland’s seemingly spontaneous drop off.
“I think he had a few injuries and he started doing, I think it was like Jiu Jitsu and other things to help him become stronger,” Wright-Phillips said.
“It made him bigger, so when you get naturally bigger you lose certain attributes that he had. I can’t say for sure what it was, but he is always still going to have the quality that he had.
“He just maybe turned into a different player, but he could have been unbelievable.”
Shaun Wright-Phillips was speaking to our exclusive OTB Sports UEFA Champions League Final Preview show in association with Pepsi Max, who are Proud Sponsors of The UEFA Champions League. Pepsi Max – Maximum Taste. No Sugar #ForTheLoveOfIt
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