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This article was originally published in 2021 to mark Conor Bradley’s competitive debut for Northern Ireland.
Joe McAree remembers exactly where he was – and what he was doing – when he first heard the name Conor Bradley.
The man who has been at the forefront of youth football in County Tyrone for almost 50 years was packing his car into the Dungannon United Youth ground after the academy he founded had just won another game Saturday morning.
The setting was nothing out of the ordinary, but he was about to be alerted by an eight-year-old who had made his competitive debut last month, aged 18, for Northern Ireland and Liverpool, becoming the first man from NI in 67 years to feature for the club at Anfield.
“Everyone had gone home when the referee, Adie Laird, came up to me,” McAree recalls, his words swelling with pride and enthusiasm.
“He said he knew a player who could make our team even better. ‘He plays for St Patrick’s in Castlederg and he’s the best I’ve ever seen. He’s eight years old and his name is Conor Bradley.’ “
McAree decided the distance was too great for a child so young to have to travel. A strong mental note was made, however, and two years later the youngster reappeared on his famous scouting radar.
“I was asked to go to a cup final in Omagh to watch Conor play for St Pat’s, who deserves huge credit for the start they gave him,” he explained.
“Conor played up front that night. He wasn’t half the size of the other players because he was still playing in the older age group. He looked like a great player, so I decided. directed towards his mother, Linda, after the match.
“Linda is a great lady. She handled everything so professionally and calmly. She didn’t need anyone to tell her what Conor needed – she knew exactly what was best for her son. Coming from such a good family is a That’s the main reason why he is such a fantastic boy.”
Firm handshakes and checks in Liverpool
McAree had to be patient, however, as Bradley – who played in Liverpool’s Champions League win over Real Madrid this week – opted to join Maiden City, a team closer to home.
Mrs Bradley must have liked what she heard that evening in Omagh, because two years later her son finally signed for Dungannon.
Once again, McAree has a vivid picture of his first real meeting with the boy who then signed for Liverpool in 2019.
“What stuck in my mind was the way he looked into my eyes, how he shook my hand and how he reacted when I spoke to him – a country boy with a down-to-earth personality,” explained the man whose academy has seen 37 players rise through its ranks and earn places in the professional game.
“I can’t believe he plays right back now. He was a forward player for us, he would throw the ball up the pitch. His passing was exceptional. His awareness of where to distribute the ball – it’s was Conor’s strength, and he could also cover the ground.
All the while, Bradley was very much on Liverpool’s radar, attending their school of excellence in Belfast on Friday nights as a teenager.
Despite his extensive experience in youth football, McAree, whose own son Rodney played an important role on Liverpool’s books, was struck by the Premier League club’s determination to ensure a high standard of footballing education for its prodigy.
“When Liverpool found out Conor had joined us, they sent one of their senior coaches to check out where Conor was playing his football, what the facilities were like and the training and advice he was receiving.
“I’ve never known a club to do that, but the manager came, wrote a great report and went back to Liverpool very happy.”
Trophy-winning NI captain who defied the coaches
Bradley impressed at right-back as a substitute in Northern Ireland’s World Cup qualifying tie against Switzerland at Windsor Park in September, and did the same in his first outing for Liverpool in a League Cup victory over Norwich City shortly afterwards, despite a penalty being awarded.
As a teenager, his talent was such that international youth recognition came naturally and he was included in the Irish FA’s Club NI program, aimed at preparing elite young footballers for a career in professional football.
Former Derry City manager Declan Devine was one of the main coaches behind the initiative. He was both impressed and stunned by what the teenager demanded of himself and those who trained him.
“Conor immediately turned heads with all the coaches. Right away, I was like ‘who is this kid?’ Very lightly made up but really aggressive in his appetite to train, to improve and to make his presence felt, no matter his size,” Devine recalled.
“He always wanted feedback – good or bad – and challenged you as a coach, which I loved. It was almost like he looked at me and thought ‘well, what are you have for me today?’
“If you told him something, it stuck. You didn’t have to repeat instructions to him. In fact, if you changed concepts or ideas, he would be the first to say ‘you told me ago It was six weeks ago.” you want me to do it’. He actually taught me some things as a coach.
Despite taking the reins at Derry City just a week before the final match, Devine was still in charge – along with Gerard Boyle, another coach vital to Bradley’s development – when the Ireland under-16 team Northern won the Victory Shield in November 2018 for only the second time in the country’s history.
Bradley, entering the tournament for the second time, was the obvious choice to lead an extremely talented team.
“Very few kids play a year in the Victory Shield – Steven Davis is one I can think of – but Conor excelled. In that second year he was a very calming influence within the group – the players all really loved and respected him.
“They were a very talented group, but they all saw that Conor was the fittest and fastest. He had all the attributes needed to be a top player. He was a natural leader without being someone who shouted and roared.”
‘Liverpool takes you to another level’
Former Ipswich Town manager and midfielder Jim Magilton, who won 52 caps for Northern Ireland as a player, saw Bradley up close during his time in the role of elite performance director to the Irish FA.
He said Bradley’s decisive tackle against Switzerland shortly after coming off the bench during World Cup qualifying in September, greeted by a huge roar from the Windsor Park crowd, epitomized his competitive attitude. That aggression was on display again at Anfield on Wednesday when Bradley executed a perfectly timed tackle on Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappe.
“The problem with Conor is he’s aggressive,” Magilton said.
“He tackles. People see him as a soft-spoken kid, but he’s evil – he couldn’t wait to make that tackle against Switzerland. He was lining them up and licking his lips. You could see that toughness in him that I always love.”
