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Windsor Park goodbyes?
- Updated: May 27, 2016
As Northern Ireland prepare to face the Netherlands in their final warm-up game before Euro 2016, Paul Gilmour pays tribute to four stalwarts.
Four years ago an inexperienced Northern Ireland side were on the end of a 6-0 drubbing by the Netherlands, who were preparing for Euro 2012.
It was early in Michael O’Neill’s reign and the game had been arranged before he arrived. A sea of orange and carnival atmosphere greeted the players at the Amsterdam Arena as a rampant Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder and Robin van Persie gave their supporters a perfect send-off.
Who would have thought that in 2016 it would be Northern Ireland competing on Europe’s biggest stage with the Dutch nowhere in sight?
As O’Neill’s side prepare to play on home soil for the final time before a historic first European Championships, four players in particular may get more of an ovation that most.
Roy Carroll (38), Gareth McAuley (36), Chris Baird (34), and Aaron Hughes (36) may decide that Euro 2016 is the perfect way to bring down the curtain on their international careers, and while none of them …
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