
No hablo Espanol
1988 - 1989 : Sporting Gijón (Spain)
Kevin Bernard Moran was a talented sports-man, and played at the top level in two codes. First, in Gaelic Football, in which he played for Dublin GAA, winning three Leinster titles and two All-Ireland medals. He was a GAA 1976 All-Star member and arguably one of the most promising footballers in the mid-1970s.
He choose however, to choose the potentially more lucrative career by switching to soccer and signing for Manchester United in 1978 at the age of 21. Moran would go on to play over 230 games for the Red Devils and become a key member of their FA Cup winning sides of 1983 and 1985. He would represent Ireland 71 times and feature prominently for them at Euro 1988, World Cup 1990 and World Cup 1994. Indeed, Kevin Moran is one of the best Irish players of the past 30 years.
In 1986, Manchester United hired Alex Ferguson as their new manager. This heralded the beginning of major changes at Old Trafford, not least the signing of Steve Bruce a year later. Bruce's arrival in Manchester spelled the end of Moran's time there, and he left United shortly after the European Championships in 1988.


In October, Moran moved to Second Division English outfit Blackburn Rovers, who so far had endured a 27 year absence from top-flight football. Moran, already 34, was regarded as having the sort of experience that might help Blackburn finally reach the top-flight again. His first season was disappointing though, and they finished 19th. However, the next year they were promoted and finished the next two seasons in the top three. Moran retired at the end of the 1993-94 season, aged 38. The very next season, Blackburn would win the Premier League.
Today, Moran is occasionally seen on television, working as a pundit for TV3 Sport. He also runs his own sports agency, and counts Steve Finnan, Wayne Rooney and John O'Shea as his clients. Kevin Moran was one of the best Irish players, perhaps of all time. But in Spain, he is remembered as yet another British-Irish player who just couldn't settle. He has been criticised for not trying hard enough to adapt to life in Spain, not learning Spanish and barely interacting with his team-mates. Perhaps this should serve as a warning to any Irish players considering a move abroad. Playing football is not enough, if you want to be a success, if you want to win things, then, like Liam Brady and Mickey Walsh, you have to learn the lingo.