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www.irishfa.com“Many children dream of sporting glory. I know I
did when I used to go to Windsor Park, Belfast, to
watch Northern Ireland play. I remember vividly one
afternoon climbing on the lower rung of a floodlight
pylon in torrential rain and watching a game against
Scotland. I left the ground soaked to the skin, but
I was too busy with my thoughts of one day being
good enough to represent my country to bother
about a minor detail like possible pneumonia.”
Pat Jennings
“It has gone on record, from David Beckham to
everyone that comes here, that no-one relishes
coming to Windsor Park. The Windsor Roar
is renowned throughout the world. There’s an
incredible atmosphere here. The place rocks when
there is a full house. It’s only a small stadium but
the noise levels are incredible.”
Maik Taylor
“The night I made my home debut at Windsor Park
in a 3-0 win against Belgium was very special, not
only because I scored two goals but because the
noise levels were unbelievable. In those days you
could cram nearly 40,000 people into the ground,
but as the years went by it was clear it was in
desperate need of modernisation.
“The stadium now looks fantastic and even though
it’s half the capacity it was in my day I don’t think
it has lost any of its atmosphere. I think today the
fans are just as vocal and the noise they make just
reverberates around the stadium.”
Gerry Armstrong
“A full house at the stadium makes as much noise
as 30,000 fans and that type of support makes you
want to work even harder on the pitch.
“Sometimes in a break in play during games the
players just look around at the whole ground doing
the Bouncy and it’s an absolutely amazing sight.”
Chris Baird
“The fans are a huge factor in making Windsor Park
such a fortress. The noise and atmosphere they
create at home is amazing: it makes teams fear
coming to Belfast.
“It also gives the players belief that they could beat
anybody at Windsor and that has been shown over
the years in the way they have come from behind to
beat the likes of Spain, Sweden and Denmark.”
Sammy McIlroy
“During my time as an international I came to
realise that Windsor was just as special a place to
play football in as any of the much vaunted grounds
around the world.
“When the noise starts and the crowd get behind
the team the place really begins rocking. It lifts the
players no end and they and the crowd feed off
each other.”
Jim Magilton
“When I was a young boy I used to stand on the old
Spion Kop at Windsor Park. It was a heaving mass
of bodies, a wall of noise that was the backdrop to
some unbelievable games. I used to stand there
with my dad in awe of the atmosphere.
“One evening stands out for me. It was 12
September 1984 – a qualifying match with
Romania. Norman Whiteside was in full flow. He
grabbed the crucial goal, slipping the ball past their
keeper right in front of the Kop. He ran towards us
with his arms in the air.
“The noise was incredible. I imagined tasting that
feeling.”
Keith Gillespie
WHAT THEY SAID