Terry Phelan almost missed out on representing the Republic of Ireland at the 1994 World Cup after twice hanging up on assistant manager Maurice Setters, believing it was a prank by his Wimbledon teammates.
The former Manchester City full-back, now 59, was playing for Wimbledon when he received a call from Setters summoning him to train with the Irish squad. Convinced it was a joke by Dennis Wise, John Fashanu, or Vinnie Jones, Phelan hung up twice before Setters warned him a third time would be his last chance.
“I got a phone call on a Saturday night after a Wimbledon game saying, ‘Hello, is this Terrence Michael Phelan? This is Maurice Setters, the Ireland assistant manager. I would like you to get on a plane on Monday morning to train with the first team and play on Wednesday night against Hungary’. I put the phone down twice thinking it was Dennis Wise or John Fashanu or Vinnie Jones,” Phelan recalled.
“The third time, Maurice Setters said, ‘If you put this phone down again I won’t call you back and you might never play for Ireland’.”
World Cup glory with Jack Charlton’s Ireland
Phelan went on to play in the 1994 World Cup in the United States, featuring in Ireland’s famous 1-0 victory over Italy in the group stage. He lined up alongside future Manchester United star Roy Keane and Denis Irwin under manager Jack Charlton.
“Playing in the World Cup was the pinnacle and it was a brilliant part of my journey,” Phelan told the Manchester Evening News. “I was playing with a team of lads which were the best people and the best environment I had ever been a part of in my life. I played with some wonderful players in that team, Roy Keane, Denis Irwin.”
Ireland advanced from a group containing Italy, Norway, and Mexico before being eliminated by the Netherlands in the round of 16. Phelan’s City teammate Alan Kernaghan was also in the squad.
From Manchester City to India
Phelan joined Manchester City in 1992 from Wimbledon for a then-record £2.5 million for a defender. He spent three years at the club, scoring a memorable solo goal against Tottenham in the 1993 FA Cup quarter-final, which City lost 4-2. He left for Chelsea in November 1995.
Now, Phelan works as programme director for Jain Sports, an educational institute in India, where he has lived for a decade. The institute has partnered with Manchester City, who will provide a full-time coach to work with Phelan on developing young footballers.
“We have collaborated with Manchester City, they are bringing a coach on board and we will be working on their philosophy, methodology and ideology with the students and staff,” Phelan said. “It’s a long-term vision, not a short-term one. We are trying to align it with what the best academies do in Europe.”
“My dream is to try and maybe catapult one or two of these young boys into Europe at 13, 14, 15 and to give them an environment they can see and test themselves in. Man City coming on board adds a bit of spice to the curry.”
A full-circle moment
Phelan, a lifelong City fan who grew up in Salford, once turned down a chance to sign for the club as a 12-year-old. He later chose City over interest from Barcelona, Tottenham, Ajax, and others. “I could have gone anywhere really and I wanted to win trophies,” he said. “I had the chance to go back to City but I could have gone to Tottenham, Barcelona, Ajax, Rangers, Celtic, Everton, Leeds. I wanted to go to Barcelona.”
“I loved every minute at City,” he added. “That was probably why I was so quick, because I was the only one in Salford with a City shirt!”
