An Cosantóir

www.military.ie THE DEFENCE FORCES MAGAZINE | 33 account, to reach the last twelve nations in the world, is a truly remarkable achievement but not the pinnacle of the journey according to the manager, "We peaked in the quali- fiers, we need to get back to that level, we need a few things to go our way, but I'm in no doubt we can go further than ever before." If you close your eyes and say the words "put 'em under pressure," I've no doubt you'll see an image of a lanky Eng- lish man reverberating that famous line over and over. Amazingly, almost thirty years later, Capt Barber has adopted that policy of choking teams in possession, but he has added his own touch, "Our lads will fight and die for the jersey and they will be up in your face for 90 minutes, but when the ball is on the floor, we can play. We want to have three styles of play in our locker for China, I'm happy with one at the moment, the other two need work." A managers role goes beyond just handing out jerseys on match day. With the tournament being held in China, that poses some issues to this team, they would not be used to playing in that heat. In true military fashion, Capt Barber and a logistics team hope to head to China prior to the event and accumu- late all the relevant information from accommoda- tion to pitches and from food to water in order to cater to every single element of the teams needs. With three group games in five days once they land, fatigue and soreness will come into play. However, the management team have had the foresight to bring in Cpl Frank Carolan in a strength and conditioning role. Cpl Carolan has the players in tip top shape with individual training programmes and they are tested every camp to the standard of the German national side. Following this level of work, the team has now six players at the elite level which is a testament to the incredible work being done behind the scenes. It is impossible not to feel the level of pride Capt Barber has for this role and for his team, "Its all about the players". Someone who has joined his country's army, served in an overseas position, played for the team and now, he leads them to China to take on the best of the best. All roads lead to the CISM games and the green army will no doubt give it more than just a lash. The DF Soccer team that played against the Netherlands recently. DF Soccer team celebrate with ACOS Brig Gen Peter O'Halloran, who is the head of soccer in the Defence Forces. Players taking part in strenght and conditioning training. DF Soccer Manager Capt Richie Barber.

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