WALES MEET PORTUGAL in the first of the Euro 2016 semi-finals this evening in a game that is eagerly anticipated – especially in one St Johnston home.
The Curtis family are long-time friends of Chris Coleman, the Wales manager.
Indeed, Coleman is Godfather to Ronan Curtis, the Derry City midfielder.
Dave and Marie Curtis have been living in Drumatoland, St Johnston since moving from England in 2003.
During the early-mid 90s they lived in the London neighbourhood of Waddon and became friendly with Coleman, who played then with Crystal Palace, the Curtis’ local club.
[adrotate group=”76″]Coleman became a close friend of the Curtis family during those times and they were regular attenders at home games in Selhurst Park while they would also socialise together.
Coleman played 154 times for Palace and scored 13 goals, but he left the Eagles to sign for then Premier League champions Blackburn Rovers in the summer of 1995. He retained a strong bond with the Curtis’.
Ronan Curtis was born in March 1996 and Coleman was chosen as his Godfather.
“Chris said that Wales should ‘dare to dream’ – dare to dream is right,” the Derry City player told Donegal Sport Hub.
Ronan Curtis.
“I hope they live the dream to the very end and go onto win it. Best wishes to Chris for the game tonight and to all the Welsh people. We’ll be cheering them on here as always. We’re very proud of what Chris has done in the game and will be watching on praying they get the win tonight.”
Ronan’s brothers Declan and Blain had spells at Finn Harps and the brothers all played for Kildrum Tigers after the family relocated to St Johnston.
Wales – whose only previous tournament experience was at the 1958 World Cup – are this evening in their first ever semi-final at a major tournament when they face Wales and the Stade de Lyon.
[adrotate group=”43″]The Welsh are set to enter the top ten in the FIFA World rankings, but go into this game as 3/1 outsiders despite an impressive 3-1 win over Belgium on Friday night in the quarter-finals.
“I’ve heard it said that Wales can’t lose whatever happens, but that’s not the way we are looking at it,” Coleman said.
“We see this as another big test, a huge challenge in a line of challenges that we have already met. The pressure is on us to keep performing, and that’s what we want to do, because you have to put this down as the biggest game our country has been involved in, which is a great place to be.”
Wales are without both Ben Davies and Aaron Ramsey, but Coleman – who won 32 caps as a player for Wales – seems quietly confident of an upset.
[adrotate group=”70″]He said: “We’ve gone through a whole qualifying campaign to get here where the players’ attitude was exactly the same.
“Where we find ourselves now, it hasn’t happened overnight. The players, the bonds they have together, that togetherness … it’s easy now to say we have great team spirit. It’s easy to say that on a shiny day, but that spirit is real. It came from the darker days.
“I genuinely believed we were capable of getting out of the group – that wasn’t presumptuous of me to think like that – and I thought a quarter-final was a possibility.
[adrotate group=”77″]“I told the players that. But we’ve got a very, very good team. People think the end of this tournament will mark the end of this side’s journey, but it won’t. It’s part of the journey.
“The experience this group of boys will get from this … They’ll be here long after I leave, and the success they’re enjoying now is part of the learning process. We’re here to compete and learn, and let’s see if our best is enough to compete against the best.”
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