Conor Bradley Reflects On “Surreal” Feeling Of Being Youngest Northern Ireland Captain
The young Liverpool right back wore the armband for the first time for his country, and became the youngest player to do so.
It has been quite a year for Conor Bradley in 2024. The young Northern Irishman stormed onto the club scene with a series of sensational performances after stepping into an emergency starting role for Liverpool after an injury to Trent Alexander Arnold. Bradley’s club form carried over to his national team, where he became a regular starter for Northern Ireland, and scored his first international goal. Over the weekend, Bradley was named the captain for his country as they took on Belarus in UEFA Nations League play.
Conor Bradley’s 2024 so far:
— The Anfield Wrap (@TheAnfieldWrap) October 12, 2024
✅ Full PL Debut & 1st Assist
✅ First Liverpool goal (v Chelsea)
✅ Starts League Cup Final
✅ Wins League Cup Final
✅ Scores first Northern Ireland goals
✅ Youngest ever Northern Ireland captain
pic.twitter.com/Vsa5oUbYPZ
By donning the armband, Bradley became the youngest player to serve as captain for Northern Ireland. After the match, which finished as a 0-0 draw, Bradley reflected on the what it meant.
“I’m just extremely proud. It was pretty surreal walking out with the boys behind me and having the armband on during the game was pretty special.”
Northern Ireland manager Martin O’Neill has been searching for a new long-term captain after the retirement of Jonny Evans. Bradley would certainly like another crack at leading his side out, especially as the match in Belarus was played behind closed doors due to sanctions against the hosts. It would mean a lot to young Conor to be able to captain his side in front of a crowd.
“I think it will be a bit nicer if fans are there, but we’ll leave that down to Michael to see who he thinks should be the captain on Tuesday.”
Bradley certainly showed he has captain-speak down. He discussed his side’s efforts against Belarus, noting that they played well despite failing to find the back of the net.
“I thought the performance was really good, we played some really good stuff, especially in the first half. Some of the patterns of play we’ve been working on came to fruition out there, it’s just really disappointing not to get the three points.”
“I think it’s one of the best performances we’ve had for a while but the ball would not go in the back of the net. I think if we’d have got one we could have got three or four. At least we didn’t lose the game. I thought we did really well to keep a clean sheet and we go again on Tuesday.”
“I think we know how good we are, and we know how good we can be. We’re still a young team, we’re still learning. Definitely the potential is there and if we all get clicking together we can be a good team. We’re all really looking forward to the future. We’re just trying to get the wins and the performances.”
Source: liverpooloffside.sbnation.com
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