Brazil and the Downpatrick Youth League

Brazil and the Downpatrick Youth League

15 April 2020

ALMOST 50 years ago Brazilian magic found its way into the Downpatrick Youth Football League.

Mexico 1970, arguably the greatest World Cup of all time, was won by Brazil, was won by Brazil, without doubt the greatest international team of all time.

Carlos Alberto, Gerson, Tostao, Jairzinho, Felix the goalkeeper and the incomparable Pele, names that trip of the tongue.

Another wearing the famed yellow shirt was the left midfielder Rivelino, famed for his dribbling skills and bullet-like shot.

In the wake of the World Cup, David Keating and a group of friends decided to enter a team in the Downpatrick Youth League.

They needed a manager and David’s brother, Austin, offered to take the role. The next job was to find a team name. 

Thoughts turned to Brazil and Rivelino.

His club was Corinthians of Sao Paulo. The name stuck and soon there would be Corinthians of the Downpatrick Youth League.

“We had a couple of good seasons, nothing special, but around 1973 Austin got a squad of very good footballers together,” David recalls.

Each Saturday morning Austin took his big Ford Corsair out to Saul and Raholp to collect some boys, including Pat ‘Skipper’ McMullan, Sean McMullan, Lorny Murphy and Noel Denvir.

These joined a group of players from Crossgar, such as Mel and Con McCarthy, Leo Casement, Dan McHugh, Gregory Bell, ‘Chippy’ Bell and ‘Bootsie’ Madine.

Though Austin had an excess of players and it was hard to give everyone a game, the Crossgar boys encouraged him to sign a number of Killyleagh lads and so Jute Sullivan, Kevin Nelson and Chris Hagan joined up. They were a very talented forward line and team.

Corinthians’ main rivals were Panathinaikos, managed by Pat McKinney.

At the end of the season Austin won the league’s Manager of the Year award, for which he was very proud.

He went on to be involved with Downpatrick Rec and was club chairman when they won the Steel and Sons Cup.

Many of the Corinthians players went on to play for local teams in the Amateur League and Newcastle League, and also played Gaelic football.

Corinthians may no longer exist, but they are still fondly remembered by those who can recall the early days of the Downpatrick Youth League and were fired up by the wizards of Brazil.