Famous names to grace the Brandywell - from Busby and Stein to Keane and Ronaldinho

It may just be a small ground in a corner of a historic city in the Northwest of Ireland, but the Brandywell has hosted some of the biggest names in world football over the years. Ahead of a highly anticipated season with Derry City, we look back on the times when some true greats graced the Brandywell pitch, showing that in football, anything really can happen.  

Billy Gillespie

1932

On June 23, 1932, Billy Gillespie, the ex-Sheffield United and Ireland International, accepted the terms offered to him by Derry City FC to become the club’s player-manager.

Derry made the announcement only nine days after the registration of their first-ever manager, Joe McCleery.

The Brandywell club agreed to dispense with the selection committee and hand full power to Gillespie in signing players and selecting the team. Gillespie took up the position at the beginning of July. Under his stewardship, Derry went on to win two City Cup competitions and on four successive occasions they finished runners up in the League.

Matt Busby

1931

One of the most famous Manchester United managers of all time was actually playing for neighbours Manchester City when he visited the Brandywell on April 29, 1931.

A big crowd turned up to see the English First Division team make their first visit to Derry. The home side had a few guests on their side but had five Derry men in the team. City put on a fine exhibition and although they won 5-1, it must be said that City played well, so well in fact, that McAdam scored a consolation goal after 83 minutes. Derry played in blue and City in red and McCann and Mason were the Derry players to shine against a City team which included names like Busby, Barrass, Toseland and Ridley.

Jimmy Delaney

1954

This became known amongst Derry City fans as ‘The Year of Delaney’ after a tremendous transfer coup brought a huge name to the club.

Delaney was one of the great stars in the decade after World War 2, but he had already made his mark internationally before the War; as well as starring for Glasgow Celtic, he was part of the marvellous Manchester United team that had won what was regarded as the greatest of all English Cup finals, when they beat Blackpool in 1948.

Delaney made an immediate impact, scoring a hat trick on his debut against Ards before leading the team to Irish Cup success at the end of the season.

Jock Stein

1955

Before he led Celtic to the European Cup in 1967, Jock Stein graced the Brandywell for an end of season friendly fixture with the Glasgow giants.

With the competitive season finally over, Derry City played a series of friendly fixtures to complete their campaign. On a glamour day at a packed Brandywell, Derry, with guest player Fay Coyle again the star, defeated Celtic 2-1. Stein was on the pitch that day, before going on to manage both Celtic and Scotland.

Brian Clough

1986

At the end of Derry City’s first season in the League of Ireland and just weeks after winning the club’s first trophy in the Shield final against Longford, Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest side arrived for a glamour friendly on front of 12,000 fans at the Brandywell.

The English side won the game 2-0, but the real attraction was the affable Clough, who made time to stop for pictures and sign autographs for countless Derry City fans.

Eusebio

1989

Arguably the most famous day in Derry City history saw Portuguese champions Benfica drawn against the Candystripes in the European Cup. The prestige surrounding the occasion was escalated by the presence of the world-famous Eusebio, who came onto the pitch before the game to a hie ovation from the local fans who just couldn’t believe that one of the greatest ever players to play the game was there in their home town. Benfica won the game 2-1, but with Paul Carlyle’s goal and Eusebio’s appearance, it was a day that Derry City fans would never forget.

Paul Gascoigne/ Gary Linekar

1990

On August 3, 1990, 10,000 fans packed into the Brandywell to see Derry City play the first of two glamour pre-season friendlies against a Tottenham side that featured English stars Paul Gascoigne and Gary Lineker.

It was a memorable day for everyone involved as the fans were wowed by the skill of ‘Gazza’ as the London club raced into a 3-0 lead by half time, Paul Stewart scoring twice after Lineker had volleyed Tottenham ahead. The second half was less memorable as a spectacle, but Tim Dalton enjoyed a penalty save to deny Stewart his hat trick, while young Derry-born defender Peter Hutton, guesting for his hometown team, held his own up against the mercurial Gascoigne.

Sir Alex Ferguson

1990

Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United arrived at the Brandywell just five days later. Again the ground was packed to capacity, and the Derry City fans went home happy. In a more low-key affair than the Tottenham game, a strong United disappointed, with the torrential rain playing its part on both supporters and players. Despite that, the game looked to be petering out into a 1-0 United win, thanks to a Mark Robins goal. In added time at the end of the game however, Joe Hanrahan picked the best time to score his first goal for the club, driving the ball past Jim Leighton to send the soaked fans home happy.

Roy Keane

1992

Before he become one of the Republic of Ireland and Manchester United’s greatest ever captains, Roy Keane visited the Brandywell as a young midfielder with Nottingham Forest in 1992. Football fans packed the Brandywell once again for the visit of Brian Clough and Nottingham Forest on August 9. This was Clough’s second visit to Derry in six years and with a strong Forest team including Keane, Steve Stone and Teddy Sheringham, the Candy Stripes again did themselves proud, new signings Ennis and Roche scoring in a 2-2 draw.

David Ginola

1998

David Ginola dazzled Derry football fans when he played a huge role in the special fundraiser for the victims of the Omagh bombing, which had killed 29 people on August 15.

A Derry City XI took on a Mick McCarthy XI, with the Republic of Ireland manager’s team including star names such as Packie Bonner, John Aldridge, Steve Staunton and Willie McStay, but the real highlight was the presence of Tottenham star Ginola, who featured for Derry City alongside Shay Given.

Club President Phil Coulter and Irish singer Brian Kennedy gave a touching rendition of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ before kick-off and those in attendance certainly got their money’s worth as both teams, and Ginola in particular, wowed the crowd in an entertaining contest. The highlight for many was Ginola’s cheeky penalty past Bonner as Derry ran out 5-2 winners.

Alan Ball

1998

World Cup winner Alan Ball brought his Portsmouth team to the Brandywell in July 1998 and a sizeable crowd showed up to see the English visitors win 1-0, thanks to a goal from John Aloisi. The game could have finished level had goalkeeper Alan Knight not saved a penalty from Paul Curran.

Emilio Butragueno

2001

Real Madrid legend Emilio Butragueno, a star of the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, led a group of promising young Madrid stars to victory over a full-strength Derry City side as one of the most famous clubs came to the Brandywell in August 2001. Unfortunately, interest in the game was muted as none of Madrid’s world-famous stars came along for the game, with no household names, other than Butragueno in attendance.

Ronaldinho

2003

Derry City’s league troubles were momentarily put on hold by the visit of the mighty Barcelona on August 12, 2003, thanks to the incredible efforts of John Hume.

The presence of Brazilian superstar Ronaldinho had the fans abuzz with excitement. The talismanic forward had only just joined the Catalan club and one of his first assignments with his new club was to take on Derry City.

Barcelona controlled the game as the glamorous visitors enthralled the crowd with incredible passing, movement, skills and thrills on one of the most famous days in Derry’s history. But it was the presence of Ronaldinho which really set the game alight as he scored his first goal for his new club to complete a comfortable 5-0 win.

Andreas Iniesta

2003

Seven years before scoring the winning goal in the 2010 World Cup Final and becoming part of the greatest club side ever with Barcelona, Andreas Iniesta played at the Brandywell.  

While Ronaldinho stile the headlines, there were other superstars on show, with Iniesta amongst them. Nine thousand fans squeezed into the Brandywell to witness a full-strength Barca side dazzle and delight, with household names such as Patrick Kluivert, Javier Saviola, Xavi Hernandez, Marc Overmars, Luis Enrique and Carlos Puyol the main attractions.