Packie Bonner

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Legendary Glasgow Celtic and Republic of Ireland goalkeeper Packie Bonner - who won 80 caps for his country and who is famous for his penalty save against Romania in the 1990 World Cup finals - is Colm Keane's final guest on Ireland's Soccer Top 20, Friday 11 February, 7.02-7.30pm, RTÉ Radio 1.

Having joined Celtic in 1978, Packie won Scottish League Championships, Scottish FA Cups and Scottish League Cups with the Glasgow club while performing with distinction for his country following his first cap against Poland in 1981.

Under Jack Charlton he became a regular on the international side, achieving legendary status during Ireland's European Championship campaign in 1988.  However, the moment Packie will always be recalled for involved that famous save from Daniel Timofte in the nerve-wracking penalty shootout against Romania at Italia '90.  As with the assassination of John F. Kennedy or the World Trade Center atrocity of September 11, most people can recall where they were at the moment when the Republic of Ireland reached the quarter-finals of the 1990 World Cup.

"The reaction was incredible," Packie says regarding the impact of Italia '90.  "To think that it could capture the imagination of the Irish public the way it did was remarkable.  Young and old, men and women, people who probably were very traditional Gaelic people just got caught up in the whole thing.  It became more than a game of soccer, and we were all proud to be part of it.

"Everybody got involved in the celebrations, so it wasn't just the players out in Italy and the fans that went out there.  We missed out on the parties in Ireland, there's no doubt about that.  Everybody had barbecues and people were setting up plans for the next barbecue.  So while we were under pressure out in Italy, everybody was enjoying the celebrations in Ireland.  The unfortunate thing was that you couldn't be in both places at the same time."

In a programme packed with memorable archive recordings, Packie recalls his major career highlights and he also talks about his loneliness at Glasgow Celtic during his early years with the club.  "I had a few tears in the eye thinking about home," he says.  "At the time we didn't have mobile phones.  In fact, we didn't have a phone at our house in Donegal, so it wasn't easy to keep in contact.  I found that a really hard problem.
"Looking back, people say: 'If you were 10 years younger and you were just going through your career now, look at all the money you could earn.'  But I wouldn't change anything for all the money.  I might be a little wealthier.  But money can't buy you that feeling of happiness and success that I seemed to achieve."