Miscellaneous
Episode 54 Shane McGirrWelcome everybody to episode 54 of the Football United vs Soccer City podcast. I would like to sincerely thank all the interviewees, listeners and the soccer public of the Illawarra, Australia, Paris, the United Kingdom and elsewhere around the World who download this podcast. Additionally I would like to say thank you to the people who contribute, comment and reminisce on the social media pages.Shane McGirr is our interviewee in episode 54. In 1987 he started his football journey with Figtree JSC, where he played in defence up until 1995. Shane then transitioned into the senior ranks in 1996 where he joined his local club West Figtree. After a couple of seasons with West Figtree, Shane then continued to play with the merged Western Suburbs entity for 4 seasons.Next in 2002 Shane was identified by former Socceroo Adrian Alston, who was coaching IPL powerhouse Port Kembla SC. He signed with the Zebras and over the next few seasons Shane took his game to the next level as a lethal attacker amongst a quality team and club that achieved enormous success.Shane additionally played with the Illawarra Representative team, Wollongong Wolves, APIA Leichhardt, a brief stint with Johor FC in Malaysia, Bulli FC and Wests Illawarra before moving with his Family over to Western Australia. He played for many years for a local club in WA before picking up the coaching clipboard to coach his boys.Shane has an immense amount of humility and is always thanking the coaches and players who he played with over the years. He sees the individual awards he won (e.g. IPL golden boot awards) as a byproduct of his coaches and teammates efforts. The insights he gives into his own career and the people he played with and against are fantastic. He came across to me as a player who had the determination and discipline to improve his game and always be successful in his role for the team.My sincere thanks go out to Shane for moving around his family timetable for this interview. It was an absolute pleasure and honour to listen to his memories. Please enjoy episode 54!