THE IRISH footballer with a FA Cup record that the greats would be jealous of.
International football is the be all and end all for a lot of Irish football fans.
But ignoring the international team opens up a whole world of Irish footballers who have had excellent professional careers, despite never getting on to the pitch and wearing the green jersey at senior level.
Pádraig Amond will retire having had a career that anyone could be proud of. He did get an international call up in 2019, and called it the "proudest moment of his career" but sadly never touched the pitch.
He shouldn't ever let this bother him though.
Similarly to Eoin Doyle, Amond will have memories that every kid who first kicks a ball could only dream of.
Currently playing in League Two, he is a Newport County legend, and for good reason.
While he is a prolific striker in the league, what he has done in the FA Cup is nothing short of spectacular.
Since the beginning of the 2015-2016 season, Harry Kane has scored 11 FA Cup goals. Aguero and Heung-Min Son both have 12. As does Carlow's own Pádraig Amond.
The only player with more cup goals than him since then is Leicester's Kelechi Ihenacho, who is enjoying a wonderful purple patch at the minute.
Carlow man Padraig Amond scoring the match winning goal as Newport dump Leicester out of the FA Cup! 😍🇮🇪💪pic.twitter.com/jfzFQMLDe3
— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) January 6, 2019
It's not just Newport where he is well-thought of either. He's got thousands of fans from Shamrock Rovers, Morecambe, Hartlepool, Sligo Rovers and even Portuguese side Pacos de Ferreira who will remember some of his goals.
He recently celebrated his 200th appearance for Newport, but maintains that he has "many more" in the tank. His goal record this season would probably agree.
But now aged 33, we can safely say his best days are behind him. The younger, quicker lads will be coming through and eager to take his place.
But when all is said and done, and Amond is retired from the beautiful game - it will be him able to sit his grandkids down and tell them what he did with a ball at his feet, and the fans he sent wild in the process.
Make sure to check back tomorrow for a new player profile!
See More: Football, Player Profile, Pádraig Amond
