In fact, McCarthy is one of Ireland’s greatest ever managers having led the team to the Round of 16 in the 2002 FIFA World Cup and held a 42% win ratio overall.
Before stepping up into management, he was also a fine player. Known as ‘Captain Fantastic’, he led Ireland to 11 wins from 22 games as skipper. Overall he played 57 times for Ireland.
Now, he is back on the sidelines leading the way but let’s take a look at how he fared in his first spell as Ireland manager...
P W D L F A
World Cup 28 14 10 4 55 20
European Championship 12 5 3 4 18 13
US Cup 6 2 3 1 11 8
Friendlies 22 8 4 10 28 25
TOTAL 68 29 20 19 112 66
Home 35 18 9 8 58 26
Away 25 8 6 11 39 32
Neutral 8 3 5 0 15 8
TOTAL 68 29 20 19 112 66
First Match: Ireland 0-2 v Russia, Friendly, Lansdowne Road, 27/03/96
Record Victory: Ireland 5-0 v Liechtenstein, WCQ, Eschen, 31/08/96; Ireland 5-0 v Liechtenstein, WCQ, Lansdowne Road, 21/05/97; Ireland 5-0 v Malta, ECQ, Lansdowne Road, 14/10/98
Players Used: 65
Debutants: 42
Most Appearances: Gary Breen, 50
Leading Goalscorer: Robbie Keane, 14
Captain Most Often: Roy Keane, 20