At the Stade Tata Raphael in Kinshasa, Zaire, Muhammad Ali shocked the world when he knocked out George Foreman in the ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ to become the heavyweight champion of the world.
Some 5,500 miles away on the same day at Dalymount Park, Johnny Giles’s Republic of Ireland team upset the runners up of the 1972 European Championships – USSR – with an emphatic 3-0 win.
While the comparisons between Rumble in the Jungle and Ireland versus USSR end there, it was QPR’s Don Givens who delivered the knockout blow to the visitors with a hat-trick – a first for an Ireland player.
The game, a little over 46 years to the day, is considered by many as a high point of Giles’ Ireland career which saw him captain and manage the victory in front of 31,000 – not counting those who perched themselves on the roof of the famous old ground.
“To beat a top side like USSR was one hell of an achievement and I’m sure it will go down as a highlight for John”, said long-time friend and former Ireland team mate Mick Martin.
“It was a great day. Don scored a hat-trick, it was Liam Brady’s debut and John was magnificent. Usually we won by one or two but to win 3-0 at home against that level of opposition, in front of big crowd made it such a special day.”
While John and Mick were midfield partners that day, the former Manchester United, West Bromwich Albion and Newcastle United man recalls one occasion they went head-to-head.
Mick said: “I remember playing against John when he was at Leeds and I was at Manchester United. We were second bottom and they were top and somehow, we won 1-0.
“Tommy Docherty said to me before the game ‘your job is to mark Johnny Giles’ which was the last thing in the world I wanted to do. I had to hassle him and hustle him, and during the match I tackled him, he went down and I went down and he fell onto of me. When he stood up his studs went down my knee and he looked at me and said ‘don’t you ever do that again!’.
“This was my friend, we were friends off the pitch but on the pitch, it was a different matter.
“He was a big star playing for Leeds and they were perhaps the best team in Europe, so to have someone like that playing with you for your country was a pleasure.”
Jimmy Holmes was also a fellow Dubliner and international teammate of Giles, and followed him to play with Vancouver Whitecaps.
Jimmy, who still holds the record as the youngest player capped for Ireland at senior level, said of John:
“I admired him so much when he was playing for Leeds. He was a great footballer and great manager for the Ireland.
“John helped the younger players like myself, Liam Brady and Frank Stapleton. When you have someone like that select you for Ireland your confidence goes up.
“He took me to Vancouver and he was brilliant with the younger players there too. While he was aggressive on the pitch, off it he was he very different and was very fair and encouraging.
“We had so much respect for him.”