McCarthy may not be Irish but neither was Jack Charlton and no-one in Ireland seemed to mind that in 1990.

The Yorkshireman is on the verge of equalling the achievement of Big Jack and guiding Ireland into the quarter-finals of the World Cup.

And McCarthy, part of that Italia 90 side, has done it by plucking the famous Irish team spirit out of the rubble of the Keane bust-up.

Not many managers could survive such a row with their captain, even fewer when that captain is a massive hero to all generations in the ‘foreign’ Emerald Isle.

But the 43-year-old Barnsley-born coach argued his point eloquently, and when no apology was forthcoming from Keane, no return invitation emerged.

McCarthy won 57 caps for Ireland, and he knew what made the players tick.

Instead of division in the Irish camp came unity, instead of criticism came praise.

After a playing career that took in Manchester City, Barnsley, Millwall and Celtic, McCarthy took the Irish job in 1996.

Despite a tricky start, he stuck with the task and the Irish public have stuck by him - their faith is now being repaid.

JOSE ANTONIO CAMACHO

As a player he was an uncompromising, tough-tackling defender - it seems Camacho was cut from the same cloth as his Irish counterpart.

Before entering into management, he was an integral part of the Real Madrid defence from 1973 to 1989, winning nine La Liga titles.

Destiny suggested that Camacho would eventually return to the Bernabeu, and after spells as coach with Espanyol, Seville and Rayo Vallecano, he took the job in 1998.

But 22 days later, he was on his way out after a disagreement with the directors.

Spain did not leave him jobless for long, though, appointing the 47-year-old as national coach and he led them to Euro 2000 and now this World Cup.

After playing 400 games for his club and 81 for Spain, Camacho knows what it takes to be a winner.

And he knows what it is like to be a World Cup failure as a player, figuring in two such shambles.

But this time around he has turned the perennial under-achievers into one of the new favourites.

Camacho will know that Spain will never have a better chance to win their first World Cup.