Roche Revoir (Stephanie Roche interview)

A year after a goal that became an instant internet sensation, Stephanie Roche talks about life on a full-time professional contract with ASPTT Albi in France. She still calls the reaction madness: she knew she had scored a good goal and wanted to show friends and family, but never expected two and a half million people to see it after her manager Eileen Gleeson put it online. Her phone was hopping for a week, with messages from football legends and Premier League players, and she was glad to promote the women’s game in Ireland. Three months into life in France she is settling in and enjoying the standard. Roche is candid that Ireland’s World Cup campaign fell short of its play-off ambition, but points to positives against Germany and Russia before Euro 2017.