Mannion filled with pride on international stage
Manchester United Women defender Aoife Mannion says representing the Republic of Ireland on the international stage is one of the best things she has done in her football career.
Although injury kept her sidelined for the first half of this season, Mannion recently returned to action in United’s FA Cup win at Southampton and earned a subsequent recall to the Ireland squad for this month’s fixtures.
TeamViewer Diaries: Aoife Mannion
TeamViewer Diaries | Aoife Mannion is the star of this episode, as she discusses representing United and Ireland...
Aoife received her third senior cap as a late substitute in Friday’s draw with Italy, and our no.5 could build on those minutes when her country hosts a Wales squad containing five Reds on Tuesday night, in the second of their two February friendlies.
Mannion will be hoping to be involved again, as representing Ireland is something that fills her with pride, as she recently expressed while sitting down with club media for a brand-new episode of our TeamViewer Diaries series, which you can watch above.
“Being involved with Ireland is one of the best things I’ve done in my footballing career,” she says, in her diary-room interview. “I’ve been totally blown away and surprised by the level of support that I’ve had from people since I’ve been involved.
“[On my debut] I was really emotional, I didn’t think I was going to be emotional, and it was just a really, really amazing day.
“My family had all flown out to come and support me, it felt like a real coming of age moment.
“And off the back of a bit of a tricky time with football and injuries, it was a real sort of: ‘Aah, okay, this is why we do this.’”
You can sense the 28-year-old’s eagerness to make a regular contribution from the Reds’ backline as she discusses its qualities in the TeamViewer Diaries video, and that is something she will no doubt be hoping to do upon her return to the club after the international break.
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“I think that our defence is the unit in our team that has probably changed the least in terms of fresh faces, and so there’s an element of reliability and consistency about it,” Mannion explains.
“And so, as defenders, we always try and give that consistency to the rest of the team, because we see ourselves as the one that kind of protects the goal so some of the really exciting players can go forward and show that risk and show that flair.
“And so, it’s been really pleasing to see some of the performances and individual performances of our girls.”
See more from Aoife in a brand-new episode of TeamViewer Diaries – watch here.