Caldwell believes standards under Pauw were not 'at international level'
First day of a new chapter in the Ireland women’s team chronicles and sounds hummed inside and out the camp.
On the Abbotstown pitch accompanying Colin Healy and Emma Byrne yesterday was Ivi Casagrande, the Brazilian taking control of training by injecting a fun element into the drills.
More significant than the experience she gained working with her native team was the fact a performance coach exists at all for Ireland. The absence of a fitness coach was one of several criticisms Vera Pauw shipped as her tenure turned sour.
Simultaneously on the airwaves a clatter of vintage players were slating the FAI.
Saturday’s assembly of all former internationals, to coincide with the first-ever senior international game at Aviva Stadium, has fallen well short of expected standards when it comes to logistics and overall respect.
Lastly, most pronounced and completing the circle of speaking loudly was Diane Caldwell sitting inside the FAI headquarters awaiting the media.
Katie McCabe’s availability on the first day of the post-Pauw era constituted the major draw but she was unusually upstaged by her veteran teammate.
Caldwell has experience in spades, gracing all the leading leagues around the world from America, through Scandinavia and a brief spell at Manchester United.
She says her recent move at 35 to FC Zurich on a long-term contract provides the opportunity of settling down for herself and fellow footballer Mona Lohmann. whom she married prior to the summer World Cup.
That trip to Australia was supposed to mark the pinnacle of her career, the stage she longed to cherish. Instead, the words of positivity uttered on the journey quickly subside to convey her frustrations.
What she describes is the culmination of the
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