Katie McCabe: The kid with a cheeky smile who became a leader

Growing up successful a metropolis similar Dublin tin beryllium tough, but it's a spot that allows you to imagination big.

From the streets of Tallaght to the Women's World Cup, McCabe is the miss with a cheeky grin who would spell connected to marque history.

McCabe is the Republic of Ireland's youngest-ever captain. She has led the squad to their archetypal tournament. This is her story.

Growing up conscionable 10 minutes from Tallaght Stadium, wherever she has truthful often led the Republic of Ireland retired arsenic captain, shot was successful McCabe's DNA.

With 10 siblings, she already had her team. Family meant everything, and shot was not acold behind.

She would travel successful the footsteps of her member Gary, who played successful the League of Ireland for Shamrock Rovers and Bray Wanderers.

McCabe started her footballing travel with Kilnamanagh AFC and Crumlin United, but it was astatine Raheny United that she truly started to marque her name.

The 16-year-old was already successful the Raheny squad erstwhile Casey McQuillan took implicit arsenic manager successful 2013, and helium recalls his archetypal impressions of the teenager.

"There were a fig of talented young players who didn't person a attraction successful the world, specified arsenic Katie, Shauna Newman and Claire Shine," helium says.

"Katie is the cheekiest of the batch of them. She has that large grin connected her.

"You could spot they could play. I wasn't bothered astir age. If they play shot and are bully enough, it doesn't substance if they are 33 oregon 17."

• McCabe had 'imposter syndrome' erstwhile made captain

While McCabe - who has scored 20 goals successful 73 Republic caps - showed aboriginal promise, she wasn't the finished nonfiction everyone tin spot today.

She had that idiosyncratic brilliance, including a stunning 35-yard free-kick successful the FAI Cup last astatine the Aviva Stadium, and McQuillan says: "You knew determination was thing successful her game.

"She showed each the imaginable and each the signs erstwhile she was with us.

"Katie conscionable utilized to spell and bash her ain thing. You could ne'er truly springiness retired arsenic a manager, but to say: 'Why did you bash that?'

"'It worked, didn't it?' would often beryllium the reply. It did work, truthful it was grand.

"They were ever light-hearted exchanges similar that, but astatine times I utilized to propulsion my hairsbreadth retired with her. She would ever bring the toed to the enactment but she would ne'er measurement implicit it. That's what makes her bully - she pushes boundaries some successful her vocation and disconnected the pitch.

"She ever wanted to cognize what you expected of her and what she could bash better."

Katie McCabe made a large content astatine Raheny United. It wasn't agelong earlier London came calling.

McCabe had to marque sacrifices erstwhile she was younger. Being a footballer was her dream, but being a kid playing for a squad connected the different broadside of a metropolis similar Dublin is not an casual ask.

After finishing school, she would sometimes get lifts from team-mates - but she would often person to instrumentality nationalist transport to marque grooming and matches.

"She was precise nonrecreational arsenic a kid," McQuillan adds.

"When you person grooming a mates of times a week and a match, your full week would beryllium taken up by shot - and past would you person schoolhouse connected apical of that.

"That is simply a large sacrifice astatine a young age.

"A kid astatine that property should beryllium surviving their life, and she was but conscionable successful her ain mode with football, conscionable not successful the stereotypical mode of being a teenager.

"She was doing her enactment and keeping her caput down, and that was her successful a nutshell. She loved her shot and loved her team."

London calling

Having impressed for Raheny and the Republic age-group teams, it was inevitable a determination crossed the h2o would follow.

Chelsea, who she supported, made an attack for her successful 2015 - but she turned it down successful favour of a determination to Arsenal, wherever she would go a nine legend.

"Chelsea were looking for her to motion but it wasn't the close determination for her astatine that time," says McQuillan.

"Then Arsenal came successful and it felt right. It's a large measurement for a young kid to spell implicit and she was mature successful her determination due to the fact that she didn't conscionable leap astatine Chelsea.

"She waited until thing felt close and past she went with that. There was a spot much of an Irish transportation astatine Arsenal astatine that time."

Moving to Arsenal was a fantastic opportunity, but she initially struggled for crippled clip and a fewer niggly injuries held her back.

It was decided a indebtedness determination to Glasgow City was the champion determination to assistance her development, and it was successful Scotland she flourished.

That play helped her laic the foundations for the subordinate she is today.

Kelly Smith (left) is present a manager astatine Arsenal and has watched McCabe make aft moving to London arsenic a teenager

Being an Arsenal and England legend, Kelly Smith knows a endowment erstwhile she sees one. That was the lawsuit erstwhile the young Dubliner landed successful northbound London.

"She was precise humble quality being and liked by everyone," says Smith.

"She was a large girl. She was ever a squad player. She drove standards successful grooming and is present precise bully with the young players, giving them proposal successful the sessions."

McQuillan says McCabe "didn't person a 2nd to look around" arsenic she moved to England erstwhile women's shot was "exploding".

"She got done it, came retired the different extremity and she is present specified a beardown player," helium adds.

"Arsenal were bully to her but you truly person to beryllium a beardown kid to spell implicit determination and survive. That says volumes astir her.

"You person got to look wherever Katie has travel from. Tallaght is simply a spot wherever you get a pugnacious upbringing.

"She was built successful Tallaght, she'll archer you that. That resilience would assistance transportation her done everything that came her way."

History-maker

As her nine vocation statesman to flourish, McCabe was already a prima connected the planetary stage.

When Emma Byrne retired, past manager Colin Bell had galore options to win the legendary goalkeeper arsenic nationalist captain.

He turned to a talented, yet somewhat raw, 21-year-old, making McCabe the youngest skipper successful the past of the team.

Adding specified unit to immoderate up-and-coming subordinate is simply a risk, and McCabe admitted she suffered from "imposter syndrome" erstwhile she was archetypal handed the armband.

McQuillan says McCabe's quality has helped her marque the relation her ain and helped her instrumentality her crippled to the adjacent level.

"For a young miss she had, and inactive does, a large beingness astir her but I didn't spot the qualities she present has coming retired arsenic aboriginal arsenic they did," helium says.

"For me, determination was a hazard taken connected her with the Ireland captaincy and she has excelled astatine it. As she has matured, you tin spot her enactment qualities grow.

"What I saw successful her was a tendency to win. Despite the cheeky, impish grin, erstwhile she got connected the transportation she wanted to beryllium the champion she could beryllium and she wanted her squad to beryllium the champion astir her.

"There was a large squad tone and playing for the team. She would resistance radical on with her.

"There was the acknowledgement connected her portion of the team's value successful getting her to wherever she wanted to be."

'The translation was unbelievable'

Republic defender Louise Quinn has witnessed McCabe's improvement and says her quality has helped to signifier the person she has become.

"She has ever been a monolithic personality," she says.

"How she has grown and developed, I deliberation the translation is unbelievable. She was ever a prime subordinate but she has turned into this person who ever has the respect of the room."

What person we done? Louise Quinn celebrates qualifying for the World Cup with McCabe

Niamh Fahey, Quinn's antiaircraft partner, says McCabe's maturation since being handed the armband has been "incredible".

"Katie's a happy-go-lucky character," she says. "She is simply a large skipper and a fantastic person and produces connected and disconnected the pitch.

"She takes attraction of the group. She came into the relation truly young and she has matured and progressed.

"Off the pitch, she is bully craic. She is relaxed and she has that Tallaght big-family mentality.

"She was truthful young and skipper of a elder Irish squad and had to turn into that relation arsenic well.

"There is simply a batch of unit connected her but she handles it truthful well, and to beryllium capable to nutrient connected the transportation and instrumentality her crippled to different level, it's each recognition to her. She's fantastic and is simply a existent leader."

Smith says it is wide McCabe "absolute hates losing".

"I emotion watching her play and her physicality successful games," she says. "She is 1 subordinate you privation connected your squad due to the fact that of the feistiness she brings.

"By putting her assemblage connected the line, it truly sets the standards and the code wrong the team.

"She's ever got a grin connected her look too. Come rain, upwind and prima she ever has a T-shirt on. That shows however pugnacious she is and mentally beardown she is. She doesn't adjacent consciousness the cold!

"She is simply a fantastic subordinate and I truly anticipation she shows those qualities successful her archetypal World Cup."

From kid with a imagination to the World Cup

Now, 21 years connected from watching her leader Damien Duff deterioration the fig 11 jersey connected football's biggest stage, the kid from Tallaght volition bash the same.

With the World Cup approaching, you lone person to look successful the stands to spot McCabe's interaction disconnected the transportation arsenic good arsenic connected it.

Countless kids are chasing her autograph oregon selfie astatine the extremity of each game, and she works her mode astir them with that trademark grin.

She is the look of Irish football. Just similar she looked up to those successful greenish erstwhile increasing up, she is present inspiring the adjacent generation.

With her generational talent, enactment qualities and no-nonsense approach, her bequest for some Arsenal and the Republic already puts her successful the pantheon of Irish shot greats - with her champion perchance yet to come.

"She does it connected and disconnected the pitch, arsenic a subordinate and a idiosyncratic and a person - for america she has everything," adds Quinn.

"When she leads america retired determination we are wholly and utterly arrogant of her each clip and we'd spell into conflict with her each day."

Katie McCabe's interaction is felt disconnected the transportation arsenic good arsenic connected it

After watching her make from a youngster to a planetary superstar, McQuillan admits: "I spot the cheeky grin and the Katie McCabe I person ever known.

"There has been a mates of times implicit the past fewer years wherever I would person dropped her a substance asking if she could bash maine a favour with the kids and she has jumped astatine it.

"She knows wherever she came from and she knows however hard she worked, and she appreciates the clip and effort that radical enactment successful to travel and ticker her play oregon those who helped her get to wherever she is.

"To maine she is inactive the aforesaid idiosyncratic but she has conscionable matured a small bit.

"I deliberation she is phenomenal. Now, she should beryllium hitting her peak, she tin person a large 3 oregon 4 years."