Aideninho Finally Comes of Age

By: JT | November 9th, 2007

Since Aiden McGeady’s swashbuckling performance against Benfica on Tuesday, the plaudits have come pouring in. Manager Gordon Strachan hailed McGeady’s efforts as “awesome“. Celtic keeper Artur Boruc thinks the Irishman has the potential to be better than Cristiano Ronaldo. Midfield mate Paul Hartley called McGeady’s nite “one of the best wide performances” he’s ever seen.

As I mentioned in my preview of the match, the time seems right for McGeady to make that step up, and become the player that most of British football thought he would become when he was identified as a prodigy, signing a boot deal with adidas at the age of thirteen.

There is no doubt that McGeady has had his ups and downs since he debuted for the Celtic first team in 2004. Besides having to deal with comparisons to Celtic legend Jinky Johnstone and Brazilian master Ronaldinho, McGeady was brutally condemned for his decision to play his international football for the Republic of Ireland rather than Scotland. He was born in Glasgow to a family steeped in Irish culture, making the decision on which country to play for an easy one.

More recently, criticisms of his crosses into the box, failure to pass when he’s trapped, and unwillingness to quickly transition to defense after one of his trademark marauding runs have been levied. Pundits have claimed that he’s all style and no substance.

This season has been different though.

While McGeady has been maturing physically, Celtic’s hiring of French sports science guru Gregory DuPont has greatly contributed to that extra burst of pace that we’ve witnessed of late. McGeady’s become more of a team player, with the ball and without. He’s more complete all around, and its obvious that he’s matured personally as well.

Can he be better than Pretty Cris? That’s a high bar to set, but he can certainly dominate Celtic matches the way that Ronaldo dominates for ManU. The scary part is that he’s only 21 years old. He’s gone through the ringer as a footballer already, and come through it unscathed. As he eliminates the unnecessary parts of his game, and becomes a modern day wide midfielder, the sky really is the limit for McGeady as a Celt and for the Republic.

Check out some of his outrageous skill: