The Saturday Interview: Paul Agnew meets Rovers winger Damien Duff

DAMIEN Duff has already crossed the touchline to stardom.

The soccer world, always ready to throw its arms around a young prodigy, awaits the result.

Those in the know reckon they already know.

The quicksilver Rovers winger hasn't just got a great chance of becoming good, he's got a good chance of becoming great.

They talk of him like they used to talk of the infant Ryan Giggs. He's mentioned in the same breath as wonderkid Michael Owen.

Big talent, big interest and big hype - but no sign of Damien getting a head to match.

To the contrary.

Unassuming, backwards in coming forwards (unless he's hogging the left touchline) - you'd better believe it.

Remember, this kid doesn't turn 19 until next spring, his Premiership appearances can still be counted on the fingers of one hand.

Damien doesn't seem to appreciate what all the fuss is about. He's a young lad who loves playing football. Nothing more, nothing less and long may he stay that way. "I'm not flash. If I was my mates would soon bring me down a peg or two, not to mention my mum and dad. I am enjoying what's happening, but I don't get carried away or look too far ahead. It's just great to be playing here and I love Blackburn Rovers."

Damien is the middle member of a family of five children reared by Gerard and Mary Duff in Dublin.

"We are a typical, close knit Irish family. Dad is soccer mad and he threw a football at me almost as soon as I could walk. I have always played on the wing and joined a junior club back home called Leicester Celtic when I was eight. I stayed there about four years."

Then came a dramatic change - to rugby!

"I actually switched to rugby for a couple of years because it was the main sport at the school I went to. They had me playing as a full back, but I always wanted to make a go of it at football so I teamed up with another local soccer club called Lourdes Celtic before later joining St Kevins."

It was at this point that a certain Pat Devlin made a move that will forever keep him high on Rovers' official Christmas card list.

Working in Ireland as a scout, Pat introduced the name of Damien Duff to those in charge of the Ewood Park youth development set-up. "He's noticed me playing a couple of times and, funnily enough, I was involved in a game for the Eire under 15s against the Blackburn youngsters at Ewood Park. We won 3-0 and I scored.

"I was given the chance to come over and signed on YTS forms. Although it meant leaving home it was something I just had to do and it's turned out brilliant.

"Alan Irvine was very good to me in my early days at Blackburn - the fact that he was a winger too helped a lot.

"And I turned professional shortly after my 17th birthday."

Damien had just turned 18 when he made his first Premiership start: "I had been involved in the squad on a couple of occasions, but my chance came in the final match of last season against Leicester.

"It was Friday afternoon I was at home resting (Damien lists sleeping among his outside interests!) when Tony Parkes rang me to tell me I was in the squad, probably as a substitute. He also said I would probably get on at some stage.

"An hour before the game Tony told me I was actually going to start and that he'd kept it back to stop me getting uptight. For a split second I felt quite faint, but the nervousness soon wore off and the other lads really helped me through. "It was a great feeling and it was brilliant too to score my first goal the other week against Everton. Playing in the Premiership is fantastic and I just want to keep working hard, listening to advice and try to establish myself as a regular with Rovers."

Ewood officials, in step with everyone else who has seen young Duff skin a full back for fun on match day, recognise the obvious potential. He recently earned himself the security of a five-year contract.

Damien has represented his country at under 15, 16, 18 and 20 levels and it's fair to assume a full cap will be on its way sooner rather than later.

"I try not to think about all that sort of stuff. I realise I've a lot to learn and Roy Hodgson has helped me a lot. He'd never seen me play before taking over, but has always included me in the first team squad."

It's hard to visualise anything that could possibly unsettle this shy and quietly-spoken young Irishman.

The phrase taking-life-in-your-stride could have been coined for him.

But there is something - taking penalties!

"Now that really does get me nervous, think I'll leave that duty to someone else."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.