How Northern Ireland man Matthew Crawford became an unsung hero of Wales’ Euro 2020 campaign

His football odyssey has found him a home across the Irish Sea and while it might not be the land of his birth, it’s the next best thing.

“My loyalties lie with Wales because they employ me, but I am also a proud Irishman and I’m happy the two nations have not crossed paths in my time with Wales,” said Matthew, who returned to live in the family home in Belfast at the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and commutes to Cardiff on a regular basis.

“Like any kid I wanted to be a professional footballer at school with my dream to play for Liverpool and Northern Ireland, but it didn’t happen for me and so in 2013 I did the next best thing and enrolled in a three-year football coaching course at the University of South Wales.

“From there I did a student placement in performance analysis with the Football Association of Wales and then got an internship with the U16 side, helping out the seniors before being promoted to the senior team full-time in 2018.”

This summer’s Euro Finals represented the summit of his five years with the FAW and is an experience he quickly wants to repeat.

“I have done qualifiers and Nations League but to experience a major tournament Finals has been great,” he added. “We met up on May 19 and had a training camp in Cardiff before warm-weather training in Portugal. Two friendlies followed against France and Albania, then our four games in the Finals took place in Azerbaijan, Rome and Amsterdam. It has been a busy time, but I loved every minute of it.”

The job title often leaves people baffled, but performance analysis plays an increasingly important role in the modern game.

“I analyse the opposition’s strengths and weaknesses and style of play,” he explained. “It involves breaking it down into set-pieces, open play and transitional moments in attack and defence.

“It can relate to a team or individuals and extends to even predicting line-ups. We then present our information to coaching staff, who then pass it on to the players.”

The analyst is an unsung hero who works tirelessly, often long into the night, to ensure that no stone is left unturned in providing as much knowledge on the opposition as possible.

“We had Turkey in our Euros group,” said Matthew. “I watched videos of 29 of their most recent games. Sometimes the research doesn’t pay off, but in this case it did. I was able to identify areas we could exploit, particularly runs from deep and wide areas, which led to Aaron Ramsey’s goal.

“The win against Turkey was the stand-out moment for me at the Euros because it was such a big match for us. It was winner-takes-all to reach the knockout stages.”

Matthew talks in comfortable tones as he refers to Wales as “we” though he knows the irony in that and would never rule out swapping back his allegiance if the opportunity arose in the future.

He added: “I realised during the Euros that I was probably the only person from Northern Ireland working at the Euros.

“The Wales camp has other nations too, with some English and, of course, Rob Page’s assistant Albert Stuivenberg is Dutch.

“Of course, I want Northern Ireland to win every game except when it’s Wales. I am still a Northern Ireland fan and watch their games when they don’t clash with ours.

“My family are very proud of what I’ve achieved. My mum, dad, brother and girlfriend have been converted to Wales fans and sat avidly in front of the telly watching the Wales games during the Euros.”

And his office at home is becoming suspiciously like a shrine to his adopted nation.

He explained: “It was a kind gesture from the boss when he presented all the backroom staff with a Wales shirt with their name and No.20 on the back. I’m currently having that framed and it will go next to the signed shirt I got when we qualified for the Finals.”

Matthew hopes that his career path will eventually lead him to a role at the coalface of the professional game.

Matthew currently coaches youth teams at Irish League side Larne as he takes tentative steps on the coaching ladder.

“I have a great working relationship with Wales but who knows what the future holds,” he continued. “I am currently doing my Uefa coaching licence with the FAW.

“I would like to test myself as a coach or manager. It is becoming more commonplace for analysts to become coaches. Chris Davies, Brendan Rodgers’ assistant at Leicester, was an analyst at Swansea. It shows it’s possible to make the jump.”