Everton defender Seamus Coleman is probably one of the last few remaining ‘throwback’ footballers in the modern era. He could be defined as a blue-collar footballer – efficient, hard-working and someone who gets the job done. It’s his hard-working nature and dedication levels that have kept him as a part of the Toffees since 2009.
The 35-year-old is still going strong and proudly representing his nation, the Republic of Ireland. Coleman has earned 70 caps for the Republic of Ireland and is the national team captain. His impressive stamina level along with defensive prowess has helped him make that right-back spot his own.
Coleman has been restricted to just five Premier League appearances this season due to injuries or his age. Sean Dyche seems to opt for a younger and fitter Ben Godfrey to play in that right-back spot. But the 35-year-old has kept his place in his national team. He made a triumphant return to international football after missing a chunk of Euro 2024 qualifiers last year due to injury.
The Irish full-back was also involved in a hilarious coincidence in his side’s 1-0 loss to Switzerland recently at the Aviva Stadium, in Dublin. This wasn’t exactly in the form of a goal, assist, tackle or anything like that. In the first half against the Swiss, Coleman was about to take a throw-in when a rather fitting advertisement popped up on the LED board behind him.
Nowadays, every major European football stadium has LED advertising boards inserted to help promote products or upcoming events. Just as the Everton star was going to take the throw-in, his face popped up on the advertisement board just behind him. In doing so, a rather surreal side-by-side comparison of the real Seamus Coleman and the ‘reel’ version of him was formed.
It’s not exactly shocking that Coleman is the face of an advertisement in the Aviva stadium. The 35-year-old is a beloved figure in his country because of how well he’s represented their football scene by going strong in the Premier League.
The Irishman has made 354 Premier League appearances for Everton, helping them keep 94 clean sheets and notched up 46 goal contributions. Despite never winning the competition, his ability to keep performing strongly in a team riddled with inconsistency has earned him praise.
That is probably why those in charge of the advertisements at the Aviva Stadium have decided to promote events with his face. This advertisement was probably for the Republic of Ireland’s upcoming friendly match in June against Hungary.
This isn’t the first time that Coleman has featured in a promotion for his national team or an Irish product. He has also acted as a brand ambassador and featured in commercials for Spar, the leading chain of convenience stores in Ireland.
Spar promotes a ‘healthy way of living’ and is a place where you can get all sorts of gourmet food and healthy fruits/vegetables. That is why they thought someone as disciplined and dedicated as Coleman, renowned for his fitness and high energy levels, could be an ideal representative of their brand.
To his credit, Coleman was able to silence his doubters with two impressive performances in Ireland’s recent friendlies. He kept the likes of Jeremy Doku & co-quiet in the 0-0 draw against Belgium and won the Player of the Match award for his heroics against the Swiss side.
The 35-year-old remains a beloved footballer among the Irish faithful because of his never-say-die attitude and that’s probably why he’ll continue featuring in such advertisements until he hangs up his boots.
