Oct 15,2024
Saturday marked the end of an era in Irish football as Stephanie Zambra hung up the boots for the final time in a memorable career for clubs and country.
The former Republic of Ireland striker finished up on a goalscoring note for Shamrock Rovers at home to Shelbourne in their SSE Airtricity Women's Premier Division clash before going off to a standing ovation at Tallaght Stadium.
It's a career that yielded 58 international caps for the 35-year-old, as well as adventures in the Irish domestic scene and far beyond.
But part of her legacy will always be tied to the achievement of being nominated for the 2014 FIFA Puskas Award for best goal of the year worldwide.
That sensational goal for Peamount United in October 2013 was scored in front of a crowd of just 95 people at Wexford's Ferrycarrig Park but was seen by millions more afterwards once it went viral.
The resulting FIFA nomination made her a household name overnight but also put a spotlight on women's football in Ireland a decade before the exploits of the side that went on to play at last year's World Cup in Australia.
Her former Ireland team-mate Méabh De Búrca vividly recalls the sense of reflected glory that emanated from Zambra's feat.
"It was great to see her kind of grow. Obviously, it's hard not to talk about the Puskas goal when you do reference Steph's career because it really was the stepping stone to a lot of positive things in women's football in Ireland. It really brought it on.
"Because even personally, a lot of people didn't even know the Irish team existed really until they heard about Steph and then I'd be asked on the street, 'Do you play with Steph?', rather than, 'Do you play on the Irish team?'.
"She really became an icon for young girls, the first really of our time. I remember walking through the airport and it was the first time any of us had been stopped for a selfie - it was when Steph got stopped.
"Obviously that's going to be happening all the time (for the current Ireland team) but it shows where it came from.
"She was a great team-mate when I played with her; tough opponent when I played against her. We had many a battle in the WNL days as it was back then.
"But a really, really great career and I'm sure she's going to stick around the game and it'll be exciting to see what's in store for her in the next chapter."
Another aspect that adds to her legacy was her involvement in the 2017 press conference when a group of contemporary Ireland players lifted the lid on the conditions that they had been enduring.
"It was hugely important and the standards then increased as well and that was the main goal just to have that increase in standards which did allow the standard of football to increase," De Búrca, who won her final Ireland cap the same year.
"In turn the qualification for the World Cup was off the back of that as well and it really was that stepping stone that was needed just to drive the game forward and she'll have a lasting legacy that's for sure."
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
