After Chelsea flew across the continent to Kazakhstan to defeat Astana in the UEFA Conference League, their next guests at Stamford Bridge in the same competition have a much shorter and more straightforward commute.
Shamrock Rovers, who play in the Republic of Ireland’s League of Ireland, will be aiming to upset Enzo Maresca’s in-form Blues on Thursday.
But for those of you not intimately familiar with the club, outside of perhaps seeing them on EA Sports FC or Football Manager video games, here’s a primer on their rich history.
Who are Shamrock Rovers?
Based in Tallaght, South Dublin, Shamrock Rovers are recognised as being founded in 1899, marking 125 years of football as of 2024.
They are the most successful football team in the country’s history, with a record 21 league titles and a record 25 domestic cup wins.
Shamrock also boast a strong link to the country’s international football heritage, with 64 players supplied to the Republic of Ireland senior squad, more than any other League of Ireland club.
Do they wear Celtic’s ‘hoops’ shirts?
They do indeed share the green-and-white horizontal striped home kits with Glasgow Celtic. It remains to be seen whether they wear that or their away kit at Chelsea, but their own home kit doesn’t really provide a clash with the hosts’ all-blue apparel.
MORE: All the latest EPL club news | Team-by-team Premier League schedule for 2024/25 | Latest Premier League top scorer rankings
Shamrock Rovers formation, early history
The foundation of Shamrock Rovers is disputed amongst supporters of the club. No official documentation of the era exists.
For many years the earliest known mention of the club in the newspaper archives at the National Library of Ireland came from 1901 and an article in the club programme from 28 December 1941 claims that the club was founded in this year.
Research by the Shamrock Rovers Heritage Trust uncovered a very brief report in the Evening Herald from April 1899 on a match between Shamrock Rovers and Rosemount, which has established that the club was in existence from at least that time.
The only two certainties about the origins of the club in relation to what year they were formed are the facts that, Rovers played only exhibition games for the first two years of their existence and the club registered with the Leinster Football Association in 1901.
Essentially, the dispute is over whether the two years of exhibition games were played before or after the registration.
(h/t Wikipedia)
Shamrock Rovers record vs. English teams
Shamrock Rovers have previously faced two English clubs over four competitive fixtures, with the game at Chelsea set to make it five games and three teams.
In 1957/58, Manchester United conquered the Irish side over two legs in the first round of the European Cup. United hammered Rovers 6-0 in Dublin before beating them again at home, 3-2.
And more recently, some fans will recall Shamrock being grouped with Tottenham Hotspur in the 2011/12 Europa League.
Spurs won both matches, 4-0 away and 3-1 at home, but both sides failed to make the knockouts regardless as PAOK of Greece and Rubin Kazan of Russia finished in the group’s top two spots.
MORE: Chelsea vs. Shamrock Rovers team news, predicted XIs, more
