Martin O'Neill has hailed the tactical genius of Billy Bingham, comparing him to the likes of Pep Guardiola at a memorial service for the late former Northern Ireland manager.
Bingham's former international captain was one of the speakers at the service at St Anne's Cathedral in Belfast on Wednesday ahead of the first anniversary of his passing.
Current NI manager Michael O'Neill was present along with other players who played under Bingham including Jimmy Nicholl, Bryan Hamilton and Gerry Armstrong.
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O'Neill delivered a personal tribute to Bingham recalling the "monumental decision" he took during the height of the Troubles to appoint the former Celtic boss as the first Catholic captain of Northern Ireland after he became manager of his country for a second time in 1980.
"Billy met up with me asking if I would be the captain of the team, which would be a monumental decision as I was an Irish Catholic and the first to captain Northern Ireland," said O'Neill.
"I was very concerned about it as the Troubles were rife in 1980.
"He did say he would take a bit of flack for it but he said things would change when we won a few games.
"It was a big thing for me because there were a number of other quality candidates he could have chosen.
"He had a real strength of character, really strong, opinionated about things, but once he laid it down he followed it through."
Bingham's return heralded an unprecedented period of success for Northern Ireland as they qualified for two World Cup finals in 1982 and 1986, beating Spain in their own backyard and also won two British Championships.
"He had a bunch of players who were pretty decent but Billy was inspirational in the sense of his driving will to win," continued O'Neill.
"We had good managers before, but with the players we had we really should have been doing better.
"He had a philosophy that was simple - play to your strengths and hide your weaknesses.
"He was as tactically shrewd as any coach I've ever worked with.
"He would be up there today with the likes of Guardiola and all these other great managers you talk about. Billy Bingham was a class apart.
"I have the utmost regard for what I would consider was one of the great managers of the game.
"I've a lot to thank him for, not just for making me captain of a great bunch of players.
"1982 was an unforgettable time for me as captain but Billy took NI back to the World Cup again in '86 as well as winning a couple of British Championships, so that era is prized by us all.
"In the film Casablanca when Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman leave at the end they share the line 'We'll always have Paris!'.
"I can say thanks to Billy I'll always have Valencia."
Bingham passed away last year aged 90, and in his own tribute his son David said he would have been “incredibly proud” of the turnout in his honour.
The Dean of Belfast, Rev Stephen Forde, who led the memorial service, added: “Today we gather to celebrate a footballing giant in the land where giants are part of our folklore.”
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