Caddell could retire on cup final high... again

Few players in world football get to bow out of the game with a cup final win in their last-ever match - but Declan Caddell could be about to do it twice. Well, sort of.

Last year's dramatic final, which the Crues won with a last-gasp winner, was supposed to be the fairytale ending to a stellar Irish league career for Caddell, with the then 34-year-old retiring afterwards to take up a role as head of Crusaders' Academy.

And he did retire, as planned, but only for six months. And now, a further six months on from an unlikely return to playing, he is preparing for what could well be a somewhat unique - very rare, at least - repeat of his cup final swansong.

• All you need to know about the Irish Cup final

It all stems from a rather casual promise he gave to Crusaders manager Stephen Baxter during the initial conversation about his - let's call it first - retirement.

"I went to see him [Baxter] three or four months before the end of last season to tell him I planned to retire at the end of the campaign to focus on my Academy role," Caddell explained.

"He told me he had registered as a player when he went into management and asked me to do the same 'just in case' he ever needed me. I'd a year left on my contract and agreed to do it, but never for a second thought I'd be required.

"To be honest, it was it was more to keep the manager happy while telling him that I was stepping away. So once last season's Irish Cup final was over, that was properly me [retired]. I didn't lift a leg for six months. I literally did nothing."

Caddell (left) won his first Irish Cup with Crusaders in 2009

Cue an injury crisis at Seaview in late November and what became a whirlwind return to action - against then champions Linfield, no less - for a player who had won three league titles, three Irish Cups and the Setanta Sports Cup in over 500 appearances for the north Belfast outfit.

The request from Baxter came on the Tuesday, he trained for the first time in six months on the Thursday night and found himself coming off the bench at Windsor Park just half an hour into the game on the Saturday.

Many Irish League supporters appreciated the comic value of the always-fully-committed Caddell getting booked within seven minutes of coming on for a late tackle on Blues captain Jamie Mulgrew.

"The boys [his Crues team-mates] were winding me up afterwards, I think everybody was," he joked.

"The lads don't let me forget it. I thought it would only last a week or two but they are still at it."

Semi-final wonder goal and airport dash to game

Caddell said he enjoyed spending more time with his young family after his first retirement

And Caddell is "still at it" when it comes to playing, having remained a full part of the Crusaders squad since that high-profile return, despite the agreement with Baxter having only been for a few weeks.

"Stevie has hung on to me," Caddell continued. "I think that was maybe always in his plans. He's a smart, shrewd man and probably knew he could get me to where I was last season and use me."

That shrewdness was never more evident than when Caddell came off the bench to score a fantastic last-minute winner with his first touch in the Crues' dramatic Irish Cup semi-final victory over Dungannon Swifts.

It added further to the fairtytale feel around Caddell's career rebirth, even if his team-mates didn't quite give him the credit such a quality lob deserved.

"That was the most important goal I've scored in my career," he said. "When I stepped away from the game I thought I'd never experience anything like that again.

"Although, the boys were saying it was good for me to shoot first time as my second touch is usually a tackle."

As happy as he has been to continue his comeback, Caddell was not willing to miss out on a few holidays he had already pre-booked with his partner and young family - meaning an unexpected dash home to make their meeting with Larne at Seaview a few weeks ago.

"We had a nightmare with cancelled flights, were meant to come home on the Wednesday but didn't get home until the Friday afternoon," he explained.

"It was literally a case of straight back to the house, get my gear and head to Seaview for the match against Larne that night. BJ [Burns] got sent off early on and Stevie threw me on before half-time."

Another season 'very unlikely' for stalwart

Caddell spoke of the respect he has for long-term Crusaders boss Baxter

Asked if Sunday's cup final will definitely be his final match as a player, the ever-professional Caddell said he will not have any conversations with the club or with his partner about his future until after the match - but said another season is "very unlikely".

"With the build-up to the final, I'm just concentrating on that. I'm putting all my efforts into that, then we will see where it goes," he continued.

"I probably won't be playing next year. It's been difficult trying to juggle different jobs and when I took those six months off and spent time with the family, it was special. You don't get that time back."

And for a man who was a constant presence in the Crusaders engine room before that first 'retirement', he now has a refreshing approach to the question of whether he could make Baxter's cup final starting team.

"If I was the manager, I wouldn't play me, I'd play other players. That is naturally just the way I think. It's a team game and we have always made it clear at Crusaders that we are all in it together. I think of the club as a whole rather than as an individual.

"If he does start me I will give him 100% and Stevie knows that he will always get that from me. It is the same if I come off the bench."

Having completed a hat-trick of Irish Cup successes with the Crues last May, Caddell is hugely excited about the prospect of adding a fourth winners' medal to his collection - but stressed the threat he believes Ballymena will pose.

"It would be unbelievable. When I thought it was my last one last year, I actually took the time to take it in and enjoyed every minute of it, which is something I didn't do in the past.

"The older you get, when you know your days are numbered, you appreciate things a lot more. I feel very privileged to have bowed out last year with the win and to now have the opportunity to do it again."