ROBBIE'S ROYAL FAMILY

‘Baggio' Brennan on his infamous nickname and close bond with Meath

- BY KARL O'KANE

'BAGGIO' is leading from the front, having long since recovered from his penalty miss.

Plenty of his current Meath GAA players may not know anything of the Italian legend who missed a vital spot kick in the 1994 World Cup final penalty shoot out, with Brazil winning 3-2.

Some of them may not even have known much about Kilmacud All-Ireland-winning boss Brennan himself when he came on board, but they've very aware of him now after the shock Championship victories over Dublin, Kerry and Galway.

Brennan's nickname - in typically blunt and cruel GAA fashion - is Baggio.

He (Baggio) missed a penalty in the World Cup for Italy and then I did the exact same for Kilmacud and it stuck," he says.

Brennan is a genial character, always with a smile on his face and it's a demeanour that has certainly fit in well with the Meath players.

He never pretends to have all the answers - and prefers not to spoon feed his players - but he clearly has plenty of solutions.

Sometimes the little things, the personal touches, are just as important as a big speech or some piece of coaching wizardry or tactical genius.