Joe Allen: a tribute

Joe Allen retired from professional football on 3rd May. Iwan Williams looks back at the career of a Cymru legend

There was little attention given to Cymru’s friendly win over Estonia at Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli, in late May 2009.

This was a time when Cymru seemed destined to build for the future and miss out on major tournaments.

A low key friendly for John Toshack’s side with only four thousand in attendance. Little did we know then that it would mark the start of Joe Allen’s long and successful international career.

A ten minute debut cap that led to major tournaments, the respect of his teammates and opponents, t-shirts, banners, songs, beard tributes and sixteen years of fantastic service to the national team.

With short hair and a clean shaven face, Joe didn’t possess his superpowers back then.

He made his Swansea debut earlier as a 17 year old, a home defeat to Blackpool in May 2007. A loan move to Wrexham in 2008/09 resulted in two games and one goal. By 2008/09 he began playing regularly for Swansea in the Championship, with the season ending with his first senior Cymru cap.

And then his career got going, becoming a fixture in the Swansea side and earning plenty of caps and international experience under Gary Speed and Chris Coleman.

Euro 2016

The early caps and exposure to the harsh reality of international football (he played in the 6-1 defeat to Serbia in 2012) helped shape Joe for the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign, when he played an integral role in Cymru’s historic qualification. He was a Premier League player with Swansea in 2011/12, and remained in the EPL with Liverpool from 2012 to 2016, following manager Brendan Rodgers in a £15m deal.

Joe’s year with Cymru was 2016, like many others. He was outstanding in the Euros, making the UEFA team of the tournament. If Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey were the stars, then Joe was the anchor, the compass, the glue that held it all together.

He could speed up or slow down the tempo, pick the ball up from the defence and find Bale or Ramsey, his exquisite pass for Aaron’s goal against Russia being the perfect example.

His fitness and stamina levels were incredible, phenomenal workrate and he wouldn’t give the opposition a second. His desire to win back the ball, keep his side in possession and tactical awareness was something else.

And with his partner in crime Joe Ledley, a highly effective midfield unit in front of the defence. That both ended on 77 caps is remarkable.

They were all heroes that wonderful night in Lille, but Joe’s performance against Belgium in Lille was elite. No doubt that Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne still have nightmares about the bearded and long haired Joe, fully armed with his superpowers and determined to see Cymru through.

As mentioned by one fan in ‘Don’t Take Me Home’, “Two thirds of the Earth’s surface is covered by water. The rest is covered by Joe Allen”. How true.

Following the success in France, I fully expected Joe to move to a Sevilla, Monaco or Atalanta, a good move abroad following a very impactful Euros. But this never materialised, and to this day I’ll never understand how Joe spent six seasons with Stoke City post-Euros, four of them in the Championship.

His love for the quiet life away from the football, and his well-known affection for keeping chickens, must have been a factor.

At international level, the period following the Euros was just as good for Joe, with his two Cymru goals coming against Moldova and Austria in late 2016.

The latter, when Joe’s shot screamed into the net in Vienna, was a very special moment for the travelling Cymru fans. Targeted by the Republic of Ireland in the crucial qualifier in Cardiff in October 2017, Cymru’s hopes for the 2018 World Cup disappeared with Joe down the tunnel that night.

But there would be further success later on, qualifying for Euro 2020 under Ryan Giggs. The Covid pandemic and delaying the Euros by a year worked in Joe’s favour, as he suffered a ruptured achilles tendon in March 2020.

He returned for the Euros campaign the following summer, playing in all four games. And he played in that historic qualification game against Ukraine in the Cardiff rain in June 2022, a key part once again in Cymru’s success under Rob Page. He played against Iran and England in the disappointing World Cup campaign in Qatar, but like Bale and Ramsey, couldn’t impose himself on the games as he had done previously.

The return to Swansea in 2022 resulted in three more Championship seasons, but age and injuries limited his appearances. Having initially retired from international football after the World Cup, the announcement that Joe would return to the Cymru fold under Craig Bellamy in October 2024 brought smiles to the faces of Cymru supporters.

He would add three more caps to his tally, playing against Montenegro and Iceland in the Nations League, and then one final cap in March 2025 against North Macedonia. And that misplaced pass towards the end of the game in Skopje is a mere footnote.

Joe’s desire to get back on the ball led to David Brooks’ late equaliser. Rather than hide away, he stood tall. That says it all.

He inspired people in other ways. Joe’s commitment to Welsh language interviews was excellent, and by normalising Cymraeg and engaging with the media in Cymraeg on a regular basis, he has no doubt inspired the younger generation to embrace our language.

And as a Carmarthen born, Narberth raised and Ysgol y Preseli pupil, he has shown that boys and girls in rural Cymru can reach the top and have successful careers in professional sport: where you’re from isn’t a barrier.

Quiet, modest, humble, honest and hardworking: these are the words you associate with Joe Allen.

Having the spotlight fixed on some of his teammates suited him, and he very much allowed his football to do the talking. That he was made captain in his final game for Swansea (220 games and 11 goals in total), almost exactly eighteen years to the day since his debut, was a touching tribute.

Whilst Swansea fans were given the opportunity to give him a standing ovation, it’s a real shame that Cymru fans aren’t able to do the same against Liechtenstein in June. He deserved a proper send off, but football farewells rarely work out perfectly.

Joe retires with the respect, gratitude and admiration of so many in the game. Swansea, Wrexham, Liverpool and Stoke fans know all about Joe Allen. Cymru fans fully understand how pivotal Joe was in the success over the past decade. When the ABA of Aaron, Bale and Allen played, good things happened. No Allen, No Party: If you know, you know.

Following his playing days, Joe has so much to give. His wisdom and experience has already helped Josh Sheehan (a fellow bearded Westwalian), Jordan James, Ollie Cooper and Ethan Ampadu, and hopefully Joe’s guidance and insight can be passed on to the likes of Kai Andrews and Charlie Crew, Cymru’s future midfield generation.

Whatever he does, we wish him well. What service, what a player. 652 games: not bad. The “Welsh Xavi” or “Preseli Pirlo” was a joy to watch, and he’ll go down as one of the all-time Cymru greats.

Gimme Hope Joe Allen? He certainly did that, and then some. It’s been some journey. Diolch Joe.