Here's to David Meyler, the Republic of Ireland captain who's also a great FIFA YouTuber
Yes lads!
Last night Hull City midfielder David Meyler captained the Republic of Ireland in their 0-1 victory over Wales. He is on the brink of taking Ireland to the 2018 World Cup in Russia. He is already a national hero.
It turns out, he's also a bit of a hero in the FIFA community.
Sandwiched between training sessions, Meyler plays FIFA on YouTube and Twitch. He's actually pretty popular, with 231,000 subscribers on YouTube. He regularly opens FIFA Ultimate Team packs and even gets stuck in the hardcore Weekend League tournament.
Meyler is a popular figure in the FIFA community for having a laugh (his catchphrase is "yes lads!"), playing FIFA from a unique perspective and for trying to win online as Hull. Unlike most footballers, Meyler has a confident personality that comes across well on camera. It helps that like most Irishmen, he's also got the gift of the gab.
Here's a video of Meyler packing himself in FIFA. It's safe to say he enjoyed the moment.
Here's game one in his road to glory with Hull City series.
Here's a video where Meyler builds a team of players he's played against over the years in real life. You can't get that from most FIFA YouTubers.
Football fans may remember Meyler as being the person then Newcastle manager Alan Pardew headbutted on the touchline back in March 2014. Meyler shunned calls for Pardew to be sacked for the bizarre incident, instead selecting him as his FUT team's manager after a fan vote. Yes lads!
Meyler regularly plays all 40 games of the Weekend League, which sounds like a lot but let's be honest, it's probably a healthier alternative to the "I'm a footballer with the afternoon to myself every day so let's try a spot of gambling" trap.
Meyler's Twitter feed is a curious combination of excitement about playing real life football and excitement about playing virtual football. One tweet celebrating victory with Ireland is followed by a tweet about playing FIFA on YouTube.
So here's to you, David Meyler. You're better than all of us at real football and probably better than all of us at FIFA, too.
Good luck in the playoff!