Rise and rise of John of all trades

Real Madrid v Man United: O'Shea unruffled by his meteoric season as a real toiler aims to be main man of Spain

John O'Shea, professional footballer for Manchester United and the Republic of Ireland, believes himself to be "a normal person doing an extraordinary job''. Nowhere is the job further detached from the ordinary than at Old Trafford, as the six-monthly financial figures released last week revealed: turnover soaring to £92.6m, estimated number of supporters worldwide 50 million and climbing as new markets are explored in the Far East and America.

It is greatly to the credit of those who have nurtured the Irish defender over the past 22 years that in those circumstances he remains such a level-headed young man, a quality that is particularly valuable amid what Sir Alex Ferguson describes as the most demanding sequence of games in all his time at the club.

A renewal of old rivalries at home and abroad, with Liver-pool yesterday, then Real Madrid on Tuesday and again in a fortnight's time, followed by critical championship contests at Newcastle and Arsenal – "amazing'', Ferguson says. Daunting as the list looks, and tricky as it is to win a place in the team now that everyone bar Juan Sebastian Veron is fit, O'Shea's eyes are smiling at the prospect. Every season since arriving from Waterford as a 17-year-old he has set himself targets, and just being in contention to play in a Champions' League quarter-final at the Bernabeu after a run of first-team games puts him ahead of schedule.

In the summer of 1998 the aim was simply to establish himself in United's youth team. He had joined them after playing for Ireland's winning European Under-16 Championship side and almost heading down a different, if equally well-trodden, route: "I almost signed for Celtic, and was so close that in the TV coverage of the European final, the commentator said I had done," he says. "But then United came in.

"There were two factors in choosing them: firstly the proven fact that United's youth set-up was the best. If you are good enough you get a chance, and if you aren't, so many go on to have careers elsewhere. There was also the fact that the Premiership is the place to play.''

Liverpool, his boyhood favourites, and Arsenal had also been keen on the strapping young centre-half blessed with both skill and strength. But they overplayed their hand by demanding his presence for youth matches every weekend in his last year at school. United played a waiting game and won in the end, offering him the chance to join as a second-year YTS student.

Youth-team and then reserve-team places successfully achieved, with the bonus of a Worthington Cup debut at Aston Villa, aged 18, the next step in the process of education was a toughening-up period in the contrasting surroundings of Bournemouth and Antwerp: "The Nationwide League was a whole new ball game, the physical aspect of it, but I had a great time at Bournemouth. It was all a bit different from here and really opened my eyes. Antwerp was more a case of whether I could play at a higher level against some very good players – my second game there, I found myself up against Jan Koller and Tomas Radzinski.''

The Irish, of course, had long been convinced of his ability, and a first international cap, at home to Croatia, arrived before a Premiership debut, as a substitute at Liver-pool. Mick McCarthy said that once in United's first team, he would have no trouble playing for Ireland, but despite having a powerful advocate in fellow countryman Roy Keane (perhaps it counted against him), O'Shea found the World Cup coming round a few months too soon.

Established at left-back under McCarthy's successor, Brian Kerr, he looks for all the world a future international captain, probably in his more natural position of centre-half. Matt Holland, an Irish colleague, says of him: "He's so composed and assured he looks as though he could play anywhere on the field.''

At club level, it is a matter of playing where he can, when he can. "I was a right-back as a young kid, then played central midfield and went to centre-back about two seasons before coming to United," he says. "Until this season I had never played left-back at all."

For now, a place in the 18 on Tuesday will suffice. "It's the pick of the draw, isn't it, Real against United. You look at the players on show and just hope it turns out to be a great occasion and that the teams don't cancel each other out. Obviously, the other lads experienced it before against Madrid and got a great result there, 0-0, but lost at home. This time we definitely have to score over there.''

European competition has been another important part of his footballing development: "Technique-wise and tempo-wise it's very different. In the Champions' League, possession of the ball is so vital. With the quality teams you play against, they don't give the ball back to you too often."

With United still alive in the Champions' League and the Premiership, O'Shea has set an updated ambition for this season: "Some silverware, of the winning kind, because the Worthington Cup final was a big disappointment.'' Should there be nothing else to polish in the close season, he still comes across as the sort of young man who would find time to count a few blessings, especially after talking to friends who have already dropped out along Sir Matt Busby Way.

"I am still in contact with a couple of lads who don't play any more at all. It seems amazing they can't get another team, but they felt they failed and couldn't pick themselves up. I was always aware of the possibility of failing and you worry about injuries, but I've tried to keep positive.''

And what else might he have done with his life? "I would probably have looked at something on the economic side. That was my best subject at school. Yeah, it's a very strange existence, this, but I am just a normal person doing an extraordinary job.'' For the moment at least, extraordinarily well.