‘I’ll remember it for the rest of my life’: the footballers whose biggest games come before their league begins

Larne defender Dan Bent has played in two European competitions this summer and now faces a former team in a Conference League tie that could earn vital funds for his club By Playing in the Shadows Premier League footballers are gearing up for the start of the season, but some of their fellow professionals in smaller leagues across Europe have been going all summer – even those who play a winter campaign. Some played the biggest games of their lives when the rest of us were watching the World…