The Italian's Job

Finally, after an exhausting and sometimes frustrating 112 day search, Giovanni Trapattoni, seven-time Serie A winner and former Italy coach, has been appointed as the new manager of the Republic of Ireland football team.

The 68-year-old Italian will take up his new position once his contract with Austrian club Red Bull Salzburg expires at the end of May. There are no guarantees with any new appointment but at least the FAI now have an experienced manager with years of success at European level in the hot seat. The days of 'taking a chance' on the likes of Brian Kerr and Steve Staunton have been replaced with a vastly experienced manager who Irish fans can justifiably hope will make us more organised, harder to beat and hopefully, World Cup qualifiers. Despite having one of the most experienced CV’s in European football, Trapattoni’s name didn’t appear as a potential candidate for the Irish job until well into the selection process.



GOOD THINGS COME TO THOSE…
“When I coached at Bayern Munich I was trying to change their mindset but was met with resistance. You can't change a mentality in three months. I wanted to get them thinking differently on a tactical level" - Giovanni Trapattoni.

The much maligned FAI Chief Executive, John Delaney, deserves huge credit for overseeing the appointment of one of the most respected coaches in Europe. Delaney was rightly chastised for previously giving the Irish job to the vastly in-experienced Steve Staunton. This time around he announced the formation of a three-man selection panel (Ray Houghton, Don Givens and Don Howe) to source a new manager. The difference this time was Delaney would not be a direct influence on the eventual selection, merely the person who ratified the panel's final recommendation. For many months names such as Gerard Houllier, Graeme Souness, Paul Jewell, Billy Davies, and Terry Venables hit the headlines as likely candidates for the new job. The FAI, to their credit, refused to bow to intense media pressure for a quick appointment. The board was rewarded for their patience when news broke of the former AC Milan, Juventus, Inter and Bayern Munich manager’s interest in taking the job. Once Trapattoni’s name was mentioned as a potential candidate it meant the FAI had ‘raised the bar’ in terms of quality and experience. The next challenge facing the FAI in obtaining such an experienced manager was meeting the inevitable higher wage demands. Enter billionaire Businessman, Denis O’Brien.



LOADS OF LIRA
John Delaney revealed the FAI had accepted an offer from Denis O’Brien to pay 50% of Giovanni Trapattoni’s salary as Irish manager at the press conference in the new FAI headquarters in Abbotstown last week. The donation (believed to be in the region of €1.25million) from the Irish billionaire provoked a huge debate on the national airwaves and mainstream media. It was revealed that O’Brien had written to the FAI the previous October, shortly before the exit of Steve Staunton, offering financial assistance to the association. It was an offer the FAI simply couldn't refuse as it helped to raise the bar in terms of the calibre of manager they could hope to attract to the managerial position.

The Chief Executive went to great lengths to stress that Mr. O’Brien did not want to influence any decision and just wanted to make it easier for the FAI to put up the type of package that would attract a top-class manager. His offer was put to the Board of Management in November and accepted, once it was made clear that he would have no interference or influence on the process.

At face value, this is a magnificent gesture from O’Brien, as it no doubt paved the way for the FAI to ratify Trapattoni’s eventual appointment. One possible issue with the ‘no-strings’ donation has been suggested in relation to the Association’s current sponsorship deal with Eircom which is due to expire shortly. Denis O’Brien is heavily involved with rival mobile-phone company, 02, so it will be interesting to see whom the FAI turns to in their future sponsorship deal(s).



GREAT EXPECTATIONS
"I always say that in addition to being a coach, I'm also a priest. I go into each player's room, tell them if they have been picked or they haven’t been picked and explain the reasons behind my decision. I talk and explain. It's a bit like confession."

The words of Giovanni Trapattoni, giving an insight into the type of man-management skills the Irish players can look forward to in the next two years. The Italian’s coaching will certainly mean a more organised defensive approach to matches and hopefully an end to the Republic’s poor International away record. Expect five man midfields with a lone striker to form the backbone of the new Trapattoni tactical approach. Many Irish players and fans may not be enamoured with this new defensive formation but would do well to heed how the Italian has previously dealt with criticism of his formations. While Trapattoni was in charge of the German Bundesliga outfit, VfB Stuttgart, his cautious defensive methods did not go down well with some of the Stuttgart squad. Two players came out and openly criticised their coach’s defensive tactics; they were immediately dropped. Outspoken internationals such as Stephen Hunt may well find himself in trouble if his recent penchant for outbursts is anything to go by.


"Ireland are not a second-rate team, they are supposed to be a first-rate team," insists Trapattoni. "Qualifying for the World Cup in 2010 will be hard, and playing against the Italian team will make me proud, but it should be possible for Ireland to come first." These are encouraging if hardly surprising words from the new Irish manager ahead of the upcoming World Cup qualifying campaign. Let's hope this appointment heralds the dawn of a new era and a return to the top-table of international football for the Republic. This may well turn out to be the Italian's final job in international or club football so what better way to sign off than guiding the Republic of Ireland to the 2010 World Cup finals.