A one all draw with Serbia marked the beginning of Giovanni Trapattoni’s reign as new manager of the Republic of Ireland last week. Ger McCarthy looks back on the Croke Park encounter, the opening two months of new Irish manager’s reign and outlines what lies ahead for the boys in green in the coming months.
A late Andy Keogh volley earned the Republic of Ireland and debut manager Giovanni Trapattoni a deserved 1-1 draw at home to Serbia in Cork Park last Saturday night. The opening match of the Italian’s new regime failed to produce a much needed victory and Ireland have now failed to register a competitive win since defeating Denmark 4-0 in Aarhus back in August 2007. The new Irish manager announced an initial 40-man preliminary squad in April. This was eventually whittled down to 28 players ahead of a two-week warm-weather training camp in Portugal. Notable absentees from the squad included Shay Given, Lee Carsley, Kevin Kilbane, Steven Reid and Joey O’Brien through injury while John O'Shea and Richard Dunne each had prior club commitments. Robbie Keane's non-attendance was known well in advance although there was some confusion as to the actual reasons behind the Irish Captain's absence. Rumours of stag parties in Las Vegas proved false although the Spurs striker returned in time for the Serbian encounter but failed to clarify his whereabouts during the two week camp.
On the training pitch Trapattoni’s boundless energy and obvious enthusiasm appeared to rub off on the players, especially the newcomers who seemed to thoroughly enjoy the experience. “I know the famous players – I want to know the young players. And I will learn a lot about them over the next two weeks”. Ireland played two warm up games against lower league Portuguese opposition as part of their two week excursion. A disappointing 1-1 draw with Portimonese was followed by a flattering 3-1 victory over Lagos. Neither of the matches inspired much confidence in the media yet the performances of Glenn Whelan, Andy Keogh and Sean Scannell were encouraging. "His enthusiasm on the pitch is amazing, he has so much energy and that reflects on the players"- Robbie Keane. The Irish backroom staff worked their squad hard on the basics such as corner-kicks, free-kicks and throw-ins. "The first days there was a little bit of nervousness but every day my players improve, they have belief in themselves," noted the Italian. The most important element of the get-together was for Trapattoni to get the philosophy of how he wants to play across to his players. By the end of the fortnight the Italian stated “I'm satisfied that we have put in place the different foundations we need to challenge”.
KEOGH STRIKES
Trapattoni received a rapturous welcome from the home fans before his Croke Park debut last Saturday night. Expectations were high ahead of the first serious fixture since taking over the Irish job in which two new caps: Glenn Whelan and Damien Delaney were each handed their first international starts. The opening half proved a disappointment with neither side in the ascendancy. Ireland went close with a Robbie Keane effort that was hacked off the line but in truth the first 45 minutes proved largely forgettable. Ireland switched their formation to 4-3-3 with the introduction of Daryl Murphy for Keane in the second period. Trapattoni looked outraged at the concession of the opening goal with 20 minutes left and rightly so. Paul Mc Shane was the culprit for attempting to play offside but failing to legislate for the remainder of the Irish back four who were 10 yards behind him. Pantelic gave the returning Dean Kiely no chance with the simplest of finishes. It was a comical goal to concede and exactly the type of stupid defensive error Trapattoni must eradicate as soon as possible. On a more positive note the Irish fought back valiantly and netted a deserved equaliser right at the death. Damien Delany’s throw found the head of Murphy who flicked on for the impressive Andy Keogh to arrow an unstoppable volley high into the net. Trapattoni offered an honest assessment after the game: “The second half…I think we lost a little bit of concentration to concede the goal. We didn’t deserve to lose the game. It was a beautiful and good reaction by our team. I think that the team looked in order. It was important to have the mentality we showed and I hope and dream we can go far with that mentality.” Trapattoni has now clearly stated that Ireland will need to take something from every game irrespective of the opposition.
A LOOK AHEAD
The Italian’s confident performance in communicating with the Irish press and media over the past two months has proven a welcome contrast to the “I’m the Gaffer” mutterings of previous incumbent, Steve Staunton. The decision to invite Trapattoni and Tardelli to the televised Ford FAI Cup draw proved a master-stroke. Both Italians came across as genial characters with a genuine interest in the domestic scene. The reaction of the Irish bench to scoring a late equaliser on Saturday night was also significant. Marco Tardelli did his best impression of his 1982 World Cup winning goal celebration by racing out to embrace his manager. A beaming Trapattoni waved a finger in the direction of his bench seemingly indicating that the genesis for Keogh’s set-piece equaliser came from the training pitch in Portugal. Even Liam Brady managed to crack a smile! If his new squad show half the energy and enthusiasm for success that the new Irish backroom staff obviously does then Ireland has every chance of improving in the coming months. What is vital to future success is adopting the winning mentality of the manager and transferring his philosophy into victories on the road to South Africa 2010.
Next on the agenda for the Republic of Ireland is another friendly international taking place in Craven Cottage against South American side, Colombia. After that The Republic will travel to Oslo on August the 20th to face Norway before the opening World Cup Qualifier against Georgia in Tbilisi next September. Stephen Ireland, Steve Finnan and Andy O’Brien are still missing from the current setup although Trapattoni remains confident that most if not all will return to international duty in the coming months. The 69 –year-old is correct in urging a note of caution to Irish fans ahead of the upcoming World Cup Qualifiers. "I am happy with how much progress has been made, but there is still room for a lot of improvement", he stressed while also reminding supporters "I am not God."
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Thursday, May 22, 2008
POIGINIANT CHAMPIONS
Manchester United have once again been crowned Champions of Europe following a late-night gripping encounter with Chelsea in Moscow. It was no great surprise that the destination of the Champions League trophy eventually came down to a penalty shoot-out but many fans will have been surprised by the quality of the 120 minutes beforehand.
United bossed the opening half and could have easily been 3-0 ahead after half an hour. Ronaldo capped a remarkable 42-goal season with a bullet header following excellent approach play by Wes Brown and Paul Scholes. The Red Devils failed to add to their tally despite a period of intense pressure with Carlos Tevez and Michael Carrick each going close. Chelsea showed their undoubted resilience by grabbing an equaliser shortly before half time with the tireless Lampard firing home from close range.
The Londoners were a different side in the second period and overran United in midfield with Lampard, and Ballack taking control in the centre of the park. Didier Drogba was having an ineffectual evening thanks to the brilliance of Vidic but demonstrated his class by thumping the Manchester upright with a spectacular 25 yard effort. The game became stretched going into the final 15 minutes with both sides visibly tiring (to be fair it was 1am Russian time). Tempers became frayed near the end and Drogba received his marching orders after a silly tap across the face of Vidic. Despite their numerical disadvantage Chelsea had the best chance of sealing victory when Lampard rattled the United crossbar late on. Giggs could well have grabbed an extra-time winner were it not for the superb defending of John Terry.
The Chelsea captain would play the pivotal role in the dreaded penalty shoot-out. Terry strode forward for the 10th and final spot-kick knowing a goal would secure Champions League glory for his side. Alas, the England defender either slipped or made a hash of his run-up and for the third time that night the upright came to the rescue of Manchester United. Memories of 1999 came flooding back when Bayern Munich absolutely pummelled the United defence with the aid of a 1-0 cushion only to hit post, crossbar and side-netting. United bounced back to score twice in injury time and snatch the most dramatic European Cup final victory in history. RTE panellist, John Giles remarked during extra-time that despite Chelsea's dominance, United's name may well be on the trophy. How right he was and when Edwin Van Der Sar flung himself to his right to deny Anelka in sudden death, the European Cup was set for its third visit to Old Trafford.
Sir Alex Ferguson looked more relieved than happy at the final whistle. Winning 31 trophies in his time as a manager with both Aberdeen and Man United cements his position in the pantheon of best British managers of all time. In my opinion his greatest achievement is putting together three different teams in his time at Old Trafford and being consistently successful with each side. Who knows, if the cap on foreign players hadn’t been in existence during the mid-90’s United may well have won at least another two Champions Leagues.
It was fitting that Sir Bobby Charlton was present to lead the United squad up to receive the trophy from Michel Platini, adding a touching poignancy to the celebrations. The Old Trafford club are still defined by that horrible crash that took the lives of so many wonderful footballers on a Munich runway 50 years ago.
The current manager and squad look set to honour the memories of that team by continuing their dominance of both the domestic and European game for many years to come.
United bossed the opening half and could have easily been 3-0 ahead after half an hour. Ronaldo capped a remarkable 42-goal season with a bullet header following excellent approach play by Wes Brown and Paul Scholes. The Red Devils failed to add to their tally despite a period of intense pressure with Carlos Tevez and Michael Carrick each going close. Chelsea showed their undoubted resilience by grabbing an equaliser shortly before half time with the tireless Lampard firing home from close range.
The Londoners were a different side in the second period and overran United in midfield with Lampard, and Ballack taking control in the centre of the park. Didier Drogba was having an ineffectual evening thanks to the brilliance of Vidic but demonstrated his class by thumping the Manchester upright with a spectacular 25 yard effort. The game became stretched going into the final 15 minutes with both sides visibly tiring (to be fair it was 1am Russian time). Tempers became frayed near the end and Drogba received his marching orders after a silly tap across the face of Vidic. Despite their numerical disadvantage Chelsea had the best chance of sealing victory when Lampard rattled the United crossbar late on. Giggs could well have grabbed an extra-time winner were it not for the superb defending of John Terry.
The Chelsea captain would play the pivotal role in the dreaded penalty shoot-out. Terry strode forward for the 10th and final spot-kick knowing a goal would secure Champions League glory for his side. Alas, the England defender either slipped or made a hash of his run-up and for the third time that night the upright came to the rescue of Manchester United. Memories of 1999 came flooding back when Bayern Munich absolutely pummelled the United defence with the aid of a 1-0 cushion only to hit post, crossbar and side-netting. United bounced back to score twice in injury time and snatch the most dramatic European Cup final victory in history. RTE panellist, John Giles remarked during extra-time that despite Chelsea's dominance, United's name may well be on the trophy. How right he was and when Edwin Van Der Sar flung himself to his right to deny Anelka in sudden death, the European Cup was set for its third visit to Old Trafford.
Sir Alex Ferguson looked more relieved than happy at the final whistle. Winning 31 trophies in his time as a manager with both Aberdeen and Man United cements his position in the pantheon of best British managers of all time. In my opinion his greatest achievement is putting together three different teams in his time at Old Trafford and being consistently successful with each side. Who knows, if the cap on foreign players hadn’t been in existence during the mid-90’s United may well have won at least another two Champions Leagues.
It was fitting that Sir Bobby Charlton was present to lead the United squad up to receive the trophy from Michel Platini, adding a touching poignancy to the celebrations. The Old Trafford club are still defined by that horrible crash that took the lives of so many wonderful footballers on a Munich runway 50 years ago.
The current manager and squad look set to honour the memories of that team by continuing their dominance of both the domestic and European game for many years to come.
Thursday, May 08, 2008
Domestic Bliss?
Giovanni Trapattoni’s decision to travel to the North next Tuesday to watch Pat Fenlon's Irish Under-23 side in action against their northern counterparts is a welcome development for Irish football. Trapattoni and Marco Tardelli will have a chance to scan an eye over the current cream of the crop of Irish domestic football with a squad composed completely of Eircom League players.
Hopefully the likes of Dave Mooney from Cork City and Mark Quigley from St. Pat’s will put in decent performances and demonstrate the undoubted talent currently plying their trade in the Eircom League. It is unlikely that most of the players on view would have the sufficient quality necessary to elevate themselves to the full international setup. But if stories circulating about the potential legion of withdrawals from the upcoming training camp in the Algarve are to be believed then it is quite possible one or maybe two domestic players could be called upon.
These are exciting days for Irish soccer. A new management team with an experienced and successful manager at the helm has re-ignited the public’s hopes of possibly qualifying for the World cup in South Africa in 2010. Trapattoni needs to build on the feel-good factor surrounding Irish football. A couple of encouraging performances in the upcoming friendlies against Serbia and Colombia will provide the Italian with the foundations to build for a successful World Cup qualifying campaign.
Hopefully the likes of Dave Mooney from Cork City and Mark Quigley from St. Pat’s will put in decent performances and demonstrate the undoubted talent currently plying their trade in the Eircom League. It is unlikely that most of the players on view would have the sufficient quality necessary to elevate themselves to the full international setup. But if stories circulating about the potential legion of withdrawals from the upcoming training camp in the Algarve are to be believed then it is quite possible one or maybe two domestic players could be called upon.
These are exciting days for Irish soccer. A new management team with an experienced and successful manager at the helm has re-ignited the public’s hopes of possibly qualifying for the World cup in South Africa in 2010. Trapattoni needs to build on the feel-good factor surrounding Irish football. A couple of encouraging performances in the upcoming friendlies against Serbia and Colombia will provide the Italian with the foundations to build for a successful World Cup qualifying campaign.
When Irish Eyes Aren't Smiling
Sunderland Clearout the Irish
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The potential clearout of Republic of Ireland internationals from the Sunderland first team in the upcoming months is a disappointing if hardly surprising development. The Irish players in question could find themselves out of contract and without a club with the World Cup Qualifiers fast approaching.
It’s hardly the ideal preparation for Giovanni Trapattoni either if a large portion of his probable squad will be unsure of their futures ahead of vital friendlies and a training camp in the coming weeks. The current Irish squad needs as many players as possible regularly playing in the Premier League if we are to have any hope of making South Africa in 2010.
Paul Mc Shane, Anthony Stokes and Liam Miller are three individuals who could and should have done better this season with the Black Cats. Roy Keane is correct in his assessment that too many of his buys have underperformed but from an Irish point of view it is going hinder the preparations of the new manager and his staff if selected international players are not 100% focused in the coming months.
Under17’s lose two on the bounce
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The Republic of Ireland suffered their second successive defeat in the UEFA U-17 Championships campaign in Turkey yesterday when Switzerland triumphed 1-0 following an unfortunate Gavin Gunning own goal.
Manager Sean McCaffery and his players should still take heart from the Ireland have been competitive in each of their game in what has undoubtedly been a disappointing campaign thus far. The opening Group defeat to France and now the 1-0 loss at the hands of the Swiss means the Irish will be travelling home from Turkey earlier than expected.
I can’t help thinking the 10th year anniversary of Brian Kerr’s successful European campaign and its increased media coverage might have had an adverse effect on the squad. McCaffrey is an excellent manager and will no doubt continue to nurture what is a refreshingly talented age group containing quality players such as Celtic’s Richard Towell, Man United’s Robbie Brady and Ipswich’s Paul Murphy too name but a few.
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The potential clearout of Republic of Ireland internationals from the Sunderland first team in the upcoming months is a disappointing if hardly surprising development. The Irish players in question could find themselves out of contract and without a club with the World Cup Qualifiers fast approaching.
It’s hardly the ideal preparation for Giovanni Trapattoni either if a large portion of his probable squad will be unsure of their futures ahead of vital friendlies and a training camp in the coming weeks. The current Irish squad needs as many players as possible regularly playing in the Premier League if we are to have any hope of making South Africa in 2010.
Paul Mc Shane, Anthony Stokes and Liam Miller are three individuals who could and should have done better this season with the Black Cats. Roy Keane is correct in his assessment that too many of his buys have underperformed but from an Irish point of view it is going hinder the preparations of the new manager and his staff if selected international players are not 100% focused in the coming months.
Under17’s lose two on the bounce
--------------------------------
The Republic of Ireland suffered their second successive defeat in the UEFA U-17 Championships campaign in Turkey yesterday when Switzerland triumphed 1-0 following an unfortunate Gavin Gunning own goal.
Manager Sean McCaffery and his players should still take heart from the Ireland have been competitive in each of their game in what has undoubtedly been a disappointing campaign thus far. The opening Group defeat to France and now the 1-0 loss at the hands of the Swiss means the Irish will be travelling home from Turkey earlier than expected.
I can’t help thinking the 10th year anniversary of Brian Kerr’s successful European campaign and its increased media coverage might have had an adverse effect on the squad. McCaffrey is an excellent manager and will no doubt continue to nurture what is a refreshingly talented age group containing quality players such as Celtic’s Richard Towell, Man United’s Robbie Brady and Ipswich’s Paul Murphy too name but a few.
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