Irish Hopes Rest on Trapattoni
Veteran Italian Coach Key to Ireland's World Cup Dreams
Sep 4, 2008 Christopher O'Donnell
The tenure of Jack Charlton brought respectability to the Irish program and fond memories to the fans, who now hope the wise Italian can bring back those good times. With that being said, the failure to make any major tournament in six years has confidence at an all-time low. Can another outsider inspire a nation and get Ireland to the 2010 World Cup?
Emerald Isle Woes
The second-round exit in the 2002 World Cup seems like an eternity after two futile runs for the European Championship and another for the 2006 World Cup. The low point hit when the Irish faithful jeered the team and coach Steve Staunton after the last qualification match against Cyprus during the Euro 2008 campaign.
Many looked at the inexperienced Staunton as a sad attempt to pawn off a loyal soldier as a man who could guide the Irish through the tricky waters of making a major tournament. The one-time defender exited as a cheap fix to a deeper problem and made the Irish Federation look like a Mickey Mouse operation.
Trapattoni to the Rescue
The bad publicity greased the rails for the arrival of Trapattoni or "Trap" as he is sometimes known. The 68-year old has coached the Italian National Team and has won titles on the domestic front with Juventus (six times), Inter Milan, Bayern Munich, Benfica and Red Bull Salzburg. He has also captured a European Cup in 1985, a UEFA Super Cup, a Cup Winners' Cup and three UEFA Cups on the continental level.
While critics of Trapattoni feel his sides can be too defensive or cautious and not inventive enough, his supporters feel the Italian can instill the proper organization and belief into an Irish team that will take any edge it can possibly get. After all, Charlton was able to galvanise a country and get the Irish youth to care about the sport in a more serious way, so why can't Trap do the same?
Irish Get Early Results
A late goal to earn a draw with Serbia and a 1-0 victory over Colombia at Fulham's Craven Cottage in June gave Trapattoni a look at an array of players, while the recent 1-1 stalemate with Norway in Oslo a few weeks ago gave a clearer indication of what players the manager will choose in future matches.
Even with the switch to a foreign coach, players like Robbie Keane, Richard Dunne and Shay Given are still the usual suspects the squad relies on. A further boost was given to the cause when Trapattoni convinced defender Steve Finnan to come out of retirement and play for his country again.
Dates With Georgia and Montenegro
The first major test will come in the form of an away World Cup qualifiers against Georgia on September 6 and Montenegro on September 10. With the conflict between Russia and Georgia, the Georgia match has been moved to Mainz, Germany after FIFA believed the situation to be too unsafe.
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