Post by earl on May 2, 2008 15:36:02 GMT
Trapattoni spells out his mission to bring Ireland to the Irish
Giovanni Trapattoni has completed only two days as the Republic of Ireland's manager but already he is almost universally referred to as Il Capo. It is Italian for Gaffer and the much decorated Trapattoni has swiftly asserted his authority by hinting that Ireland are capable of becoming the "new Greece".
Under Otto Rehhagel of Germany, of course, Greece won the European Championship in 2004 but emulating such a feat would be some achievement for a Republic side who have failed to qualify for the last three major tournaments. Moreover before mounting a realistic challenge for honours - and qualifying for the World Cup in South Africa would be a start - Trapattoni must get to grips with the complexities of the Ireland question: that is Stephen Ireland and whether or not he can coax the richly talented but chronically immature Manchester City midfielder back into the fold.
Tellingly a high percentage of the questions in Dublin yesterday concerned the player who was anxious to leave the national squad between back-to-back matches and became infamous for claiming that first one and then another grandmother had died when both were very much alive. When asked how he would handle Ireland, the 69-year-old smiled and inquired if his interrogator had children. "Then you will know that it is rainy one day but sunny the next - and that you have to be patient with them."
It was the sort of response expected from a wise old professor and, appropriately, Trapattoni was speaking, in decent if sometimes stilted English, in the august surrounds of the Royal Dublin Society, an eclectic cultural and conference complex - all oak panelling and walls lined with bookshelves; assorted tomes on view included The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Philosophy of the Sikh religion and Minutes of Proceeding of the Institute of Civil Engineers. It certainly seemed the right venue in which to emphasise that the appointment, of a man who has won trophies in four countries, marks a clean break with the past.
Trapattoni's CV is not the only thing which separates him from his predecessors, Steve Staunton, Brian Kerr and Mick McCarthy, though. The Italian, most recently in charge of Salzburg, looked more like a slightly eccentric intellectual than a football man. It was an impression heightened when he compensated for a lack of familiarity with the nuances of the English language by throwing his spare, sinewy frame into a series of animated gesticulations, climaxing when he emphasised a point by thumping the table in front of him with a fist.
All in all it should make for an interesting meeting when, sometime during the next 10 days, Trapattoni - who will take his squad to a training camp in the Algarve before the friendlies against Serbia and Colombia this month - endeavours to persuade Cork's most gifted midfielder since Roy Keane to help his country reach South Africa. "Sven-Goran Eriksson [his club manager] said Stephen [Ireland] is very good technically but very young and that, if I talk to him, there's a good chance he might come back," he said. Indeed in Trapattoni's book many things are possible - including the smaller footballing countries winning prizes.
"Today football is difficult but it's about good organisation," he said. "Look what happened to Greece. We also have many Ireland players who are playing in England, which is very important because the English League is very strong. We have a good mixture of youth and experience and players like Damien Duff and Robbie Keane and John O'Shea, who can play in different positions and systems. We have players with very good qualities; now they just have to believe in me."
Encouragingly such words carry infinitely more conviction when uttered by Trapattoni rather than Staunton. Indeed judging by all the security men lurking around the lobby yesterday, it seems that the Republic finally have a manager boasting sufficient clout to be treated like a visiting head of state. An ability to command such respect will afford him extra power when it comes to choreographing the team but, when asked if he would finally banish the last vestiges of the long-ball dominated Jack Charlton era, Trapattoni demurred.
"It's dangerous to change too much," said a man whose philosophy can best be described as cautious. "I don't want to make drastic changes too quickly. I'm just going to focus on little details and show the players DVDs of the little things they can alter. Players are delicate - so I'm also going to have to work on their psychology." Persuading the Republic to believe they are really Greece circa 2004 would represent an excellent start.
Giovanni Trapattoni has completed only two days as the Republic of Ireland's manager but already he is almost universally referred to as Il Capo. It is Italian for Gaffer and the much decorated Trapattoni has swiftly asserted his authority by hinting that Ireland are capable of becoming the "new Greece".
Under Otto Rehhagel of Germany, of course, Greece won the European Championship in 2004 but emulating such a feat would be some achievement for a Republic side who have failed to qualify for the last three major tournaments. Moreover before mounting a realistic challenge for honours - and qualifying for the World Cup in South Africa would be a start - Trapattoni must get to grips with the complexities of the Ireland question: that is Stephen Ireland and whether or not he can coax the richly talented but chronically immature Manchester City midfielder back into the fold.
Tellingly a high percentage of the questions in Dublin yesterday concerned the player who was anxious to leave the national squad between back-to-back matches and became infamous for claiming that first one and then another grandmother had died when both were very much alive. When asked how he would handle Ireland, the 69-year-old smiled and inquired if his interrogator had children. "Then you will know that it is rainy one day but sunny the next - and that you have to be patient with them."
It was the sort of response expected from a wise old professor and, appropriately, Trapattoni was speaking, in decent if sometimes stilted English, in the august surrounds of the Royal Dublin Society, an eclectic cultural and conference complex - all oak panelling and walls lined with bookshelves; assorted tomes on view included The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Philosophy of the Sikh religion and Minutes of Proceeding of the Institute of Civil Engineers. It certainly seemed the right venue in which to emphasise that the appointment, of a man who has won trophies in four countries, marks a clean break with the past.
Trapattoni's CV is not the only thing which separates him from his predecessors, Steve Staunton, Brian Kerr and Mick McCarthy, though. The Italian, most recently in charge of Salzburg, looked more like a slightly eccentric intellectual than a football man. It was an impression heightened when he compensated for a lack of familiarity with the nuances of the English language by throwing his spare, sinewy frame into a series of animated gesticulations, climaxing when he emphasised a point by thumping the table in front of him with a fist.
All in all it should make for an interesting meeting when, sometime during the next 10 days, Trapattoni - who will take his squad to a training camp in the Algarve before the friendlies against Serbia and Colombia this month - endeavours to persuade Cork's most gifted midfielder since Roy Keane to help his country reach South Africa. "Sven-Goran Eriksson [his club manager] said Stephen [Ireland] is very good technically but very young and that, if I talk to him, there's a good chance he might come back," he said. Indeed in Trapattoni's book many things are possible - including the smaller footballing countries winning prizes.
"Today football is difficult but it's about good organisation," he said. "Look what happened to Greece. We also have many Ireland players who are playing in England, which is very important because the English League is very strong. We have a good mixture of youth and experience and players like Damien Duff and Robbie Keane and John O'Shea, who can play in different positions and systems. We have players with very good qualities; now they just have to believe in me."
Encouragingly such words carry infinitely more conviction when uttered by Trapattoni rather than Staunton. Indeed judging by all the security men lurking around the lobby yesterday, it seems that the Republic finally have a manager boasting sufficient clout to be treated like a visiting head of state. An ability to command such respect will afford him extra power when it comes to choreographing the team but, when asked if he would finally banish the last vestiges of the long-ball dominated Jack Charlton era, Trapattoni demurred.
"It's dangerous to change too much," said a man whose philosophy can best be described as cautious. "I don't want to make drastic changes too quickly. I'm just going to focus on little details and show the players DVDs of the little things they can alter. Players are delicate - so I'm also going to have to work on their psychology." Persuading the Republic to believe they are really Greece circa 2004 would represent an excellent start.
