Giovanni Trapattoni's ruthless focus on results can serve the Republic of Ireland well at Euro 2012 even if the draw makes them rank outsiders in their group
Giovanni Trapattoni is a manager of many mantras, plenty of them amusingly colourful and some rather more difficult to decipher. The Italian has needed the services of his translator since being employed in his first job with an English-speaking organisation and she joked recently that her task had been to educate the media in "Trapattonian".
The Republic of Ireland manager's favourite saying, though, needs none of her help. It has underpinned his work with the squad since his appointment in 2008 and it will continue to do so at the Euro 2012 finals next summer, where his team will face Spain, Italy and Croatia at the group stage. "If people want to see a show, they should go to La Scala," the 72-year-old has said at almost every opportunity. He reinforces the message with a bit more Trap-speak. "Show is show ? result is result."
The draw in Kiev could hardly have been crueller for Trapattoni, despite the sentimental undercurrent of a match against Italy. The first opponents to reveal themselves were Spain, the defending world and European champions and, from that moment, Ireland were dealing only in how nightmarish the scenario might become.
Trapattoni, though, has taken his adopted nation to the show and, if the excitement has been palpable since the 5-1 aggregate defeat of Estonia in the play-offs, there remains the conviction Ireland are not travelling to Poland and Ukraine merely to make up the numbers. They know how to get results and, with the progress under Trapattoni rooted in icy pragmatism, they believe they can get them. "We have to think in football that all is possible," he said after yesterday's draw. "We have to play with the same mentality ? obviously all the teams are very difficult. But I am confident."
It has not been pretty, with the 4-0 play-off first-leg win in Estonia a glorious anomaly. Never before had Trapattoni's team won a competitive tie by more than two goals. It has generally been tight and nervy, with Trapattoni looking for his team to exploit "the little details" to fashion the results. But, in the face of criticism of his style and tactics, which feature two screening midfielders in front of the back four and wingers with defensive responsibilities, he has been unapologetic. "Just look at the league table," is the stock answer.
A glance at them for Trapattoni's two campaigns - the first was that for the World Cup in South Africa, which ended in such heroic failure - shows a total of only two defeats, both by the odd goals. Thanks to his obsessive training ground work on defensive shape and his relentless preaching on the importance of focus, the team has become fiendishly difficult to break down. In their last 11 matches, including friendlies, they have conceded only two goals.
Trapattoni has argued that, in the absence of a fantasy player, he has been forced to cut his cloth accordingly. There is the possibility of a winger or one of his two strikers conjuring a moment of magic and, whatever Robbie Keane's detractors say, he can silence them, Trapattoni-style, by pointing at the statistics. The Los Angeles Galaxy striker has 53 goals in 114 international appearances; he scored seven of them in the qualifying campaign that propelled Ireland to their first tournament since the 2002 World Cup. Trapattoni, though, has prioritised the fostering of an unquenchable team spirit and players have come to want to answer the international call, which has not always been the case. There are numerous examples of players pulling on the green jersey and playing to a higher standard than they might manage at club level, with Aston Villa's Richard Dunne among the best. Ireland's man-of-the-qualifying-campaign will never, perhaps, eclipse the defensive heroics he performed in the 0-0 draw in Russia last September.
Greece's triumph at Euro 2004 has provided an inspiration to Trapattoni. That was based on discipline, organisation, togetherness and the bite of the underdog, and Trapattoni has felt "if they can do it, why can't we"? Expect him to extract plenty more mileage from this sentiment in the months ahead.
Ireland will travel with belief. Under Trapattoni, they have reserved many of their best performances for the big encounters, with arguably the finest coming in the World Cup play-off second-leg against France in Paris although, paradoxically, there was no result for Trapattoni that night.
Spain are the No1 ranked team in the world, with Croatia eighth and Italy ninth. In 21st place Ireland look like grand outsiders. It will not bother them and they will enjoy playing against opponents who will be expected to carry the fight to them. Ireland will sit and wait, remaining resolute, protecting the 0-0 and, if opportunity presents itself, perhaps from a set-piece, they will hope to plunder a goal.
Trapattoni's assistant, Marco Tardelli, said last month that teams "will be very happy to draw us but, after, they will be very sad". Ireland have punched above their weight before. In the face of the ultimate test, they intend to do so again.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2011/dec/02/ireland-euro-2012
Brian Rafalski Travis Ramsey Michael Ratchuk Wade Redden
