Eamon Dunphy was right. And then he was wrong. And then he was right again. It can be hard to keep up with the Dunph, sometimes, writes Liam Mackey.

Euro 2012 will be Giovanni Trapattoni’s third time to lead a team at the finals of a major international competition. Paul Kelly looks at the campaigns in which his under-achieving Italy recorded two wins, three draws and two defeats.

THEY’LL talk the talk with Bill O’Herlihy on Saturday night, but John Giles and Eamon Dunphy walked the walk for Ireland the last time Italy played for points in Dublin.

EARLY ON in our interview at a Dublin hotel, Marco Tardelli offers an apology.