Trap’s reeling in the years
On Monday night, the channel screened a full-length recording of Ireland against Germany in Ibaraki at the 2002 World Cup finals and then, on Tuesday night, I arrived home from the Aviva Stadium just in time to watch extra-time and penalties in that knock-out game against Spain in Suwon.
I attended both games in a working capacity, and being able to review them in tranquillity all these years later was to be reminded of just how magnificently Ireland raised their game in the aftermath of Saipan and the loss of the player without whom many felt the team simply wouldn’t be able to cope at the highest level.
In fact, the Irish performance level at the 2002 World Cup finals was unquestionably of a consistently higher standard than those which were delivered at Euro ‘88, Italia ‘90 or USA ‘94, even if those other tournaments tend to occupy a more cherished place in the folk memory for the defeats of England in Stuttgart and Italy in New Jersey and the heroics of Packie Bonner and Dave O’Leary in Genoa.
Bookended by the seismic shock of Saipan and the shoot-out heartbreak of Suwon, our feelings about Japan/Korea 2002 tend to be more ambivalent, with Mick McCarthy’s underrated achievement as manager in those finals just another victim of the fall-out from the civil war occasioned by his sensational clash with Keane.
Mention the Spanish game to some people even now and the first thing they’ll do is attack the manager for failing to note that the opposition were down to ten men for the extra half-hour.
Yet, when you look at the game again – Spain hanging on, Ireland going all-out for the golden goal – it’s hard to see how McCarthy’s side could have given much more in their quest for a quarter-final place.
Anyway, it was both a pleasure and a revelation to park all that stuff this week and simply enjoy the spectacle of an Irish team playing with such composure and confidence against theoretically superior opposition.
For more than an hour against Germany, and having gone behind to Miroslav Klose’s goal, Ireland thoroughly dominated, with Steve Staunton leading by example from the back and then, in time added on, the team finally getting the very least they deserved when Robbie Keane dramatically equalised to bring the house down and a nation to its feet.
Even though the tournament ended in tears for Kevin Kilbane – how well I remember the sad sight of him, red-eyed and head bowed, being shepherded through the media mix zone long after the final whistle — the performance against Spain was arguably even better and the match itself such an eventful and thrillingly knife-edge contest that it would later be named the game of the tournament by FIFA.
And there was no question about who was Ireland’s player of the tournament either, although there was a number of legitimate contenders.
When Spain’s Juanfran missed the target in the shoot out, co-commentator David Pleat was moved to wonder if he hadn’t had his brain turned to jelly by the torture inflicted on him over the preceding 120 minutes by Damien Duff.
Flash forward nine years – count ‘em – and one of the most joyful sights of Tuesday evening at the Aviva was that of the man they call Duffer rolling back the years with an all-action performance.
He might not leave trails of defenders in his wake too often these days, but he is still as slippery as ever and his creative footballing intelligence has only sharpened with the passing years.
Little wonder that, in one of his few clear utterances this week, Giovanni Trapattoni labelled the Fulham man “fantastic” and expressed the hope, mixed with well-founded fear, that he doesn’t succumb to injury before any of the remaining European Championship qualifiers.
Barring an unexpectedly quick recovery, that fate seems to have already befallen Robbie Keane ahead of next month’s game against Macedonia.
Fortunately for Ireland, Shane Long has already proven himself an able replacement up front, even if he did fluff his lines when coming off the bench against Wales the other night.
And while Jon Walters did his chances no harm in that game, it’s likely that Trapattoni will opt for a player who has already shown he can cope with the heat of competitive international battle.
For the same reason, those who hope that Keane’s absence might lead to a tactical change and a debut for James McCarthy are likely to be disappointed – even assuming that the player is actually available for selection and actually included in the squad, as the manager has promised he will be.
Similarly, it’s hard to see the hugely impressive Seamus Coleman getting the nod ahead of, say, Aiden McGeady, unless injury forces the manager’s hand.
If we know anything of Trapattoni by now, it’s that he places great store in experience and, hence, invariably favours the status quo when it comes to competitive games. “Qualification is qualification,” was one of the other unambiguous utterances he made this week, a mantra which would also suggest that, despite Ciarán Clark’s tidy debut, Kilbane is still in line to extend his international career yet again.
Add in Shay Given and Richard Dunne – the latter an unused sub back in Japan and Korea – and, for all the talk of new faces this past week, we shouldn’t be surprised if those boys of the summer of 2002 still have key roles to play in Ireland’s bid to reach their first finals in nine long years.
- Contact: liammackey@hotmail.com
