It’s all about location for laid-back Leo
The Irish manager spoke in glowing terms earlier in the day about Polish football and its current Dutch manager, who is under a modicum of pressure in his adopted country after some mixed fortunes in the last six months.
“Tell me what he said,” Beenhakker demanded. “Ah, he is a nice guy. He is a good guy. Thank you Giovanni, thank you. He is a great guy. We try. I have said before that there are people who are involved in football who know what we are trying to do.
“That is good that such big professionals recognise it. We are at least on the right track. There is a certain way of thinking behind the way we want to play football. That is always very nice to hear.”
Like Trapattoni, Beenhakker hasn’t been afraid to use his passport in the pursuit of managerial positions in a career which has seen him take charge of Real Madrid, Ajax and the Dutch team as well as Trinidad & Tobago and Mexican club Guadalajara.
He proved to be an entertaining interviewee last night despite his poor health, and it was interesting to note that the Dutchman managing Poland spoke English much more fluently than the Italian managing Ireland.
The entire press conference was conducted through the global language and the only bad note Beenhakker struck was in describing Ireland as a part of Great Britain. In his defence, he is hardly the first foreign manager to have done that.
He was, at least, praising the Irish side when he made his faux pas ahead of a game which is being used as preparation for the side’s return to these shores next March when they face Northern Ireland in Belfast in their qualifying group.
“We had a team meeting (yesterday) afternoon and we were talking about the football here in Great Britain and you can see, as is the case with Northern Ireland as well, that they have their own style of play in this part of the world.
“Also, based on foreign players and coaches who are involved in the club teams here, they are changing their style. If you saw Northern Ireland’s last match, they are not playing this typical English football.
“They try to manage the ball, to use the midfield. With the influence of my good friend Trapattoni, they are trying to do the same here. They are trying to play good football. It is not the long ball and then a fight for the second ball. It is nice to see.”
How similar the Republic and Croke Park proves to be to the test awaiting them against the North in Windsor Park remains to be seen, but Beenhakker doesn’t necessarily believe tonight’s opponents are the superior force.
“Normally you would say Ireland are a better team than Cyprus but they had to struggle to beat Cyprus 1-0. We have talked many times about it before, there is a very even level in international football.”
He brings a team light on faces that will be familiar to Irish fans and Celtic supporters will be deprived of the chance to see the ‘Holy Goalie’, Artur Boruc, who is currently recuperating after knee surgery. His replacement however is Arsenal’s Lukasz Fabianski. The only other British-based players in the squad are Bolton Wanderers’ Euzebiusz Smolarek and Lukasz Zaluska of Dundee United. Neither are expected to start tonight.
They may not ring many bells but what would otherwise be a routine friendly should be livened up by the presence of so many Polish exiles who will be sure to add some colour and volume to the proceedings.
“I know it is a great stadium, especially if it is filled with a lot of people and a lot of them are Polish people. Then I can assure you that we will have a great atmosphere here.”
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