Italian media heap praise on Trap’s Ireland as Azzurri make their point

ITALY have made it, and with a match to spare, just as they did when they won the World Cup in 1982 and 2006, as Marcello Lippi was keen to point out.

But the performance of Lippi’s team in Dublin has brought a mixed response from the Italian media, and even more so from some of the fans.

Ireland’s efforts, by contrast, produced nothing but praise.

“Twice in front and twice hauled back, Trapattoni can still be happier than Lippi,” wrote Alberto Cerruti in the Gazzetta dello Sport.

“He was the moral victor both of this match and of the group, taking into account the stature of the two sides and of a (completely outclassed) Bulgaria.”

Ireland’s high tempo start completely disrupted Italy’s game plan, especially in midfield, where Angelo Palambo and Daniele De Rossi were both marked down by the journalists compared to Keith Andrews and Glenn Whelan.

“The fine first half of the match against Bulgaria was a distant memory, and it was not the changed formation and three different players that were responsible. Italy were listing badly in the first 20 minutes when they could not match Ireland’s rhythm. Hit by Whelan’s strike after barely eight minutes, the only reason they didn’t go under was that the opposition was better in midfield than in attack.”

Roberto Beccantini of La Stampa was more concerned about Italy’s lack of quality up front.

“One of Totti or Cassano has to go to South Africa,” was his conclusion for the Turin paper, which pointed out that Italy had one of the easiest qualifying groups.

Harsher criticism came from the fans.

“We won’t even get to the knockout stage with this group of players, who are the same as in 2006,” said one.

“Lippi’s got his head in the clouds,” said another. “It’s all very well to talk about great team spirit but the football isn’t there.

“We had enough trouble against this Ireland team, and they were without several first-choice players, imagine what a joke we’ll be in South Africa against sides such as Brazil, or Spain or England...”

The Gazzetta dello Sport took some comfort from the quality of Ireland’s performance, and especially their man Trapattoni, who will have the whole of Italy backing Ireland in the play-offs.

“He’s managing a mix of boys like McGeady and wise men like Keane and they’ve learned from him: don’t give the ball away, dig in and keep thinking. The midfield is impressive, although the defence is struggling a little. They may not get into the opposition area that often, but hats off to the boss.”

So good at running, so limited with their finishing was the Gazzetta’s overall verdict. But along with the tireless work in midfield, it was Ireland’s wingers who impressed most.

“McGeady’s dribbling restricted Zambrotta’s forward runs, even though it didn’t always produce results, and he had some problems in defence. (But) Lawrence made the right flank his own – both in attack and defending. It was his clever delivery that provided Whelan with the opening for the first goal, and he had the Grosso-Di Natale combination at full stretch. If only Italy had a winger like him.”