Trapattoni up for the cup

GIOVANNI TRAPATTONI says Ireland’s World Cup play-off against France will be like a cup final and will require more from his team than they have managed to produce in the qualification campaign.

But the manager is convinced Ireland’s performances over the past year – especially in the two games against Italy – give grounds for believing the team the Azzurri beat in the 2006 World Cup final can be overcome next month.

“At this point, it is not about world rankings, it is more like a cup final over two legs,” said Trapattoni, who watched yesterday’s draw on television at home in Milan.

“We have come through a group containing world champions, Italy, and have drawn against them in both games. Now we face the World Cup finalists and our results will give us the conviction and belief that we can get a result.

“We have demonstrated throughout our qualification campaign that we can perform against any team. The fact that we are one of only five teams to be unbeaten gives us comfort going into the play-off against France. We have done well so far but over the 180 minutes we must give something additional, and we will have to be even more concentrated and focused than we have been until now.”

Trapattoni’s wish that Ireland would have home advantage in the second leg did not come to pass, something he says makes it imperative that his players keep a clean sheet in the first leg at Croke Park on Saturday, November 14.

“We would have preferred to play our first leg away from home which now makes it very important not to concede at home in the first leg,” he says. “You should also remember that our away form shows we are capable of getting results away from home.”

The massive Irish show of support which can be expected in Paris for the decisive leg will also be a significant factor, according to the manager.

“We saw against Italy, Bulgaria and Montenegro how the support of our fans can help the team to get a positive result. We are very proud of our fans who have been tremendous throughout the whole campaign. They always play a large part and, in places like Bari and Sofia, they demonstrated how much a difference they can make away from home. At home, it goes without saying how much their support means to us.”

Trapattoni admits that, at the outset of qualifying, he didn’t expect France would require the fall-back of the play-offs.

“I have seen their games and I was more than surprised they did not finish top of their group,” he says. “The French squad has players at tops clubs in England, Spain and France, but the fact that they have lost one game and drawn three does give us confidence.”

Yet, Trap remains convinced France present a greater threat now than when Zinedine Zidane was leading them to the ultimate stage three years ago.

“I think that this France side is stronger than that at the 2006 World Cup when they got to the final,” he suggests. “The majority of the players in the squad play in the Champions League and this has given the players vital experience at playing at the highest level of football in Europe. Their character in the past has sometimes been described as brittle but I believe with their experience at playing at the highest level of football in Europe, they have a different character compared to before.”

Asked if he would consider seeking fresh intelligence from former Ireland boss Brian Kerr – whose Faroe Islands side played France twice in qualifying – Trap answered in the affirmative.

“Yes, I would speak to any colleagues if I feel I need an insight into any aspect of the French team,” he replied. “Having said that, I know this French side very well and have followed all of their players very closely.”

Yesterday, Kerr sounded a warning for Ireland with a positive assessment of the French, who beat his team 0-1 in Torshavn and 5-0 in France.

He said: “I think they’re in very good shape at the moment. Far from the talk of bad morale and disputes with the manager, it looked to me like the morale was very strong last week when we played in France.”

Trapattoni will name his squad for the play off games at the end of the month. He also plans to take in games in England that weekend and, between now and the November deciders, will be studying all of France’s recent performances.

Meanwhile, GAA president Christy Cooney says he does not evisage any problems for Croke Park which will see the Ireland-France game on the Saturday followed the next day by the Ireland-Australia rugby international.

“We’re well equipped for dealing with that ,” he said. “If we can get a new pitch laid in three days I think we can manage two different codes in the one weekend. It’s definitely worth a few extra shillings to the coffers and we welcome that.”