Brady: time to end ‘tradition of failure’
“We have played against France so many times in the World Cup, that this game was always written. When playing, I faced France during the qualifying phase for World Cups in ‘78 and ‘82 and we also faced them in 2006.
“We always meet on the way to the World Cup. Unfortunately for us, we have always failed. But always by very little. Time has come for that tradition to end.”
Ireland welcome Raymond Domenech’s side to Croke Park on November 14 before travelling to Paris for the return leg four days later. But Brady, speaking in an interview in today’s edition of France Football magazine, says hosting the first leg is no real disadvantage.
“Playing the first leg won’t have that much importance. I have seen so many return games won by teams away from home. This is no advantage to France. Actually, the last time we qualified for a World Cup in 2002 was after playing the return leg in Iran. Our performances during the qualifying phase, the fact that we were close to winning our group has created a climate of confidence in the whole country. Ok, we will play France. But we don’t fear them. We always feel better as outsiders. This is in our blood.
“We like it when people say we have no chance. Then we are the most dangerous. One of the beauties of that game is that it’s a question of giving further than your limits and we know that to qualify we will have to go further than our limits. We can do that.”
Brady, a part of Arsenal’s youth staff, was drafted in to the FAI set-up when his former manager Giovanni Trapattoni was appointed head coach. And the Dubliner insists the Italian’s influence has been key to Ireland’s progress in the qualifying campaign.
“I think we now have new organisation quality given by the manager. Trapattoni has great experience of the highest level. Even if he is 60, he has got fantastic enthusiasm for the game and the preparation of his team. I would say that in that respect I don’t know anyone superior to him. He has created a system based on an perfect organisation and on a team spirit that we honestly missed before. Trap first wants his players to be useful in his system. I don’t agree with those who say that we play Italian football; the Irish culture is there and remains very important. We have always played with courage and that hasn’t changed. But the setting has changed, and you can feel the Italian influence.”
And as the debate around Andy Reid’s controversial exile from the panel continues to rage, Brady is sure none of the manager’s choices are coloured by personal feelings.
“Trap is fair in his choices. He has no favourites. When I was at Juventus with him, we had superstars, Zoff, Cabrini, Gentile, Sciera, Rossi, Marco (Tardelli), all future World Cup champions, and treated everyone exactly the same. It’s the same with Ireland.”
France were defeated in the World Cup final in Berlin in 2006 by Trapattoni’s homeland and it is a squad brimming with pedigree. But the former Juventus and Gunners playmaker sees nothing to fear for Ireland.
“The weaknesses of the French team? Well... I don’t want to get into it too much. What matters to us is that we have a group of players giving their best, showing solidarity on and off the pitch, and from that point of view, the team spirit is great. We believe in ourselves.
“France has a better squad but maybe those new qualities will help us make qualification possible. We certainly have no complex. Don’t forget that almost all our players play in the Premier League, one of the best leagues in Europe. Shay Given is one of the best keepers in the world, and Robbie one of the best strikers.
“I only hope the game will be refereed fairly. There is a lot of pressure on the referees; people want big teams and big players at the World Cup. And my experience against France haven’t always been positive from a refereeing point of view. I hope that it will better this time.”
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