Survival of the fittest

NOT for the first time – and probably not for the last – it was players not selected who dominated the exchanges in Abbotstown yesterday as Giovanni Trapattoni sought to explain why he has chosen to leave both Steven Reid and Steve Finnan out of his squad for the World Cup play-off games against France.

It was the manager himself who, right at the top of his press conference, raised the controversy which blew up around his remarks concerning the Blackburn Rovers player’s fitness, widely reported comments which appeared to question the player’s ability to ever recover fully from his knee injury.

“I wish to clarify what I read about Steven Reid,” said Trapattoni.

“I can also talk about the misunderstanding but my words were very, very clear. His long injury, maybe one year, is difficult to recover from and needs time in my experience. From my own experience in the past in Italy, players had many problems. But Steven Reid is Steven Reid, so we wait. I spoke to him before the holidays and I said ‘we wait for you’ and I waited. Also last Saturday I wished to see him on the pitch (at Stamford Bridge) and he did not play. That is the truth and there is nothing else to say.”

But, needless to say, the scribes wanted more. Like, why was Reid included in the last squad – before an achilles setback ruled him out for the Montenegro and Italy games – but not in the new one?

Showing increasing signs of exasperation, the manager replied: “That is because we waited for every game that Steven Reid played. After one year with that injury, you cannot say that after one game he can play (for us). The same applies to Steve Finnan. With these two games (against France) we do not need players who can play 80 minutes, 90 minutes or 45 minutes. In these games we need players who can play 180 minutes or maybe two hours. The strong and fit players – that is international football. I don’t want to get angry. I have been saying this for a year but international matches are different from any other match. I am used to this. In the international game it is different. Performance is very, very important.

“Do you know how strong the French players are? The strikers, the midfield and which player plays right or left? I not only know the players but how they play. We need 11 players who have the winning mentality and work at their jobs on the pitch and get us through this play-off.

“(Steven Reid) did not play last Saturday. He did play in the easy game since then and scored a penalty (against Peterborough in the Carling Cup). Maybe after the play-off we will follow him – also Steve Finnan and all the players. But at this moment, this team and this squad, fingers crossed, now has balance. It’s a team, it’s a group. I cannot change it now. What we had against Italy and Montenegro was important – the mentality. We cannot change that now. After a month of playing games maybe a player is okay. But not now after 70 minutes. Never.”

DECLINING to be drawn into a war of words with Sam Allardyce – who had heavily criticised Trapattoni for his remarks about Reid – the manager coolly dismissed the significance of the Blackburn manager’s tirade.

“I know the name but I don’t know him. I don’t answer what he said but I said the last time that when I read information in the newspapers that I believe 40%. I spoke with Liam (Brady) and I spoke with Steven but I don’t answer Allardyce.”

Less time was devoted to the omission of Portsmouth’s Steve Finnan though Trapattoni’s same logic about match fitness clearly applies. And indeed the Portsmouth full-back himself only admitted this week that he feels he needs much more game time to get back to 100% fitness.

The other major talking point in the squad was the return of Anthony Stokes, now enjoying a new lease of life with Hibernian in the SPL. With Caleb Folan and Noel Hunt ruled out, the manager was anxious to widen his striking cover, hence the recall for the 21-year-old Dubliner. “He was with us until we discovered Folan,” said Trapattoni, “and I saw him score a fantastic goal (against Rangers) last weekend.”

In general, Trapattoni was on much happier ground yesterday when the talk focussed on the football to come in Dublin and Paris.

Irish defensive strength can cancel out French attacking prowess, he suggested, and should the play-off go all the way to penalties he is confident his players are made of the right psychological stuff to hold their nerve.

France, he declared, are “superior” to the Italian and Bulgarian sides with whom Ireland shared points but, in likening them to Real Madrid, he was at pains to point out that they are far from invincible.

“Real Madrid play with five attacking players but they are not top of the table. Why? Because teams need balance. Attack is important but when you lose the ball you must come back and defend. When three or four stay upfront, it’s finished. France are a strong team but not unbeatable. They finished in second place – like Ireland.”

And it’s what his own team can achieve that is uppermost in Giovanni Trapattoni’s mind now.

“The play-off was our dream and now the dream is near,” he said. “We have to think about what we did up until now and repeat our best performances. Morally against Italy we came out winners. But morally is not top of the table. But if we play like we did against them, with the same conviction, we will show again how strong we are. In my heart I think we can win.”