Trapattoni ready to go all the way
Confirmation too, that he thinks that this two-legged affair could go all the way, despite the popular consensus that the French are clear favourites to come out on top. But, for the veteran Italian, reputation is not enough to win matches.
“Yes, France have the famous players who play in the best English and European teams but that’s not enough in football,” he said yesterday.
“Football is me against you and there is only one ball on the pitch. When you have the ball, I must try to take it, when I have the ball I must play. Sure, there is Picasso – Maradona was like this. But we must not think like this. We must believe, for 90 minutes in Dublin and for another 90 minutes in Paris. And for penalties, if needs be. That is why we practised them today.”
Only Liam Miller is considered a major doubt for the play-offs, the Hibs man requiring a scan on a calf muscle injury to determine whether he will be able to stay with the squad. But, with the remaining 24 players all present and correct, a relieved Trapattoni has no other injury concerns ahead of the first leg in Croke Park on Saturday.
The biggest boost has been the speedy recovery of Damien Duff, although Trapattoni yesterday refused to be drawn on who would start on the flanks against France. Still, his praise for the Fulham man pretty much spoke for itself.
“Damien Duff is Damien Duff,” he said. “People speak about the big French players but we also have great players, for example Duff and Robbie Keane. Kevin Doyle also – for Wolves against Arsenal he played well against William Gallas.”
But, for Trapattoni, the real strength of the Irish resides in the collective.
“Maybe we have fewer creative players than France or others,” he conceded, “but the football we play is concrete. We play modern football. We are not about theatre, like La Scala or Madison Square Gardens. Football is ball, pitch, opponent and mentality. I repeat many times. The show is show. Result is result. This is our belief.”
He spoke about the importance of attention to detail, those fine margins that can separate success from failure.
“We saw it again on Sunday when Chelsea played Manchester United. The game was sure to be a draw and then one set-piece, one little situation, and a great team loses.
“In the next days, we must prepare carefully and study every little detail for these two games because, in 180 minutes, we can achieve qualification for South Africa. Sure, we are conscious that it is not an easy game. It will be important not to make the little, silly mistakes and, if possible, not to concede a goal at home, because to concede a goal in Dublin would be a very great advantage for the opponent.”
Trapattoni will look back to the qualifying games against Italy as the template for the Irish performance against France but, in what will be an all or nothing tie, he knows that this time something extra will be required from his side.
“We need to play with the same attitude, the same mentality but we also need to have something more than we have done until now,” the manager said.
Asked how overcoming the French and qualifying for the World Cup finals would rank in his career achievements, an upbeat Trapattoni replied:
“In life, it’s the next result which is the most beautiful, the most important. The rest are memories. For me, to achieve qualification for South Africa would be fantastic.”
And, with a smile, he added: “I believe that if you help yourself, God will help you. But I am not God or St Patrick, I’m human.”
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