Prandelli’s joy to face Trap

ITALY coach Cesare Prandelli is relishing the prospect of facing his mentor and compatriot Giovanni Trapattoni on the touchline when his team takes on the Republic of Ireland tonight in an international friendly.

The Azzurri go into the encounter in Liege in buoyant mood after taking a step closer towards qualifying for Euro 2012 with a 3-0 triumph over Estonia last week.

Prandelli, who played under Trapattoni at Juventus, is in awe of the former Italy boss and current Ireland manager.

He said: “To come up against Trapattoni will give me an incredible emotion.

“He told me that one day we would take each other on with both having important roles and he was right.

“I have always considered him a special person, unreachable.

“He is a legend. In the six years I was at Juve he gave me so much and not only from a human standpoint. Even when you played cards you needed to be focused. All of his lessons I still carry with me as a coach.”

Prandelli hopes his side can continue their recent good form. Group C’s only unbeaten team, Italy, secured a fifth win last week in Modena. The victory over Estonia lifted the Azzurri five points clear of Slovenia in the group with four games to play. Italy also have a game in hand over Slovenia.

Prandelli is set to make several changes to his starting XI from the Estonia match.

AC Milan striker Antonio Cassano drops to the bench in favour of Inter forward Giampaolo Pazzini playing in attack with Villarreal’s former Manchester United man Giuseppe Rossi in support.