Estonia star Piiroja gets his shot at the big time

MUCH has changed around these parts since Raio Piiroja and Robbie Keane first met as young men a decade ago but not enough to make the Estonian captain forget his place at the world football table.

Now 32, and five times Estonia’s player of the year, Piiroja fondly remembers World Cup battles with Keane at a time when Ireland werealways expected to beat their Balticopponents.

The boot will be on the other foot come Friday night’s return to the Le Coq Arena in Tallinn as far as many are concerned, not least the Irish manager Giovanni Trapattoni.

In an effort to keep his team focused on the job in hand in the Euro 2012 play-offs, the Italian has been quick to talk up an Estonian team that lost to Brian Kerr’s Faroe Islands last June but still managed to finish ahead of Serbia and Slovenia in their qualifying group.

The Irish boss has even gone so far as to suggest that the two legged play-off is a David versus David affair between two nations who revel when cast in the role of underdogs.

Piiroja doesn’t buy Trapattoni’s mind games — he knows there won’t be enough underdog to go round come Friday’s opening salvo in the bid to reach Poland and the Ukraine.

“I have studied the team available to Ireland for Friday night’s game and they are the favourites,” insisted the Vitesse Arnhem defender, ahead of earning his 107th international cap.

“Most of the Irish players are playing in the Premier League and this season they are getting game time with their clubs so we are definitely the underdogs here. That suits us because it is a challenge and we are better when we face a challenge. We have already made history in this EuropeanChampionship and we know the play-offs against Ireland are a newpossibility for us. The past year has been a rollercoaster for us. When we lost to the Faroe Islands in June, we thought it was all over but we played well last month and we are here now.

“We are happy with that but we know Ireland will be favourites to win these games.”

Coach Tarmo Ruutli welcomed Red Bulls forward Joel Lindpere back from a self-imposed two-year absence yesterday as he agreed with his captain in relation to the role of big-match favourites.

“Mr Trapattoni is a very clever and a very smart coach who will know there are a lot of other words he can use to express Ireland’s position, underdogs is not one of them,” said the Estonian boss.

“He knows what he is saying, he is very experienced but we have had some success in our group and while we are not the favourites, we don’t feel like outsiders either.”

Now an LA Galaxy striker, Keane has made many journeys since Ireland first played against Estonia at the old Lansdowne Road in 2000 but even his travels seem quiet compared to the remarkable adventure Estonia’s soccer heroes have enjoyed of late.

“Did I think 10 years ago when Ireland were last here that we would meet again in a Euro play-off? Probably not but I am an optimist and we have always had hope even if we are a small country with limited resources. That is why I am happy today,” maintained Piiroja.

“When we started playing as a country 20 years ago we were really horrible. We lost every game by three or four goals and we were lucky if we kept the opposition to zero. A nil-nil was a great result for us then.

“Now it is different, things have developed in a natural and normal way, step by step and here we are. Maybe it is a little bit too early for us but we will see. Our players are playing outside the country now, in many different leagues. They are playing at a better level and they are improving. Another main point is that we have been playing together for a long period as a team and that is the key of our success.”

He insisted: “Everyone here likes to compare this to the Northern Ireland match that we won in Belfast last month but that is not a good comparison. This Ireland will be totally different, even to the team that played here 10 years ago, because 10 years ago they were like a typically British team, playing a lot of long balls straight away.

“This is different. Now Ireland is pretty creative as well under Trapattoni. He is a great manager who has made a big difference. Ireland are playing much better football now, are more organised, have only conceded one goal in nine games and don’t play a straight game anymore. It will not be easy for us.”