Relaxed Trap already looking to the future
Of course, the manager will continue to sound all the right diplomatic and professional notes ahead of tomorrow’s game but, following Friday night’s decisive result in Estonia, even he, the master of the “leetle detail”, has been able to indulge in the rare luxury of contemplating the big picture.
And when he does, the manager sees a place in it for the veteran players in the Irish squad, even after the finals in Poland and Ukraine.
Speaking on his return to Dublin from the Baltics, Trapattoni confirmed that he will be asking the likes of Shay Given, Robbie Keane, Richard Dunne and Damien Duff to stay on with the squad for the journey to the World Cup finals in Brazil in 2014.
“I believe they are not thinking about retirement and I hope not also,” he said.
“We now have this great opportunity to progress but change is usually better done slowly. It’s important that they stay on because they can help teach the younger players.
“They know the path and can show the others. This is my plan for thefuture. Also we have the likes of Germany, Austria and Sweden in the World Cup group so it is not easy and we may need again these players. It has to be very harmonious. All players have to accept that they might play or not play. But it will not be easy toreplace a Damien Duff.”
As for the younger players who are still very much on the fringes of things, Trapattoni is confident that they can make the breakthrough in due course.
“There are two or three who arealready with us who show great quality,” he said.
“The likes of (Seamus) Coleman and James (McCarthy), for example. In a friendly in February or later in the year, they will get their opportunity. We already know, of course, that they are good players but with their clubs they play in a different system to us. Or sometimes McCarthy, (Simon) Cox or (Keith) Fahey don’t play for their clubs.
“This is not a criticism of British football but with us, I think they can play better because our team iscompact and the players know their positions and the system.
“You often ask me or Marco why we make the choices we do, why we choose Walters before Cox in Tallinn, for example. Our job is not toodifficult but there is a difficulty in choosing players to fit into the system. At Stoke, for example, (Glenn)Whelan is not the same. English teams have another approach, they have adifferent type of football.”
When Trapattoni talks about theimportance of the teaching role, he could, of course, be talking primarily about himself.
“It’s important you always keep enthusiasm,” he said.
“I have been in football many years but I am still learning new things. You must continue to make discoveries and give this information to theplayers.
“General MacArthur once said that is important that the general must always keep enthusiasm for the next campaign and the one after that and after that. Many years ago I read this sentence and, thank God, I have that enthusiasm still. I forget yesterday and always look to tomorrow. So we must prepare for the next campaign.”
Of course, all of this is contingent upon the FAI and Trapattoni agreeing on a new contract. For now, bothparties are happy to park the issue until after tomorrow night.
“The more woods you visit, the more wolves you find,” said the manager yesterday, one of those enigmatic expressions of his which might be best taken to mean that you can never be entirely sure what lies in wait.
“I don’t wish to put pressure on the FAI,” he said. “They can decide but I am happy to stay because I not only believe but am convinced that we have a good team and a team that is improving all the time.”
And the next outing for that team is a second-leg game against Estonia which, though likely to be lacking in anything resembling competitive drama, does give Ireland’s players and supporters the golden opportunity to celebrate qualification for the first time ever on home soil.
And Giovanni Trapattoni certainly doesn’t want an historic night for Irish football to be stained by any hint of anti-climax.
“I have said to the team that we have a duty to repeat the same performance from Tallinn — though maybe not the same number of goals — because our supporters, and the Irish people in general, have waited for this success,” he said.
“And I warned the team to be careful, not to treat it as an easygame.
“Our opponent has lost a little pride, and it’s important we play this game with seriousness and respect for the opponent and for the people coming to watch the game.
“We must have respect for these people because in this moment, with the financial crisis, it’s a sacrifice to pay for a ticket to come to the stadium.We have to show them our commitment.”
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