Italians wary of backlash from Ireland

In every tournament, the Italians claim to have discovered a “mina vagante” — a floating mine. This time the honour belongs to Ireland. It was a discovery they could have done without.

Italy will always have a soft spot for Trapattoni and Tardelli but forget the sentimentality: their worry is that in football, unlike warfare, a floating mine can explode again.

For the Gazzetta dello Sport, this was the day that Ireland’s luck ran out and Slaven Bilic’s men sounded a warning to the other Group C contenders. “This time Trap’s holy water didn’t work. A strange goal, an own goal, and just to tip the balance of things gone wrong a penalty that wasn’t given.

“Bilic’s football rock drowned out Trap’s classical football.”

Sean St Ledger and especially Glenn Whelan were the pick of Ireland for Gazzetta, with an honourable mention for McGeady and Keane — “the heart of a lion” — and a big thumbs down for the unfortunate Stephen Ward “Jelavic’s assist-man”. When you get a 4 in the Italian ratings you’ve had a stinker.

As for Trap himself: “Like his team he has courage, strength and pride. It wasn’t enough.... Against Spain they need a miracle, but the manager has been clear on that since his first day in Dublin: ‘I’m Giovanni, not St Patrick.’”