Trap backing Coleman to become one of the greats

Giovanni Trapattoni says that Seamus Coleman has the potential to deliver at the highest level in football and could even go on to merit comparison with two of Italy’s most celebrated full-backs, the 1982 World Cup winning pair of Claudio Gentile and Antonio Cabrini.

Identifying Coleman — named man of the match in Wednesday’s 1-1 draw in Wembley — as a player who has filled the gap in the Irish team left by Steve Finnan, Trapattoni went on to heap praise on the ‘Donegal Express’.

“At Juventus in the past there was Gentile who would score four or five goals a season and, at left back, there was Cabrini who also got forward and scored goals,” said the former Juve manager. “Coleman has this potential, sure. He is young and has good personality. He’s clever and intelligent.