Irish boss set for warm welcome in Vienna

As they prepare to end the Republic of Ireland’s World Cup dream in Vienna tomorrow night, Austria believe sacking Giovanni Trapattoni would be a crazy move.

Mention the Italian’s name anywhere in Ireland right now and the response is less than complimentary, but it is quite the opposite here in the Austrian capital, where they are eagerly awaiting his arrival.

On one of his many managerial stops around Europe, Trapattoni pitched up in Salzburg for two seasons back in 2006 and delivered a Bundesliga title for Red Bull, which has not been forgotten in these parts.

In fact, it is the 74-year-old’s personality – which he happily exploits through his terrible attempts at speaking a foreign language – that made him so popular here with players, coaches, media, and supporters.

So as he returns, this time wearing an Ireland tracksuit and hoping to keep alive slim hopes of securing second place in Group C, Trapattoni can expect a warm welcome even if his exit might be rather frosty.

“If you guys will fire him, I think it’s your choice but I wouldn’t do that,” warned Austria striker Marc Janko, who played under Trapattoni at Red Bull.

“I think it is part of the game and he is also well aware of that situation and he has faced that situation many times in his career, so I think he will handle this quite smoothly and quite coolly. This man has had so much success in his life and he will say to himself ‘why should I change? I also think that he has done a very good job with Ireland and got you to the last European Championships, so everything can’t be that wrong.”

Many will argue Janko has not endured the 62 games under Trapattoni as Ireland boss, where long-ball tactics, communication breakdown, and baffling selection issues have frustrated, and now arguably isolated, many supporters. Yet, the 30-year-old Trabzonspor forward has been through it all during his time at Salzburg and still sings the praises of his former manager. In fact, he believes that the Irish media have focused too much on Trapattoni’s garbled English.

“For (Ireland), I think most of the time it is good because then you have something to laugh about when he gives some funny comments or not native-speaking quotes. But you have to give him respect to try to speak your language,” said Janko. “It was the same when he worked here in Salzburg, he tried to speak German and of course he was not a native speaker but he tried. So I think you should give him respect that he tries to speak in your language. It doesn’t always work out 100%, but he tries. He manages to give every player a good feeling on and off the pitch. He also manages to make sure every player knows what to do on the field, especially in defensive work, and I have great respect for him.”

The message from Janko is simply to be thankful for what you have. Although, sympathy will be in short supply if Ireland fall to defeat in the Ernst Happel Stadium and see their World Cup hopes disappear. So everything hinges on this qualifier as Ireland try to remain in the qualifying mix, and Austria prepare for a “war” that they expect to ultimately conquer. “My experience (of Irish teams) is that they always fight until the last second, so we are expecting a physical game on Tuesday. It’s always tough to play against these types of players and it’s kind of a war on the field,” said Janko.