Dunne: Republic must silence superstars

Richard Dunne believes the Republic of Ireland were taught a valuable lesson as they sought to shackle Lionel Messi.

A 45,200 crowd at the new Aviva Stadium were treated to watching an hour of Argentina’s mercurial forward in last night’s 1-0 friendly defeat.

Messi had arrived in Dublin just 30 hours earlier after flying halfway around the world from Beijing where Barcelona had played a pre-season game.

Naturally he was not in full flow, but there was still enough on show from the 23-year-old to delight the watching public.

One delightful run, turn and attempted flicked lob over Shay Given which almost brought the opening goal in the eighth minute was the highlight of Messi’s magic.

Central defender Dunne certainly enjoyed the challenge of facing Messi, and ultimately keeping him mostly quiet, even if Ireland did lose 1-0 to an offside goal from Angel Di Maria.

But Dunne knows if Ireland are ever to play on football’s big stages, then holding other players of the calibre of Messi at bay is the only way forward.

“It was enjoyable to play against someone like him at this stage of the season. It can only do you good,” said Dunne, who refused to discuss club matters and Martin O’Neill’s exit from Aston Villa.

“It will provide all of us with that bit of extra fitness and sharpness, as well as awareness of just how good players like him are.

“If we want to qualify for tournaments then we are going to have to stop people like him.”

Turning the Aviva Stadium into a fortress, as was often the case with Lansdowne Road, will also provide Ireland with a base on which to build for qualification.

“It was brilliant. Everything was perfect. No complaints at all,” enthused Dunne on the £350million venue.

“You could really feel the atmosphere on the pitch, and the pitch itself was perfect.

“So it was really enjoyable. Everyone had been looking forward to the game for a while, and the opposition were really good.

“Hopefully in the long run it will be a stadium that will give us many good nights.”

As his centre-back partner John O’Shea conceded, there was no doubt the Republic missed the experience and knowledge of manager Giovanni Trapattoni.

After a period of recovery following minor abdominal surgery yesterday, the 71-year-old will return for next month’s European Championship qualifiers in Armenia and home to Andorra.

“Of course we were disappointed he wasn’t here, especially for the first game at the new stadium,” said O’Shea.

“You forget about football when someone’s health is involved, but everything has gone okay, and fingers crossed he will be with us in a few weeks.

“Naturally we missed his leadership. You want him there just for the little words he gives at vital times and for his experience.”