WORLD CUP SOCCER ITALY v REPUBLIC OF IRELAND:A FIRST glance at the training pitch in Malahide yesterday morning sent most of the assembled media into something akin to a panic attack. Aiden McGeady's absence from the squad's final session before departing for Italy in the afternoon was expected but Shay Given, Robbie Keane and Richard Dunne were all missing too.
As manager Giovanni Trapattoni put in a little overtime working on free-kick routines with Stephen Hunt and Glenn Whelan, Liam Brady was on hand to steady nerves. The three more senior absentees were receiving treatment for minor knocks, none of which are expected to affect the team selection while hopes that McGeady might again defy injury to make the starting line-up improved as the winger came through a light run without any apparent ill-effects.
“His preparation,” said the former Ireland captain, “is not ideal. He’s gotten over his bruised foot but now he’s got a bang on his knee, but it’s not a twist which is the main thing because if he had a twist he’d have no chance. He’s just been staying out of training so far although we will need to see him train tomorrow for Giovanni to make a final decision, but my feeling is that he’ll be okay.”
Few neutrals would give this Irish team much chance of taking anything away from the Bari game but Brady remains decidedly upbeat, insisting that confidence is the key to delivering an upset. “It’s my belief that there’s no one way ahead of anyone else in Europe,” says the Dubliner. “If you look at the Italians, although they’re strong and have a great deal of depth to the amount of players they can pick, I don’t think they’re way ahead of anyone else so I think we have a great chance of going to Bari and getting a result.
“Certainly that’s what the emphasis in training has been on over the last couple of days, having the conviction to go there; believing that we are as good as them and that we can get the result that he (Trapattoni) feels and I feel we can get.”
Brady feels the Italians will approach the game cautiously. “From my experience,” he says, “the Italians never really go for it. They’ll look at the Group and, a bit like we were against Bulgaria the other night when not losing was absolutely vital, I’m sure the Italians might be saying the same thing, ‘We’ve got an advantage over Ireland, we’re well clear in the Group so we’ll try to win the game but we don’t want to lose it.’ That’s the way I feel they’ll approach it.
“But,” he continued, “I’m only really a spectator. I follow the results from Italy and watch the games on TV but Giovanni and Marco know everything there is to know about how they’re going to play, who the players are going to be, where they’re going to play, the positions they’re going to play, what they’re going to try to do. I think we have a great advantage in that respect.”
Brady has had first-hand experience of Trapattoni’s opposite, Marcello Lippi, having played against the now 60-year-old during his time in Serie A and then at Sampdoria when the Italian was in charge of the club’s youth team. “He’s done quite well since then, hasn’t he?” he laughs.
He describes Trapattoni, as the “king of Italian coaches,” and shows no sign of having any doubts about the Ireland manager’s ability to put one over on his countrymen. The location of the game, he suggests, is a sign that the Italians are wary of the former Juventus boss too.
“I think it’s really good sign that we’re playing in Bari because when the Italians know they have a very difficult match, they take it down south and that’s why we’re down there.”
Just how concerned the Italians are is open to question but they will doubtless view it as another minor positive if McGeady fails to prove his fitness today and Andy Keogh gets to start on the wing for Ireland.
The 22-year-old has done little wrong during his previous 10 senior appearances but he did look a little out of his depth when started against Germany at Croke Park 18 months ago.
The Dubliner, to be fair, believes he has come some way since then and while he does not sound like a man who anticipates being in Trapattoni’s initial list of 11, he will, he insists, happily step in if he is required to.
“If I was to start, it would be a great game to be involved in and if not, hopefully I’ll be able to come on and make an impact of some sort. As far as he is concerned, though, Aiden is trying to get himself ready for Wednesday.
“As for Germany, it was a learning curve. I only got the nod that morning and it was a tough one to come into. I really enjoyed it but it was just a learning curve. Hopefully,” he says as he ponders coming up against Fabio Grosso at the San Nicola Stadium, “as you get older, that sort of experience helps you out.”
GROUP EIGHT
P W D L F A Pts
Italy 5 4 1 0 8 2 13
REP OF IRELAND 5 3 2 0 6 3 11
Bulgaria 4 0 4 0 3 3 4
Cyprus 4 1 1 2 4 5 4
Montenegro 4 0 2 2 3 6 2
Georgia 6 0 2 4 4 9 2
REMAINING FIXTURES
Tomorrow:Bulgaria v Cyprus; Italy v Republic of Ireland; Georgia v Montenegro.
June 6th:Cyprus v Montenegro; Bulgaria v Republic of Ireland.
September 5th:Cyprus v Republic of |reland; Bulgaria v Montenegro; Georgia v Italy.
September 9th:Italy v Bulgaria; Montenegro v Cyprus.
October 10th:Cyprus v Bulgaria; Montenegro v Georgia; Republic of Ireland v Italy.
October 14th:Republic of Ireland v Montenegro; Bulgaria v Georgia; Italy v Cyprus.
RESULTS TO DATE
Georgia 1, Republic of Ireland 2; Cyprus 1, Italy 2; Montenegro 2, Bulgaria 2; Montenegro 0, Republic of Ireland 0; Italy 2, Georgia 0; Georgia 1, Cyprus 1; Bulgaria 0, Italy 0; Georgia 0, Bulgaria 0; Republic of Ireland 1, Cyprus 0; Italy 2, Montenegro 1; Republic of Ireland 2, Georgia 1; Cyprus 2, Georgia 1; Montenegro 0, Italy 2, Republic of Ireland 1, Bulgaria 1.
