NEW Ireland boss Giovanni Trapattoni is ready to commit his long term future to the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) — but only if he qualifies for the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa. The new boss has started work on a two-year contract that includes an extension clause should he guide the Irish team past his native Italy and Bulgaria to the finals.
FAI bosses are certain to try to hang onto Trapattoni if he can work the oracle and get this team to Africa and their first major finals in eight years.
And the 69-year-old Trapattoni has given the broadest hint yet that he will extend his contract if he is successful with the Boys in Green.
“If we qualify for the World Cup finals then my work with Ireland will not be finished,” Trapattoni told Star Sunday.
“When a team qualifies is it very big for me and for Ireland for sure. Then in two years time we go again with new players and it is important for me that we have the possibility to continue with the quality and with the success of qualifying.
“It will also be up to the FAI and to the fans, if you are happy or if you are not happy. If the fans are happy and if all the people are happy, then that is important.”
Trapattoni has earmarked the international return of Stephen Ireland, Steve Finnan, Andy O’Brien and Dean Kiely as a major goal, and is confident he will get them back.
“I have a feeling, a sixth sense that they will be back,” he added. “I think they can come back in and I will listen to them.
“It is important what they say to me. I will ask them to clarify why they left and tell them that for me they are all very important.”
Milan will be Trapattoni’s base for the next two years, but he is adamant it will not be a disadvantage.
“I have discussed this with the federation and I will be over in England looking at players every weekend,” confirmed Trapattoni.
“You can tell the people that Trapattoni is as young as 20 years,” he told his first major press conference as Ireland’s new manager in Dublin last week.
And the former Italy and Juventus boss insists his age is not a problem. “I feel young inside. I run with time and that is very important. The past is in the past and I always look to the future, to the next,” added Trapattoni.
“Seriously, my experience has always been not to dwell on the past and not to dwell on results. Tomorrow is always a new day and it is a new challenge.
“I have always looked ahead of time and that is important to me. In 1985 I wrote an article for the Italian Federation’s magazine about the way football would change, the pace of the game and the way we play and train and coach and what I said then is the way now.
“That is over 20 years ago, and football then is not football now. Football 30 years ago is not football now. In this game you have to always look ahead.”
Trapattoni will be delighted to discover that Irish football is quite willing to look ahead. Not since 2002 has the national team offered any real hope for the future.
He inherits a squad and a national psyche which he admits, even from his detailed study of DVDs in recent weeks, is scarred.
“Yes, Irish football is scarred,” confessed Trapattoni. “But it is also a simple thing to work on. I have used the example of Greece a couple of times because nobody thought that Greece would win the European Championships in Portugal four years ago.
“We have to begin again and we have to look at Greece as an example. In Portugal they had trust, they believed in themselves and that is the first question we must ask ourselves.
“We have the good players to get the results. There is enough quality there but we have to make sure that they use the qualities they have well and that they don’t commit silly mistakes.”
Silly mistakes cost Ireland dearly in the last European qualifiers and ultimately cost Steve Staunton his job.
“I have a list of the mistakes from every game and I have prepared a DVD with them for the players,” revealed the Italian.
“I have brought it down to 10 second clips of the mistakes from each of the games because the players don’t need to stay watching a DVD for one hour. I will show them the situation and I have to correct the situation.”
Jack Charlton was known as boss, Mick McCarthy and Steve Staunton were known as Gaffer to their players. Trapattoni has no wish to be known as an international man of mystery. And with good reason.
“Normally I ask my players just to call me Giovanni,” he stated. “In Italy many years when the first manager of the national team was appointed the people called him Mister, but in Italy when you put in the O it becomes Mistero and Mistero means mystery.
“That’s why I always say that Giovanni is better. It is important to have respect, and calling me Giovanni means there is respect.”
Close Race
THE race for the Scottish title took another twist over a dramatic weekend in the SPL as Celtic beat Motherwell with a controversial late winner from Georgios Samaras just 24 hours before Rangers were held to a scoreless draw by Hibs.
The Motherwell game was tied at 1-1 with 12 minutes to go when referee Steve Conroy awarded a corner to the Bhoys after Bobo Balde appeared to head a Barry Robson free-kick wide.
Samaras then headed Robson’s corner to the net for a controversial winner, but Celtic boss Gordon Strachan refused to get involved in the controversy afterwards.
“I am still furious about a goal and the offside decision that we didn’t get at Inverness — so we are all furious,” Strachan said.
“We have our own complaints. Did you see Naka getting mugged in the first half? I think there were five fouls on him in the first 15 minutes.”
Motherwell boss Mark McGhee added, “I’m absolutely adamant that it wasn’t a corner. But we still had the opportunity to defend it even though the referee made a bad decision.”
Celtic had leveled through Scott McDonald’s 30th goal of the season before on loan star Samaras scored the sensational winner.
“It was a huge three points,” added Strachan. “Everybody expects us to play beautiful football but it about getting results and that was common sense football. I wasn’t concerned at 1-0 down because I always feel we can come back.”
Japanese midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura is to stay in Glasgow for at least another year before finishing his career back home with the Yokohama Marinos.
“You can never really know what the future holds for you in football from year to year, so I was delighted when Celtic said they wanted me again,” Nakamura said in the Scottish Sunday Express.
Henrik Larsson will play for Celtic’s 1998 championship-winning team against Motherwell’s 1991 Scottish Cup winners in the Phil O’Donnell tribute match on May 25.
Larsson, who now plays for Swedish club Helsingborg, will be joined in the Celtic team by Paul Lambert, Morten Wieghorst, Craig Burley, Stephane Mahe and Alan Stubbs.
Motherwell’s side for the match at Parkhead will include Dougie Arnott, Stevie Kirk and Chris McCart.
Celtic will be bossed by Wim Jansen, the Dutchman who engineered the title triumph as the Bhoys ended nine years of Rangers domination in the Scottish Premier League. Tommy McLean, who steered Motherwell to their cup triumph, will take charge of the Steelmen.
17s Lose
IRELAND’S under-17 side suffered last minute heartache in their opening UEFA finals game on Sunday when a late, late goal secured a 2-1 win for red hot favorites France after the Boys in Green had led for much of the match thanks to an early Paul Murphy goal.
“It is very disappointing to lose in the last minute, but I felt it was coming,” said Irish boss Sean McCaffrey. “We did well in the first half, but in the second half we were outplayed and outrun.
“We play Switzerland now and it is going to be tough. We have to retain possession of the ball better than we did. Some of our players had fantastic games. There are lessons to be learned, and the fact that we have players to come back will be a major help to us.
“In these tournaments you have to plan to play five matches, but the next one is always the most important, and if we beat Switzerland we are back in it.”
Ireland Welcome
READING and Ireland winger Stephen Hunt is adamant that the welcome mat is out for troubled Man City star Stephen Ireland.
“I have no problem with him coming back nor does anyone else in the Irish squad to the best of my knowledge,” Hunt told Star Sunday. “I know what a good player he is. He can see a pass, he can create goals and he is the sort of talented players we need if we are going to qualify for the World Cup.
“Hopefully, Stephen will be with us in Portugal and we can all look forward to the real start of the new era.”
Soccer Shorts
NEWCASTLE and Ireland ‘keeper Shay Given has admitted he will not play again this season after surgery to repair another groin injury. “Why risk anything and rush back for the sake of one or two games before the end of the season?” asked Given . . .
SUNDERLAND manager Roy Keane has promised a major clear-out at the Stadium of Light after Saturday’s defeat at Bolton, with possible new faces to come in over the summer including Irish stars Richard Dunne, Stephen Ireland and Stephen Hunt according to weekend reports.
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