Trap wraps it up at last in Ireland

Italian legend Giovanni Trapattoni has guided clubs to titles in four countries, including his homeland, Germany and Portugal. Oliver Lang/AFP/Getty Images

By Sean Creedon, Special to SI.com, World Soccer

When Brian Kerr's contract as Republic of Ireland manager was not renewed in October 2005, the FA chief executive John Delaney promised a "world-class replacement." What they got in January '06 was the country's most-capped player, Steve Staunton, who at the time was coaching the reserves of English lower-league side Walsall.

Twenty-five months later, however, Delaney finally delivered on his promise, confirming the hugely successful Giovanni Trapattoni would be the ninth full-time national-team manager.

The 68-year-old Italian has won league titles in four countries -- his homeland (with Juventus and Inter Milan), Germany (Bayern Munich), Portugal (Benfica) and Austria (Salzburg, his current club). The big question now is, can he bring back the good times for the Boys in Green?

The high points came under Jack Charlton, the Republic's only previous foreign national-team boss. The former England defender, who took charge in February '86, led the Irish to the quarterfinals and the second round at successive World Cups, and was also a hugely popular figure. Trap's chances in the popularity stakes will certainly not be hurt by the fact that his birthday falls on St. Patrick's Day.

The Italian will reportedly receive a salary of $3 million in each of the two years of his contract, and the appointment, which Trapattoni will take up on May 1 after Salzburg have completed its Austrian league campaign, brings him other advantages. He says that his return to international management (he led Italy from '00 to '04) will allow him more time with his family.

The other big winners, so far at least, are the bookmakers. Bets were placed on no fewer than 49 people to take the job, and there were nine clear favorites along the way, so payouts were considerably less than they might have been.

This time round, the FA decided to hand over the selection process to a three-man committee -- Don Givens, the Under-21 manager and caretaker with the senior team, Ray Houghton, the former Republic midfielder and now a soccer analyst, and ex-Arsenal coach Don Howe.

When Steve McClaren was sacked as England manager in November, it seemed to leave the way open for his assistant Terry Venables, also formerly in charge of England, to get the Ireland job. Venables has a reputation of being a players' coach, and while there were reservations about his suitability in some quarters, many believed he was the right choice.

However, the committee seemed intent on interviewing anyone who showed an interest in replacing Staunton. For a long time it seemed to be between Venables and Gérard Houllier until Trapattoni entered the race.

Givens said he made contact with the Italian via Gilbert Facchinetti, president of Switzerland's Neuchatel Xamax, one of Givens' former clubs. But certainly Trapattoni relied heavily on the advice of Liam Brady before agreeing the deal.

Brady, the former Republic midfielder and currently head of youth development at Arsenal, was bought from the Gunners by Trapattoni when Juventus manager in '80. He is now to receive a role in Trap's back-room team for the national squad. Former Juventus midfielder and Italian Under-21 boss Marco Tardelli will serve as Trap's assistant.

The veteran stole the FA's thunder somewhat when he stated at a routine press conference with Salzburg that he was taking the Ireland job, five hours before the board met in Dublin to confirm his appointment.

Then there was consternation in some quarters when it was revealed that Irish businessman and tax exile Denis O'Brien had offered to pay half the new management team's wages. O'Brien had made the gesture, with "no strings attached," toward the end of Staunton's reign, so the FA had known all along that it had plenty of money to chase a big name.

Some radio callers said the FA was right to take the money, while others said they would prefer O'Brien to pay his taxes in the country where he made his fortune, by selling the Republic's second mobile-phone license.

Delaney admitted the FA, which recently sold its Dublin city-center headquarters for a reported $12 million, had enough cash reserves to pay the new manager's wages but added: "It's a welcome development to see Irish business people putting money back into Irish football. Now we can invest more money in the game at grassroots level."

Trapattoni's first game will be against Serbia at Dublin's Croke Park on May 24, before which he is planning a week's training camp in the Algarve. There will be one more friendly, against Norway in Oslo on Aug. 22, for him to look at the talent at his disposal before the World Cup qualifiers begin in September.

Naturally, there are going to be changes, and one of the first could be the captaincy. We know from Tardelli's time at Inter that he is not a big fan of Robbie Keane, the current captain; Tardelli's arrival at San Siro effectively ended the forward's brief spell in Milan. So the captain's armband could eventually be handed to defender Richard Dunne or goalkeeper Shay Given, even though Keane will stay on for now -- Trapattoni named the Tottenham Hotspur star as skipper for the Serbia game.

Eircom League managers hope Trap and Tardelli will take an interest in the domestic game. No doubt they eventually will take in some of the games, but realistically the best local players can expect is a call-up to the Under-21 squad.

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