Euro 2012 
/ Ben Lyttleton / 03 April 2012 / Leave a Comment 
Trapattoni's tactics aren't to everyone's liking despite a decent record with Ireland
"After Ireland's recent friendly 1-1 draw with Czech Republic, pundit Eamonn
Dunphy laid into the Italian for being too defensive and dogmatic in his approach."
The experienced Giovanni Trapattoni managed to guide the Republic of Ireland to a major competition for the first time since 2002 but not everyone is happy with his selection policy nor his tactics, says Ben Lyttleton.
Ireland coach Giovanni Trapattoni may be the only coach in the game to have won every major international club title going (including the European Cup/Champions League, European Cup Winners' Cup, Uefa Cup/Europa League, European SuperCup and World Club Cup), and he may have won ten domestic championships in four different countries (Italy, Germany, Portugal and Austria), but he has unfinished business as a national team coach.
In 2002, Trapattoni was in charge of Italy at the World Cup, when his side was controversially beaten on penalties by hosts South Korea. "That remains my most bitter moment. The referee [Byron] Moreno laughed at us in the face," he has said. At the 2004 European Championships, Italy fared even worse, failing to get out of a group that contained Sweden, Denmark and Bulgaria.
When he was appointed to manage Ireland, the superstitious Italian pointed out that his birthday was on St. Patrick's Day, which proved to him to be a sign. It was a good one: he has now achieved what he was brought in by Ireland to do, which is qualify them for a major tournament for the first time since 2002. (Ireland came close in Trap's first effort, when the controversial play-off defeat to France cost them a place at the World Cup.) But that does not mean everyone is happy with Trapattoni and his work as coach.
After Ireland's recent friendly 1-1 draw with Czech Republic, pundit and former Betting.Betfair columnist Eamonn Dunphy laid into the Italian for being too defensive and dogmatic in his approach. Dunphy told RTE presenter Bill O'Herlihy that Trapattoni's refusal to call up younger talents like James McClean (he played ten minutes against the Czechs, his debut), Wes Hoolahan, and Ciaran Clark amounted to a dereliction of duty.
"He seems to forget that we've got World Cup qualifiers beginning in September and that these young players will be needed for the future of Irish soccer," Dunphy said in this interview.
"I'm very disappointed with the way he's done his job. I think he hasn't been hands-on enough, he hasn't seen enough games, he's not in touch with what talent is available to him. It's wrong, it's wrong, it's wrong. I don't care if he wins the European Championships.
It's wrong. I feel that he believes the system is more important than the players."
On that last point, Dunphy is certainly correct. Trapattoni is rigid in his adherence to 4-4-2 and his preference for Glenn Whelan and Keith Andrews in central midfield ahead of players like Darron Gibson or James McCarthy, both arguably more talented points at safety-first tactic that is perhaps befitting of a nation Ireland's size (it's interesting to note that when Fabio Capello adopted a similar approach in England's game against world champions Spain, they won the game). With full-backs forbidden from crossing the halfway line, and Robbie Keane the only player allowed the freedom to play between the lines, Trap's greatest strength has been making this side hard to beat.
And while he insists he is not a defensive coach, his argument is hard to stand up given that he points to a team from 30 years ago as his evidence:
"It is not about being defensive or offensive, but it is about the attitude
on the pitch," he said.
"Some people say my team always plays defensively but it is a historical lie. When I was at Juventus (1976-86) I used to play with a winger [Domenico Penzo], an attacking midfielder [Marco Tardelli], two forwards [Paolo Rossi and Zbigniew Boniek] plus Michel Platini they were all in the first eleven. I am only still here because I won more than I lost, otherwise I would have been forgotten." Others, like Gianluca Vialli, forced to play as a deep-lying playmaker under Trap at Juventus, would disagree.
The problem with Dunphy¹s argument is that once Ireland, ([5.1]) to qualify
from Group C, were drawn along with Spain ([1.12]), Italy, ([1.71]) and
Croatia ([2.74]), Trap's tactics make more sense. Against bigger and better
teams, as Capello showed, the safety-first tactic can be effective. The end result will probably be that Ireland's games are low on goals, even if their opening game, against Croatia, is their most winnable. That game is ([3.15]) to finish a draw.
Look out for the goalless draw price too, nearer the fixture. A draw is a result that would still leave Trap hopeful of getting past his compatriots and into the knock-out round. You wonder what Dunphy will make of it all if that happens.
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