Soccer:Gone are the days of unforeseen pronouncements at a Republic of Ireland pre-match press conference. Giovanni Trapattoni's confirmation today that his side will be unchanged for the visit of Russia to Lansdowne Road tomorrow means the art of predicting a starting XI where the Italian is concerned is an increasingly redundant one.
Had Damien Duff and Keith Andrews been available for what is officially a sell-out, according to FAI chief John Delaney, the Italian may have tinkered a little, though he insisted had no reason to drop Aiden McGeady after his last performance and reiterated his faith in Paul Green alongside Glenn Whelan in midfield.
The only thing, therefore, left to be confirmed was the availability of defender Richard Dunne and after the Aston Villa player trained this morning, his presence in the heart of the back four with Seán St Ledger was ensured.
No alarms, no surprises, it is business as usual.
For Trapattoni, business means being top of the Euro 2012 Group B table come Tuesday night next, when he hopes to have garnered six points from tomorrow’s home fixture and a tricky trip to Slovakia four days later. Barring a big win for the latter in Armenia tomorrow, however, four would achieve that too.
Typically, he is not overly concerned how it is achieved as long as it is, because Dick Advocaat’s side, he says, will be formidable opposition.
“It would be excellent to achieve full points but we should also be optimistic with four points, it would allow us stay at the top of the table. Qualification is long and we know tomorrow the more important moments start and also on Tuesday.
“We already said we play against one of the most famous international teams, Russia. And also the team has a little advantage … they have players playing every week in their league. Seven or eight players play in the best Russians teams like Zenit and CSKA and that is a great advantage.”
Never short of a parallel, the veteran continued: “When I was in Juve or Milan we gave the national team seven or eight players and they played better. That is an advantage.
“But I have reasons to be happy with our situation, players who play a little or not, but we are a very good team and happy with our mentality and how our players play the game. It is important to play well but more important is the result. The show is gone after the game but the result stays. Football is better when you can say you are top of the table.”
The news that Roman Pavlyuchenko is missing for Russia is a bonus for Trapattoni, but one that has, perhaps, been overplayed, given that he has featured for a mere 22 minutes in the campaign so far.
Far more crucial to Ireland’s hopes tomorrow night is the homeside’s ability to neutralise the threat of Andrei Arshavin. Quizzed on what his plans were for the Arsenal man, Trapattoni said he was confident his players were familiar enough with the diminutive forward to cope.
“We have defenders who play in the same league, so they know Arshavin,” he added. “He can play left, right, sometimes as a second striker. We need to be compact.
“We have the experience to change the system,” he added later.
When asked to compare Arshavin to a player Ireland faced before, the Italian struggled, understandably. There is no immediate comparison from teams like Italy, France and Bulgaria. The closest he could find, then, was McGeady.
The manager is seemingly not immune to the groundswell of opinion that the young Scot appears to have turned a corner since his move from Celtic to Spartak Moscow.
"Last game against Andorra he played very, very well and I saw two games in Russia. He has more confidence and he goes at the goal. Two years ago I had to ask him not to stay on the line. Now in training he is showing more confidence and he played well in his last Spartak game.
“He goes near the box. He understands,” added the manager, who pointed to Keith Fahey’s late winner in Armenia after replacing McGeady, as evidence of the importance to keep tracking play into the opponent’s penalty area.
“Before Russia, I said I wasn’t sure it would be his country because of the winter . . . but after he went to this country, I think it unlocked him in a way and he plays with more confidence and he can shoot a goal, left or right.”
The Italian even suggested he saw a future role for the “calmer” McGeady as a second striker, “because he is quick and sometimes with Spartak he plays like this. If we need to change our system, he can stay more near the box. He is not afraid with the ball like he was before.”
And there it was, a late curveball to keep us on our toes.
Rep of Ireland (v Russia):Given (Manchester City); O'Shea (Manchester United), Dunne (Aston Villa), St Ledger (Preston North End), Kilbane (Hull City); Lawrence (Portsmouth), Green (Derby County), Whelan (Stoke City), McGeady (Spartak Moscow); Doyle (Wolves), Keane (Tottenham Hotspur).
