SOCCER INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY: Rep of Ireland v Brazil:GIOVANNI TRAPATTONI was doing a decent line in defiance at the Arsenal training ground in St Albans yesterday, but there was a clear sense the news of Robbie Keane and Richard Dunne's withdrawals for tonight's game against Brazil had dented the Italian's confidence that his side could build on strong performances against Italy and France by producing another against the five times world champions.
Perhaps it was the slightly dejected tone of his manager which last night stirred Keane into action. Whatever it was, the Ireland skipper unexpectedly clambered off his sick bed and hit the road for London and the Italian, one presumes, has rarely been happier to see him.
Keane, it seems, was anxious to make the trip and when the Celtic medical staff acknowledged his knee had shown signs of improvement after treatment there was no more to say about the matter.
The Dubliner is now expected to start in tonight’s game and reclaim the captain’s armband that had provisionally been handed to Shay Given.
The news is a significant boost to the Republic of Ireland’s hopes of troubling tonight’s opponents up front, but in defence the team will do well to avoid looking a little threadbare against a Brazilian side that romped to victory in the Confederations Cup last summer and subsequently clinched top spot in the South American qualifying group for the World Cup having been, amongst other things, the continent’s top scorers.
There will be no Luis Fabiano tonight with the Seville striker, like Dunne, having been pulled out with a slight muscle strain.
Ronaldinho and Pato, both of Milan, have also been omitted by manager Dunga but the coach still has the likes of Nilmar, Elano and Julio Baptista to add to his attack.
Up against them will be a back four consisting of Stephen Kelly, Paul McShane, Seán St Ledger and Kevin Kilbane, a combination that, for all their capabilities and commitment, suggests Given may well be in a for a busy night.
Kilbane is, by quite some distance, the most experienced of the quartet but the left back’s last taste of competitive action was the six-minute run-out he got for Hull against Manchester City just short of a month ago.
The rest are playing regularly, but clearly Preston’s St Ledger is in for another of those periodic opportunities to mix it at a much higher level.
McShane, meanwhile, has been performing solidly enough in a Hull team that has been struggling in the Premier League of late, while Kelly has been on a decent run for a Fulham side that has again been exceeding expectations, although the right back will want to forget his role in the goal conceded by the Londoners against Shaktar Donetsk last week when he was badly wrong-footed in the build up by a 19-year-old Brazilian, Douglas Costa, who is not deemed worthy of a place in the squad for this game.
In the circumstances, it is scarcely any great surprise then that Trapattoni, after admitting his disappointment at being unable to field his strongest line-up, attempted to emphasise the potential for getting through tonight’s encounter on the basis of industry, organisation and shape.
“Until this morning I hoped to put on the pitch the players who played the last game against France,” said the Italian a little down-heartedly after hearing that Dunne would not travel but before the news came through that Keane would.
“But in the last few minutes we are missing players like Robbie Keane and Richard Dunne who played yesterday.
“Anyway, we put on the field another 11 players and, as we did against Australia, we can still play well against Brazil
“But, I repeat what I said on Sunday, it will be important for us that we play with the same mentality as we did against France and Italy – the same performance and the same attention.
“There will be more expectation because Brazil is a great team, their players are great opponents.
“Every player can score goals, they have so many creative and technical players. But I am confident because also today I saw our players were fresh.
“I think they have recovered their energy. That is important because we must not only play a pressing game – we cannot allow the pace of the great players like Kaka, Robinho and many other creative players, we must be compact – that is very, very important.”
Keane’s return means Leon Best misses out on what would have been his second international start, with the skipper expected to partner Kevin Doyle, who the veteran coach went out of his way to build up yesterday with talk of his potential to play for one of the very biggest clubs.
Trapattoni does at least have a close to full-strength midfield and the likes of Damien Duff, Glenn Whelan and Keith Andrews will have their work cut out, hopefully providing support to the front two as well as protection to the back four.
The manager, one suspects, would desperately want to avoid a heavy defeat but, he said, he will give some of the younger players a run out, including James McCarthy, the 19-year-old whose development the Italian was careful to point out yesterday, is something to be nurtured over the long term.
“In Italy, when there are young players like McCarthy, for example, who have much potential, and all the reporters and fans have great expectations when they talk about them,” he said.
“But the player must play continuously. They grow and develop their personality.
“I think he (McCarthy) is clever and plays good football. He is also creative.
“But only Pele and maybe Maradona and Cruyff were great at 19 years old. The rest grow slowly, slowly.”
PROBABLE LINE-UPS
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: Given (Manchester City); Kelly (Fulham), McShane (Hull City), St Ledger (Preston North End), Kilbane (Hull City); Lawrence (Stoke City), Whelan (Stoke City), Andrews (Blackburn Rovers), Duff (Fulham); Keane (Celtic, capt), Doyle (Wolverhampton Wanderers).
BRAZIL: Julio Cesar (Inter Milan); Maicon (Inter Milan), Lucio (Inter Milan), Juan (Roma), Bastos (Lyon); Gilberto Silva (Panathinaikos), Felipe Melo (Juventus); Ramires (Benfica), Kaka (Real Madrid), Robinho (Santos); Adriano (Flamengo).
Referee: Mike Dean (England).
