SHAMROCK ROVERS will resist calls to move next week’s high-profile Europa League qualifier with Juventus to the RDS, preferring to back themselves in front of their passionate home support at the Tallaght Stadium.
As the scramble for tickets started yesterday – the Rovers website went down for a number of hours as it struggled to cope with the volume of traffic – chairman Jonathan Roche confirmed the match will remain in Tallaght, but he has requested a special dispensation from Uefa to erect 3,000 temporary seats at the venue and bring the capacity to 9,000.
Roche is “confident” the request will be granted but as it stands, Juventus are entitled to 300 tickets (five per cent of capacity), with the remainder likely to be snapped up quickly, soon after sales details are released this morning.
Rovers have 3,500 members and season ticket holders who are entitled to at least a ticket each for next Thursday’s game. For the return leg in Modena on August 5th, they will receive an allocation of 1,000. That number would have been greater had the Stadio Olimpico not already been booked out by U2.
The match will instead take place 300kms down the autostrada at the Stadio Alberto Braglia, the home venue of Serie B side Modena, with a capacity of just 19,000.
Rovers already stand to make in excess of €400,000 over the two legs, from gate receipts and television rights, and that figure will rise should they succeed in increasing capacity at Tallaght Stadium.
Republic of Ireland boss and former Juventus manager Giovanni Trapattoni will be in Dublin next Tuesday to name his squad to face Argentina next month and may stay for the home leg. His close ties to the Turin club and his experience of leading an Italian team to face an Irish side when his AC Milan were held 0-0 by Athlone Town in the Uefa Cup in 1975, meant his opinions were sought yesterday.
“From my own experience of Athlone, it is definitely not a game or place (Ireland) that any Italian team should under-estimate going to,” warned the Italian.
“Man for man, Juventus have better quality players but Shamrock Rovers are well organised and will be very well motivated as they are in the middle of their season. That will count for a lot in the game and I am sure Juventus will not under-estimate them.
“Players like (Alessandro) Del Piero can change a game in a split second with a piece of skill. But if Rovers are not overawed by the challenge, then they can have a chance.”
It remains a slim chance, however, and a task far tougher than that of disposing of Bnei Yehufa 2-1 on aggregate.
Few will expect them to navigate a route past the two-time European Cup winners, but Rovers supporters will be heartened by yesterday’s admission from Juventus manager Luigi Del Neri that his defence needs strengthening.
“The priority is to see if there are players who can improve the defence,” he said, before adding: “The next round in the Europa League is not a given because we’ll be playing 11 against 11. We saw at the World Cup with New Zealand that they could create physical problems.
“To face a tough team from a tough league like the Irish one – nothing is already decided.”
Damien Richardson, meanwhile, has named the 18-man squad and seven-strong standby list ahead of the visit of Manchester United at Aviva Stadium on August 4th.
“August 4th is a big day for Irish football,” said Richardson. “The opening of the new stadium is hugely important for the development of the game and I am delighted that the Airtricity League will be central to such an historic occasion.
“I have selected a strong squad for the match against Manchester United. There is plenty of talent in the Airtricity League and I faced a difficult decision in reducing the numbers down to 18. I am very much looking forward to getting out on the training ground with the players as we prepare to represent the Airtricity League against such a big club as Manchester United.”
AIRTRICITY LEAGUE SQUAD (v Manchester United XI, Aviva Stadium, August 4th): Rogers (St Patrick’s Ath), Doherty (Derry City), Shelley (Bohemians), O’Brien (Sporting Fingal), Oman (Bohemians), Peers (Sligo Rovers), Powell (Bohemians), Kenna (St Patrick’s Ath), Keegan (Bohemians), Williams (Sporting Fingal), Kirby (Sporting Fingal), Ndo (Sligo Rovers), Ryan (Sligo Rovers), O’Donnell (Galway Utd), Brennan (Bohemians), Madden (Bohemians), Sheppard (Galway Utd), Guy (St Patrick’s Ath). Stand-by list: Cherrie (Dundalk), Keane (Sligo Rovers), McEleney (Derry City), Mulcahy (St Patrick’s Ath), Kilduff (UCD), Amond (Sligo Rovers), Kudozovic (Dundalk).
