ITALY'S WORLD Cup-winning coach Marcello Lippi expects the Republic of Ireland will prove "very difficult" opponents for Italy on the road to the South African World Cup finals in 2012.

Speaking yesterday in Rome, where he was formally presented as the new Italian coach in the wake of the post-Euro 2008 sacking of Roberto Donadoni, Lippi told The Irish Timesan Ireland team led by his colleague Giovanni Trapattoni would be "all the harder" to beat:

"I remember Ireland well from my last time in charge, because we played a friendly against them in August 2005," he said. "That was a tough game and it was an important game for us because it came at the end of a year of World Cup preparations and experiments.

"That game in Dublin was the first time that we started to play in the way that won us the World Cup, with two or three players up front and with a certain type of defensive organisation. That game was important for us, it gave a great boost to our self-belief because we went to Dublin and won the match with authority and with personality, winning 2-0.

"My impression was that the Irish team was a good one, and with Trapattoni in charge, they're going to be all that more convinced and assured of themselves and for that reason they're going to be a very difficult team to play."

For the last three months, if not longer, the spectre of Lippi has looked like an uncomfortable presence sitting on the shoulder Donadoni. But Lippi yesterday denied categorically he had in any way undermined Donadoni.

"Every time I was asked for my opinion on Italy I obviously expressed a very positive view of both the squad and the work of the new coach (Donadoni), who had clearly built up a very good relationship with the players," he said.

"My opinion of this Italy was always very positive and I kept on saying to people in the build-up to Euro 2008 that I didn't see any better teams around.

"When the president (of the Italian federation) came to me (last March) and asked me if I was willing to take over the national team again, my answer was clear: You have to go and play Euro 2008; if things go the way we hope they will, then it's only right Donadoni remains in the job; in the case that things don't work out then rest assured I would be interested in returning. And I added that in the meantime I would not accept any job offers from outside Italy. That's the way I handled things, without asking for anything, without signing anything and without looking for guarantees."

Asked about his team plans, Lippi refused to name individual players, saying only that all Italian players between the ages of 18 and 40 should aspire to playing for Italy. The new coach did, however, rule out calling on Roma's Francesco Totti and AC Milan's Alessandro Nesta to reconsider their international "retirement".

Lippi insists that, despite Italy's quarter-final elimination by Spain in Vienna, the current squad is still highly competitive: "My idea is take up with the team I left (two years ago) because in my opinion that team is not one to be written off. On the contrary, it still has many good players who still have a lot to give to the national team.

"As for Italy at Euro 2008, we played some games that were better than others but we played in a manner where you can no longer say that Italy is only about catenaccio and defensive football. We were determined and concrete, yes, but we were also modern in our attitude.

Referring to the "calciopoli" match-fixing scandal, which in part prompted him to resign two years ago (because his son Davide featured in the enquiry), Lippi argued Italian football had largely left that difficult moment behind.

"Italian football is like cheese," he said. "If you have a decent Tuscan pecorino in your cellar and it gets a bit of blue mould on it, you don't throw away the entire cheese, you just scrape off the mould and then you eat it.

"That's the way the Italian football world is, something that Italy should be proud of. Italy are still world champions at both national team and club level, we've got a very good team going to the Olympics this summer, we've got a very strong Serie B league and we've got the best coaches in the world, and I'm not talking about Capello, Ancelotti or Prandelli, but I'm talking about guys at lower levels who are very good. Mark my words, Italian football is still very, very good and very, very strong."

Nor does Lippi feel he is taking a major gamble returning to the scene of his greatest triumph.

"I'm back here because it was such a good experience two years ago that I want to try and repeat it. For the last two years, I have shared the sense of satisfaction of winning the World Cup with many people and, frankly, I've never had the sensation that people didn't want me to come back and take over Italy again."

Finally, Lippi had words of praise for the Euro 2008 winners, commenting: "The Spanish played really well but they got to that point, achieved that success, at the end of a long voyage, playing good football with great clubs like Barcelona, Real Madrid and Valencia.

"They had faith, (Luis) Aragones had patience and they've got a great result thanks to playing a truly traditional Spanish game."