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Euro 2012 Qualification 'Starts Now' For The Republic Of Ireland - Giovanni Trapattoni
Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni has warned his players that the real push for Euro 2012 qualification "starts now"...
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Sep 8, 2010 12:33:00 AM
By Adithya Ananth
Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni has warned his charges not to get carried away just yet, insisting that the real push for Euro 2012 qualification "starts now".
A 1-0 victory over Armenia on Friday followed by the 3-1 result against Andorra on Tuesday has seen the Boys in Green climb to the top of the standings in Group B.
Slovakia are also tied on points with Ireland, having carved out a much celebrated 1-0 victory over Russia, who have been touted to be one of the heavyweights in the group.
But Trapattoni's men have a superior goal difference over the Slovakians, which sends them to the top spot.
However, the Republic have the arduous task of taking on a wounded Russia in the next wave of qualifying games, set to take place next month. And only days after playing Dick Advocaat's men, they travel to central Europe to take on Slovakia.
"We can take confidence now," Trapattoni told reporters. "We have started the campaign and we are top of the table.
"It is not my habit to under-estimate teams like Macedonia, for example, but I think Slovakia and Russia will be our main competition.
"We have six points, like Slovakia, but now we have to look to next month. The competition starts now."
There appeared to be some surprise over the defeat suffered by Russia, but the Italian boss insisted that it was no more that which he had expected.
"It is not a surprise for me," he said. "I think Slovakia will be a strong team, like Russia. Those two teams will be the competition for us for first place."
Focussing on the victory over Andorra, the former Juventus and Italy boss maintained that he was happy with the performance put in by his players.
In less that 15 minutes, Kevin Kilbane had opened the scoring to give his side the lead, while Kevin Doyle doubled the advantage. But the visitors pulled one back in the first-half, as midfielder Christian Martinez sent in a well taken shot past goalkeeper Shay Given.
However, skipper Robbie Keane ensured that Ireland got the points by scoring in the second period, as his goal tally at international level rose to 44.
"I am glad not only with the result, but I am glad because the team understood what I wanted them to do," Trapattoni said. "I spoke to them about playing with enthusiasm and personality and looking immediately to score a goal.
"We had an opportunity to do that and then Kevin Doyle scored a beautiful goal, a fantastic goal. It was just a pity we conceded straight away.
"They had one shot and it went in the top corner, but that's football. We had a good reaction and we made sure of the victory.
"Now the team is playing the way I want it to. We can play good football and when there are difficult situations, we defend those situations.
"There were 10 minutes in the first half when Andorra were better than us, but the team had the right mentality. They wanted to win.
"But now we must continue."
The 71-year-old reserved special praise for his captain Keane, whose goal made the victory all the more certain. It also took him one step closer to realising his dream of scoring 50 goals for his country.
"He had opportunities in last game - he hit the post and had other possibilities to score a goal, and he also should have had a penalty," said Trapattoni.
"For a striker, it is important to score goals and I am happy for him because it is not easy. He and Kevin Doyle worked very hard and after an hour, they were a little bit tired after the battle in Armenia."
Republic of Ireland take on Russia at the Aviva Stadium on October 8.
A 1-0 victory over Armenia on Friday followed by the 3-1 result against Andorra on Tuesday has seen the Boys in Green climb to the top of the standings in Group B.
Slovakia are also tied on points with Ireland, having carved out a much celebrated 1-0 victory over Russia, who have been touted to be one of the heavyweights in the group.
But Trapattoni's men have a superior goal difference over the Slovakians, which sends them to the top spot.
However, the Republic have the arduous task of taking on a wounded Russia in the next wave of qualifying games, set to take place next month. And only days after playing Dick Advocaat's men, they travel to central Europe to take on Slovakia.
"We can take confidence now," Trapattoni told reporters. "We have started the campaign and we are top of the table.
"It is not my habit to under-estimate teams like Macedonia, for example, but I think Slovakia and Russia will be our main competition.
"We have six points, like Slovakia, but now we have to look to next month. The competition starts now."
There appeared to be some surprise over the defeat suffered by Russia, but the Italian boss insisted that it was no more that which he had expected.
"It is not a surprise for me," he said. "I think Slovakia will be a strong team, like Russia. Those two teams will be the competition for us for first place."
Focussing on the victory over Andorra, the former Juventus and Italy boss maintained that he was happy with the performance put in by his players.
In less that 15 minutes, Kevin Kilbane had opened the scoring to give his side the lead, while Kevin Doyle doubled the advantage. But the visitors pulled one back in the first-half, as midfielder Christian Martinez sent in a well taken shot past goalkeeper Shay Given.
However, skipper Robbie Keane ensured that Ireland got the points by scoring in the second period, as his goal tally at international level rose to 44.
"I am glad not only with the result, but I am glad because the team understood what I wanted them to do," Trapattoni said. "I spoke to them about playing with enthusiasm and personality and looking immediately to score a goal.
"We had an opportunity to do that and then Kevin Doyle scored a beautiful goal, a fantastic goal. It was just a pity we conceded straight away.
"They had one shot and it went in the top corner, but that's football. We had a good reaction and we made sure of the victory.
"Now the team is playing the way I want it to. We can play good football and when there are difficult situations, we defend those situations.
"There were 10 minutes in the first half when Andorra were better than us, but the team had the right mentality. They wanted to win.
"But now we must continue."
The 71-year-old reserved special praise for his captain Keane, whose goal made the victory all the more certain. It also took him one step closer to realising his dream of scoring 50 goals for his country.
"He had opportunities in last game - he hit the post and had other possibilities to score a goal, and he also should have had a penalty," said Trapattoni.
"For a striker, it is important to score goals and I am happy for him because it is not easy. He and Kevin Doyle worked very hard and after an hour, they were a little bit tired after the battle in Armenia."
Republic of Ireland take on Russia at the Aviva Stadium on October 8.
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