Trapattoni plays his cards right

Giovanni Trapattoni is making no apologies for desperately wanting Italy to lose on Saturday night.

The Italian will send his Republic of Ireland side into battle with his native country knowing the outcome of World Cup Qualifying Group Eight could be decided at Croke Park.

Marcello Lippi’s side need just a point to top the group and claim the one automatic place for next summer’s finals in South Africa.

However, a victory for Ireland – to emulate the one they famously secured over Holland eight years ago to pave the way for their trip to Japan and South Korea – would send them into Wednesday night’s clash with Montenegro with their dream very much alive.

For Trapattoni, who has both played for and managed Italy during his distinguished career, the thought of denting the hopes of his countrymen causes no qualms whatsoever.

He said: “Do you have a friend? Do you play cards? Do you want to win or do you want to lose?

“These two games will be for us the passport to South Africa. We know Italy are the world champions and they are still one of the best three or four teams in the world.

“Maybe for Italy there is only prestige in the result; for us, these two games are not only big games, but they are important to our hopes of going to South Africa and the World Cup.

“We always play for three points, in every game we play for three points.

“We can’t think about a draw being enough for us, that would be very dangerous. We can’t go on to the pitch thinking it’s enough to draw.

“In my experience, the team must play always for three points, and that could be very important for us and our hopes of going to South Africa.

“We have to believe in our attitude, we have to believe in our discipline, and up until now, we have achieved good results because of that mentality.”

When the sides met in Bari in April, Trapattoni put the David and Goliath metaphor to good use, and was happy to remind the assembled media at his pre-match press conference on Friday how that night turned out.

Vincenzo Iaquinto’s strike within minutes of Giampaolo Pazzini’s first-half dismissal gave Italy the lead, but Robbie Keane’s late equaliser snatched a precious point.

During the intervening months, the Italians have opened up a four-point gap on the Irish, who are themselves five points clear of third-placed Bulgaria and in pole position to claim at least the runners-up spot and a ticket for the play-offs.

But while a maximum of two points from their remaining two qualifiers will complete that part of the mission, Trapattoni is targeting nothing other than victory on Saturday night.

He said: “Anything can happen in football. The important thing for us tomorrow is to play the game and do the best we can to keep our distance on Bulgaria.

“Then anything can happen. Italy may even lose to Cyprus. We are focussing on keeping the distance and getting into the play-offs.”

An advertisement in several Irish newspapers on Friday morning offered fans a chance to win a trip to the World Cup final, with the artwork for “Trap’s golden ticket” bearing a more than passable resemblance to that used to promote the famous trilogy of Godfather films.

Asked if that was the image of Italians in Ireland, Trapattoni replied with a smile: “I am not Mafioso.”

But he added: “We Irish are tough and we get out heads out of the water independently whatever people think of us.

“Everybody has their own mentality, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what people think or how they perceive you.”

Trapattoni has never shied away from brave decisions during his time as Ireland manager, and he confirmed another one today when he revealed that Stoke winger Liam Lawrence will indeed start the game in place of the injured Damien Duff.

It will be the 27-year-old’s first competitive appearance for his country and just his third cap, but it is the reward for an excellent display and a stunning winner in last month’s friendly victory over South Africa.

Trapattoni said: “Lawrence against South Africa, he convinced me. He is a little bit different.”