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Giovanni Trapattoni: frustrated by depth of Ireland squad. INPHO/Donall Farmer

Trapattoni again questions Irish squad quality as he looks to new adventure

“Half of the players do not play in the English top flight and often the players were not first team regulars,” he said today.

EVERGREEN COACH Giovanni Trapattoni said he is looking forward to fresh challenges after failing to lead Ireland to the World Cup in Brazil next year.

Trapattoni, speaking to Radio Anch’Io Sport on Monday, recently ended his spell as coach of the Irish after they could only finish fourth in Group C qualifying behind Germany, Sweden and Austria.

“We parted amicably after four years together,” said Trapattoni, who admitted nonetheless that his task was not helped by two key obstacles.

“Half of the players do not play in the English top flight and often the players were not first team regulars.”

Trapattoni, 74, is one of the oldest active coaches at either club or international level.

But that has not dampened his desire to take up one of the offers he said have come from as far afield as the United States or Japan.

Having notably coached Serie A teams AC Milan, Juventus, Fiorentina and Inter, as well as Bayern Munich and the Italian national side, Trapattoni has become one of the most celebrated managers in football history.

He is one of four coaches, alongside Ernst Happel, Jose Mourinho, and Tomislav Ivic to have won league titles in four different countries and one of only two coaches, with Udo Lattek, to have won all three European club titles.

Despite the advancing years, Trapattoni said he has no plans to retire as yet.

“I have to be careful where I choose next,” he said. “I’ve received flattering requests from far off places like America and Japan. I have meetings lined up in the near future and we’ll see whether I decide to go east or west.”

He added: “I still have the enthusiasm for this job because mentally, I feel fresh. I’m not ready to take a back office position just yet.”

© AFP 2013

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    Mute Darragh Mcnamara
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 1:04 PM

    In fairness trap you picked players not playing first team football over players in top flight football with glowing reports!

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    Mute Davin Lynch
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 4:00 PM

    Hell… one of them didn’t even have a club.

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    Mute jrbmc
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 7:35 PM

    Ahhhhhh how you say …ahhhhhh the … shat….is not ….out of the baga….yet…….

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    Mute sean o hannrachain
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 12:56 PM

    I can save his future employers money.
    Tell the lads to play 4-4-2, lump the ball forward aimlessly at every opportunity, never try to pass to a midfielder or hold onto possession, don’t play all your best players and certainly don’t play players in their best positions.

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    Mute Montys Moonshine
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 12:58 PM

    Trappawho

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    Mute Alex Murray
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 1:17 PM

    And don’t bother watching them play for there clubs

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    Mute Gavin Nugent
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 1:49 PM

    It’s called “percentages football”… Lump the ball up the pitch, 30% chance of winning a flick on, 10% chance your striker will be in the right place and 10% chance the opposition are in the wrong place. .3% chance of scoring.

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    Mute Nigel O'Neill
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 2:23 PM

    Trap had a point but then again he negated his same point by regularly ignoring players who were playing regularly in The Premier League eg Holohan,Joey O’Brien, Seamus Coleman in favour of players like Stephen Ward, Paul Green, Paul McShane…so Im sorry Trap but your point in null and void!!

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    Mute Mr Know It All
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 1:18 PM

    Coleman, McCarthy, Hoolahan all regular starters in the Premier League for about two or three years of his tenure and their caps combined would only add up to a handful. Championship stalwarts such as Cox, Sammon, Ward, Green (the list goes on) all well above them in the pecking order.

    Trap running his mouth about our players is a bit like hearing an ex talk shite about you after a breakup, we had some good times, we had some bad times, but lets try and keep this a bit dignified.

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    Mute Michael Mannion
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 12:58 PM

    No Trap, Half the players you picked did not play in the top flight

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    Mute Ian McG
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 12:57 PM

    I think the signidicantly improved performances AND more importantly attitude from the SAME team in the last few weeks shows that Trap is just making excuses for his poor management skills, out-of-date tactics and inability to accept responsibility for his failings.

    So good luck to you Trap and to whatever country you end up managing next!

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    Mute Ian McG
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 12:57 PM

    *significantly.. that’s what I get typing while eating :)

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    Mute Trevor Devlin
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 1:20 PM

    Wheeen the moon his your eye like a p45 trapatoneeee…..

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    Mute Foxys van
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 12:58 PM

    I hope we meet and beat trapaphonie in the future

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    Mute Angela Kelly
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 1:14 PM

    What a ridiculous man. A spoofer who got paid a fortune for doing absolutely nothing. He never went to games, he didn’t have a clue who his players were, he couldn’t speak English and waffled his way through interviews. Bye Trap, you were and are a very, very poor manager. Move on

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    Mute Kieron Marley
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 1:12 PM

    Button it trap, we’ve had enough of u and your negative bullshit. “Sure sure,I job do Ireland good!!”

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    Mute Alan Farrell
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 1:17 PM

    Trap: Good manager when he has a squad full of world class players. Not so good when he actually has to try and manage a team that isn’t already world class.

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    Mute Catherine Sims
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 1:06 PM

    Trap let it go and move on . The rest of us have.

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    Mute Dave O'Hanlon
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 1:08 PM

    If he actually earned his salary and went to league games he might have seen players getting starting places

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    Mute Eoin Lynch
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 1:21 PM

    There’s only so often you can hear him blame the players for Ireland’s woes. Truth is a well managed, motivated and confident team of Irish players can mix it up with most teams. It’s an easy cop out to say they just aren’t good enough but the reality is the players that were picked came highly motivated to most irish games and they’re are very few of them where I would question motivation. The problems came with bad management and dinosaur tactics. Trapatoni is an analogue watch in a digital age

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    Mute THE VOICE
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 1:10 PM

    Mike Bassett English manager springs to mind everytime i see or hear Trapatoni …

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    Mute James Patrick Smith
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 1:45 PM

    Great coach 20years ago but his tactics methods and style are outdated and he obviously didn’t motivate the players and he talked some utter garbage in press conferences too.Good riddance Trap

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    Mute Niall Sheridan
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 4:39 PM

    Its a ridiculously thin argument even for Trap.

    He Chose:
    Green over Gibson
    Cox over Brady
    Ward over Wilson
    Kelly over Coleman
    Keogh over McClean
    O’Dea over Clarke
    Thats 6 regular premiership starters and another two more in Shane Long who was given very little game time and Wes Hoolahan who was given even less. He delayed bringing McCarthy and Coleman into the squad while they wer constantly performing at the highest level.

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    Mute Patrick McEneaney
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 1:12 PM

    How would he be aware of the protenial talent that was a available to him if he rarely attended a game in Britain

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    Mute Larry Bird
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 1:10 PM

    Glad to see he has the mentality to go forward.

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    Mute Sir Charles Chattan
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 1:47 PM

    More of the same from Talkcrapattony and one of the reasons I’m glad he’s gone. While there may be an element of truth in what he’ saying, there’s a lot of the usual bullsh*t as well – picking second tier players like St. Ledger, Ward, Andrews, Green, Hendrick, Keogh and Sammon, then blaming them(never himself) when it went wrong, all while ignoring or under/wrongly utilising top level regulars like Coleman, O’ Brien, Wilson, Clark, Hoolahan, McCarthy, Gibson, Walters, Stokes and Long.

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    Mute Gordon Hughes
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 3:12 PM

    Trap should be looking to retirement , his ancient outdated tactics and complete lack of man management skills are shocking to say the least .

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    J L
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    Mute J L
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 3:29 PM

    I actually don’t want him to retire. I’d prefer to see him try to use his same style in a less forgiving country and see if they bother letting him run out his contract, let alone renew it!

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    Mute Gerard Fitzgerald
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 5:15 PM

    Why are we even talking about this old fraud,he took us for mugs and sneered at us and our team,he took us back ten years,he messed up the euros,if all the sheep in poland had abused him and delaney after each game,we might have seen the back of him then,contract or not,but no,they sang and cheered as we were humiliated,no wonder roy keane had a pop,Idiots!

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    Mute Nick Menezes
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 5:32 PM

    So much Irony in this interview its embarrassing and just further shows what an arrogant suborn old man he is. I respect the fact he got us to the play offs in 2009(although we made it there agaisnt a declining Bulgaria, Italt and lost to a declining France, neither France or Italy made the last 16 in 2010).Got us to the euros with a huge amount of luck although its still hard to take the achievement away from him. However he never took us forward from there, played nearly an identical starting 11 for 5 years with the same system which is unacceptable, didn’t scout players until his job was put on the line which is also unacceptable, constantly degraded players and the culture of our football(both league and players)and isolated a huge amount of players. This interview pi*%es me off because

    1.He selected players not getting 1st tem action ahead of player getting 1st team game. ie-Whelan, St.Ledger,Kelly,Andrews,Cox etc

    2.Says we didnt have enough top flight players even though he banished PL player like-Kiely(at the time was playing in the PL for wba), Steven Reid,Steve Finnan, Wilson, Gibson, Andy Reid(Sunderland at the time), Joey O’Brien and refused to pick the likes of Coleman, Wes, Stokes, Mccarthy,the list goes on

    3. Picked sh&te players by championship standard ahead of PL player despite his claim half them play in the championship ie. Ward for Wilson,/O’Dea for Clark,Keogh/Cox-McClean, Green for McCarthy, McShane for Coleman,Sammon for Long

    The selection of the likes of McShane, Keogh, Cox, Green, Sammon, Whelan, Andrews etc was limiting us as it was so this limitation was almost his own doing. Very frustrating to her him go on like this given all these blatant flaws, especially given the ridiculous money he was on

    Thankfully we now have a man in place who will show this country some respect as a football nation, pick the best players available, show some belief in the players and prove this clown completely wrong

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    Mute Fran Daly
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    Dec 5th 2013, 7:42 AM

    Well said Mick.
    You deserve a mini Manuela statuatte for that,

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    Mute Scarr
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 2:11 PM

    What’s grandpa rambling on about? He can go back to his bunga bunga parties in Italy as far as I’m concerned.

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    Mute Sir Charles Chattan
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 1:58 PM

    He was like a bad tasting but necessary medicine that was over prescribed – we’ve been cured of Gafferitis for some time now, let’s move on.

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    Mute Carcu Sidub
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 3:38 PM

    It is sad when old people start to lose their memory and comprehension and become set in their ways.

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    Mute Paul Yeates
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 5:00 PM

    Pipe down Trap

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    Mute John McHale
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 7:08 PM

    Yesterdays man so who gives a shit !!!

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    Mute Sharon Obrien
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 2:01 PM

    Well l would like to wish mr trap good luck with his new job.No matter if you agreed with his decisions or not you cant make a silk purce from a pigs ear.

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    Mute Carcu Sidub
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 3:45 PM

    Sharon

    You are right you cant make a silk purce from a pigs ear and the Mayo footballers have proven this in the last few years.

    However the players we are talking about professional sports men who adapt and not the villege hard men.

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    Mute Sharon Obrien
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 5:17 PM

    but that was the problem these seamingly high profile getting paid thousands every week from their clubs could not or would not adapt, it was not all their fault but it certainly was not all Traps.

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    Mute Pól McM
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 2:11 PM

    Fair play to him.

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    Mute Aidan Pidgeon
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 3:23 PM

    In all fairness Trapp got us to the European championships in the Ukraine and Poland, been seeded badly hit his also getting Spain,Italy and Croatia but I agree that not watching or going to matches does not work at all, its like trying to sign a player you never saw play. Falling out with Andy Reid and Anthony Stokes also was not a help and playing Simon Cox on left of midfield when he’s a striker was also bad one. Over all I’d have given him 6/10.
    At least we will be second seeds for France 2016.

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    Mute Alan Phillips
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 7:18 PM

    Nothing to see here, move along !

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    Mute Frainc Ó Broin
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    Dec 3rd 2013, 12:03 AM

    “Half of the players do not play in the English top flight and often the players were not first team regulars.” Correction, he selected players who did not play in the English top flight and he often picked fringe club players over regulars.

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    Mute John Kilkenny
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    Dec 3rd 2013, 1:03 AM

    Boxing ring…..Trap in Blue corner, Keane in Red…..problem solved

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    Mute Roibeard Ó Riain
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 8:55 PM

    Trap didnt know were any players played. If his dvd player broke he’d have been bollixed. Paid to do a job he wasnt arsed about. Good riddance

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    Mute Podge Lucas
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 9:11 PM

    Man trap ye tramp wouldn’t even pick the players in top flight

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    Mute Columbo Di Sullivano
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    Dec 3rd 2013, 3:17 PM

    The man is a parody of himself. Long past his sell-by date. His dinosaur tactics might have worked 30 years ago but not now.

    The man should retire with grace now.

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