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THE UNIVERSITY OBSERVER
10.11.09
SPORT
sport@universityobserver.ie
The Importance of being Giovanni The advantages of possessing a top international manager will be showcased as Ireland’s World Cup qualifying comes down to the wire in a two-legged head-to-head with France, writes Ryan Mackenzie
I
t is profoundly ironic that it should be France to once again stand in Ireland’s path to the World Cup finals. It has been four years since Les Bleus broke Irish hearts in Lansdowne Road when a moment of true brilliance by Thierry Henry prompted a crippling 1-0 defeat that all but ended the nation’s hopes of making the trip to Germany where the French eventually lost the final to Italy. Though, this time Raymond Domenech’s star-studded side will encounter a revitalised Irish team under new manager Giovanni Trapattoni, who remain unbeaten in their current World Cup campaign. The French have stumbled out of their group as runners up to a Serbian team that few thought would surpass the
True but Strange
Facts and figures for Ireland’s playoff with France
4 – The number of survivors from the last meeting between the Irish and French sides, when the teams met at Lansdowne Road in 2005. Robbie Keane, Shay Given, John O’Shea, Kevin Kilbane and
world’s ninth-ranked side to take the top spot in an otherwise weak group. It would seem inconceivable that a team boasting such superstars as Thierry Henry, Nicolas Anelka and Frank Ribéry could lose 3-1 to Austria and struggle to beat a feeble Lithuanian side, but this underachievement has been an unfortunate trait of the French national side for some time. Despite their incredible success at the turn of the century when they won the World Cup on home soil in 1998 and completed the double by winning Euro 2000, they have consistently failed to perform to their potential, often appearing to survive solely on individual ability. It has been this trend that has placed manager Raymond Domenech under intense pressure and scrutiny from the French public since he took over in 2004. Damien Duff took part in the 0-0 draw in Dublin. 12 – The number of goals scored by Ireland in World Cup qualifying so far. France have hit the net 18 times; Andre Pierre Gignac and Thierry Henry have both notched four goals, one behind Robbie Keane. 20,000 – The estimated amount of Irish travelling supporters due to arrive in Paris next Wednesday for
In complete contrast to the situation in France, the Republic finds itself with a manager who has led a rather ordinary squad of players to indeed surpass expectations. Since becoming manager in February 2008, Trapattoni has rejuvenated what had become a lacklustre and uninspired Irish unit. For the first time since the 2002 World Cup, the boys in green, while lacking the flair of the French, have demonstrated a real unity of purpose together with a strong work ethic on the pitch. Applying these traits, they have returned to a standard of play that has enabled them to once again compete with some of the world’s topsides, as they showed against the Italians during qualification. It appears clear that Ireland’s hopes lie with their manager. Man for man, the
the second leg of the playoff. 33/5 – The odds that neither Cristiano Ronaldo nor Thierry Henry will be playing in South Africa next summer, according to Paddy Power. 703 – Combined international caps of the Irish team, compared to the 603 appearances shared between the members of the French squad. Zodiac signs – A deciding factor in whether French players are
21st November: Moneybags fly into town, and in a smash-andgrab movement will leave the Kop in shock. 24th November: You think it’s all over? It is now. While Harry Redknapp Jr sits in his chair preaching to Eng-er-land that “Ya know what, this Torres kid ain’t bad at all. I tell ya, he must’ve been watching Theo Walcott a bit”, Liverpool will be conceding goal after goal in the Puskás Ferenc Stadium. The Merseysiders will be out of the Amalgamated Platini Cup. 29th November: The derby that means so little to footballing folk outside the realms of Merseyside spawns more bad luck for the Pool. There is pride at stake, and Liverpool are bottlers. Result: draw.
19th December: Christmas has come early for Manchester United fans as Portsmouth overtake Liverpool in the Premier League, though somehow Liverpool are still in with a shot of claiming the title should they win the rest of the league games 3-1. 2nd January: Liverpool draw English 34th Divison Sunday League side “Glasgow Celtic” in the 3rd Round of the FA Cup, and are beaten in a brutal encounter in the shock of the tournament. King Kenny’s position looks precarious.
30th November: Rafa clocks out, citing a “lost” dressing room as the prime reason for his departure. Kenny Dalglish steps in to fill the globular void.
10th January: A new look Liverpool will take on Spurs as the season meets its midpoint. New signings such as free-scoring centre forward Clinton Morrison and box-to-box-to-box midfielder Kevin Nolan do little to improve Liverpool’s form.
9th December: They thought it was all over… it was back then, and still is. Liverpool fans flock to Florence thinking their side still has a chance of progressing through to the next round of European Cup. They will not be happy when they
11th January: Morrison and Nolan are released after a clash of views with the management. Rumours spread that the two players wished to enjoy success and challenge for trophies, contrasting with Liverpool’s ambitions for failure.
UCD denied by late equaliser Sport Editor
The Badger taught Derren Brown everything he knows about trickery and fooling the public, but recommended shaving off his silly beard thing... realise that the fixture is actually being played at Anfield, and that all pubs in the cultured city will be showing the Inter Milan crucial match against Rubin Kazan. Benitez, meanwhile, is found still idly wandering around Anfield searching for his lost dressing room.
South Korea. Ireland’s play-off history is less than flattering, with losses to Spain, Holland, Belgium and Turkey respectively causing European and World Cup competitions to elude. A 2-1 aggregate win over Iran in 2001 still stands alone as our only play-off success. The two sides meet in Croke Park this coming Saturday, and Ireland will be hoping to capitalise on home advantage before making the trip to Paris and the magnificent Stade de France, an always daunting task. Ultimately, Ireland’s changes will come down to their ability to cope with the French flair, France’s temperament and mentality over the two legs – as well, as ever, as a rub of the green. Best of luck, Ireland.
The bottom placed two teams in the league faced off in Belfield last weekend, as Killian Woods watched on
The Badger In a completely original idea, The Badger has decided to look into his crystal red beach ball, to map out the Scousers’ calendar up to the midpoint of the season:
French undoubtedly trump the Irish in almost every position on the pitch (excusing maybe in goal, where Shay Given stands as one of the world’s finest shotstoppers). The question remains whether Trapattoni’s superior managerial skills to France’s Domenech can play a significant enough role on the pitch where ultimately the Irish players will have to contend with intense pressure and nerves, and the potentially overwhelming blue wave of some of the worlds finest players. Fortunately for Irish fans, Trapattoni has a rather impressive managerial pedigree at the top flight, where he has won numerous leagues with some of Europe’s top clubs, including seven Serie A titles and a European Cup with Juventus, not to mention taking his native country Italy to the 2002 World Cup finals in Japan and
Note: All above predictions state the worst-case scenario, which usually corresponds with Liverpool’s luck. ~~~ We are just under two months away from football’s own January sales, and The Badger can let you in on some of the big deals taking place during the window. Since the CAP (that’s the Court of Arbitration for Platini) overruled UEFA’s transfer ban on Chelski, expect the left-wing Londoners to stock up on players before another ban lands in their laps. Liverpool will also be on the lookout for a substandard, Spanish-speaking misfit to prance around moaning and unplayed for eighteen months. A hero’s return for Antonio Nunez? Meanwhile, Manchester City will be continuing their usual hiring policy – “if Spurs want them, we’ll buy them” – to appease their opponents’ Premiership success, while Bandwagon United will pull off the real coup of the window by finally – seriously! – managing to offload perennial Row Z spectator botherer Nani. Unfortunately, Rangers’ midseason bid to bring the formerly talismanic Christian Vieri to Ibrox will fail, as no bank will accept the cheque for his £200k signing-on fee.
UCD 3 Clontarf 3 UCD’s Mens Hockey first team took on Clontarf at the National Hockey Stadium in Belfield last Saturday in closely contested match between two sides battling against relegation from the All-Ireland League this season. The game was competitive from the start with UCD hoping to gain an early advantage over their visitors. Pressure in the opening minute put UCD in a good position to open the scoring through a penalty corner. The ball was quickly whisked out for John McInroy to fire home the students’ first goal of the afternoon. Some careless play in midfield, however, allowed Clontarf to create scoring opportunities of their own. Ben Grogan saved UCD from conceding an equaliser, clearing off the line as Clontarf started to step up their game. After eleven minutes the match was already becoming a scrappy affair. Clontarf were relying on the counter attack, while most of UCD’s play was focused up the left hand side with Grogan and David Quinn linking up well. UCD couldn’t maintain their intensity, though, and Clontarf began to boss proceedings after twenty minutes when good one-touch play opened up UCD’s defence for the equaliser. Seven minutes after their equaliser, Clontarf took the lead following a goalmouth scramble. UCD’s goalkeeper Ross Gribbin saved an initial shot, only for a tap across goal from a Clontarf forward to be slotted in by his teammate. The second half started in the same manner as the first, with both teams hoping to take the initiative. Clontarf were indebted to their goalkeeper, who was the sole reason that UCD could not level the game: less than ten minutes into the second half, two close-range double saves had kept the Students at bay. The play at the start of the second half all belonged to UCD and in the 45th minute, John McInroy finally levelled for UCD, leaving the game delicately poised at 2-2.
Illdiscipline on the Clontarf side was beginning to set in, as the home side were awarded another penalty free. From the resulting penalty, Clontarf had a player sent off for breaking the defensive line before the ball had been passed out. Clontarf appeared to be falling apart and from the retaken penalty, Ben Grogan gave UCD the lead for the second time. UCD now had control of the game and began to counterattack consistently as Clontarf pressed forward in search of an equaliser. The home side were effectively holding off their visitors, though, and looked to be on their way to a hard-earned win – but it was Clontarf who were to have the last say. UCD gave away a penalty corner in the last minute of the game and Clontarf spotted a chance to sneak away with a draw. After appearing to ruin their initial chance to score, the visitors slotted home to end the match on level terms. The draw was a fair result considering the varying spells of domination by both teams throughout the match. UCD would have benefited from taking all the points against their likely bottom of the table rivals this year, but now look likely to be involved in a lengthy scrap with their dogged visitors to avoid relegation this year. UCD: Ross Gribbin, Gavin O’Halloran, Hugh Butler, Ronan Flannery, Ben Grogan, Karl Smyth, John McInroy, David Quinn, Rob Lynch, Tim Hill, Jamie Tobin. Substitutes: Shane O’Donnell, Robbie McFarlane, John Brennan, Ronan Motyer, Tadhg Walsh Peelo