“FREGATI DAL Trap” (“Tricked By Trap“) ran the front page headline in yesterday’s sports daily Gazzetta Dello Sport. On the morning after the Republic of Ireland’s 1-1 World Cup draw with Italy in Bari, there was little doubt in the Italian media as to who had been the outstanding protagonist of the night – namely Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni.
“More than the changes that he (Trapattoni) made, what really counted was the Irish team’s willingness to fight, to keep on attacking, eventually getting the draw through Keane when almost no one believed it could happen. Well not quite no one, Trap still believed he could do it. On the night that was in it, Trap was the only winner,” Gazzetta Dello Sport noted.
For the three days of the Ireland team’s stay in Bari, Trapattoni’s presence prompted a very warm reception from the Italian media, many of whom stood up to applaud him when he walked into a press conference on Tuesday evening, treating the event like “The Return of The Prodigal Grandad”.
After Wednesday night’s draw, yesterday’s reaction was even warmer for the Ireland manager: “An away draw is a result that traditionally Trap would not disdain. He has picked up a point here and now he will try to pull off a real coup against us in Dublin in October. Indeed, the Irish fans, having drunk just about all the beer in Bari, then gave him a standing ovation at the end, an ovation for their Spiritual Leader, Giovanni, the guy who will lead them by the hand all the way to the World Cup finals”, daily La Republica reported.
Along with Trapattoni, reaction to the game was inevitably dominated by criticism of German referee Wolfgang Stark, the man who sent off Sampdoria striker Giampaolo Pazzini after only three minutes. Many commentators pointed out that even Trapattoni considered the referee’s decision to be “mistaken, even exaggerated”.
Some commentators argued, however, that the sending-off of Pazzini cannot be used as an excuse to cover some very obvious Italian shortcomings: “The exaggerated sending-off of Pazzini after just three minutes might seem like a good excuse but it is not enough to explain a game in which Italy really suffered. Iaquinta’s goal was the only Italian shot on goal in 95 minutes of play and frankly that seems too little for an Italian side that never made anything of the space to counter-attack, playing half a game of good football but only in defence.
“In the end, though, the heroics of Cannavaro and Chiellini and the battling of De Rossi were simply not enough to contain the pressure of an Ireland team that was well worth the draw.
“Even if Italy had a chance (through Dossena) to win the game 2-0, that would have been much too harsh a punishment for this little, pugnacious Ireland, a team that simply does not give up – just like Trap,” concluded Gazzetta Dello Sport.
Inevitably, striker Pazzini figured prominently in all Italian assessments of the game, with commentators pointing out how he is fast becoming a persistent “record-setter”. Pazzini, after all, was the first player to score a goal in an official game at the new Wembley stadium, playing in an Italian Under-21 team in which he went on to score a hat-trick. Pazzini is also one of the few Azzurri to score on his international debut, against Montenegro last Saturday, whilst Wednesday night’s sending-off is the fastest in the history of the Italian national team.
Whilst most Italian commentators admired the battling spirit of Trapattoni’s Ireland, some were less impressed by the quality of its football.
La Stampa commented: “Poor Trap and poor Ireland, without either real class players or a fighting Celtic spirit because Trap has regimented them tightly. It is hard to see how he can improve a team that seems really short on talent.”
