SOCCER WORLD CUP QUALIFYING:IN THE build-up to a World Cup qualifier, the question of whether no news really is good news rather depends on which side of the training ground fence you are standing.
During Steve Staunton’s time players fell by the wayside like soap stars during a particularly savage ratings war but somewhere out there the Louthman must watch the progress of his successors and wonder about the luck of the Italians.
Giovanni Trapattoni was having a day away from media duties at Malahide yesterday and in his absence Ireland’s assistant manager, Marco Tardelli, had nothing more earth-shattering to relate to an eager press pack than the coaching staff’s continued belief that both Shay Given and Aiden McGeady will be fit and available for Saturday’s game.
Neither trained yesterday but the Celtic winger was resting back at the team hotel, while the Manchester City goalkeeper was expected to fly in last night. His shoulder injury continues to be regarded as slightly more serious than McGeady’s bruised foot but, echoing Brian Kerr’s observation during his own time in charge that the Donegalman didn’t like to travel and then not play, Tardelli remarked that he knows Given will start, “because I know Given”.
On such a quiet day it is a measure of how far we reporters, perhaps we Irish as a whole, have come that neither Stephen Ireland nor Andy Reid got a mention. Tardelli, in any case, was cheerfully batting away anything he felt to be an overly specific question with a suggestion that the query be put to Trapattoni next time.
On one such occasion a radio reporter, apparently mistaking this coyness for ignorance, exclaimed: “He must talk to you about his plans.” To which Tardelli replied with a grin: “Yes. I know”.
It’s unlikely, however, that the Italian knew at this stage of the day that Stiliyan Petrov and Zhivko Milanov had been added to the ever lengthening list of Bulgarian injury doubts but it seems safe to presume that this news too would have prompted a smile from the amiable coach.
Petrov, the Aston Villa midfielder, dropped out of yesterday’s training session and while team officials insisted afterwards he was simply tired, there were reports he may have picked up a slight hamstring injury.
Levski Sofia right back Milanov, meanwhile, most definitely has a knee problem and is now considered to be at best a 50-50 shot for Saturday evening’s game at Croke Park.
The question of who will wear Ireland’s number two shirt on the other hand, looked closer to a resolution yesterday with Paul McShane slotting in at full back for the “probables” in the squad’s end-of-session training game. Dean Kiely and Stephen Hunt filled in for the absentees.
The Sunderland player’s inclusion would mean further disappointment for Kevin Foley, the Luton-born defender, who has managed to become an established squad regular over the last couple of years without ever earning a cap.
“Yeah, I’m not going to lie and say it isn’t frustrating,” says the young Wolves player. “It’s frustrating to be in so many squads and sort of be the nearly man every time but it’s part and parcel of football. I know that one time or another I’ll get my chance and hopefully that will be the time I can play well.
“He (Trapattoni) has said a few times in training, that I’m training well. He’s been to watch me a few times and I know Marco has and Alan Kelly. They are all watching the club games. It was good when I was 21 or 22 to be with the squad but I’m getting to that stage now where I’d be disappointed not to play. There’s no point being in the squad and just being happy with that. I’m at the stage in my career where I want to play.
“Obviously, though, I’ve not played before and I hope that’s not a factor. I think I’d be able to step in but he’s got a lot of other good cover there. We’ll just have to see how the week pans out but I know I’ll be ready.”
The relative lack of experience in the key area of central midfield where Keith Andrews is likely to partner Glenn Whelan again has certainly been raised as a concern by many observers but Tardelli is adamant that the pair can cope with what will be the two biggest matches of their short international careers.
“Andrews and Whelan played very well against the other teams. They are good players and when we started to play them in the Irish team, they started to also play for their clubs. Before that, they were on the bench. Now they play for the club. Their inexperience hasn’t been a problem before so yes, I think they are ready.”
Bulgaria may field a few players for whom international football is a fairly new sensation too. Tardelli, though, believes the visitors do not have the option of settling for the draw if they are to revitalise their challenge for a place in the group’s top two although when asked if this means we can expect an open game, he shrugged, smiled disarmingly and simply confessed: “I don’t know”.
