Trap interesting in Nigeria........allegedly

IRISHSPORTSGUY

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/africa/8510136.stm

Giovanni Trapattoni is interested in coaching Nigeria after turning down Ivory Coast. Trapattoni's advisor Domenico Ricci says the veteran Italian was approached by the Elephants a week ago to lead the side at June's World Cup.
"He refused an offer from Ivory Coast a week ago because they offered him only the World Cup," Ricci told BBC Sport.
"But also because I think he is more interested in Nigeria than Ivory Coast.
"He is not tired yet. He has a very young mentality, so he wants to do something and he's not just interested in the World Cup."
Nigeria are on the hunt for a coach to lead them at the 2010 World Cup finals after firing coach Shaibu Amodu a week ago.
The 70-year-old Italian is one of coaches on the Nigerian Football Federation's list of preferred candidates.
Trappatoni is currently in charge of the Republic of Ireland and is contracted to lead them through to the end of the Euro 2012 qualifiers.
Earlier this week, a Football Association of Ireland official expressed "confidence" that Trapattoni would stay in the Irish job.



Trapattoni's name is believed to be on a list of six other coaches being targeted by Nigeria.
The other coaches being targeted by Nigeria include Egypt coach Hassan Shehata, Russia boss Guus Hiddink and Bayern Munich coach Louis Van Gaal.
Former Senegal boss Bruno Metsu, ex-Ghana coach Ratomir Dujkovic and one-time England caretaker manager Peter Taylor are also on the list.
The NFF has pledged to reach a decision by the end of February.
Trapattoni's Republic drew 1-1 with Nigeria in a friendly match at Fulham's Craven Cottage ground in May 2009.
They missed out on World Cup qualification after a controversial play-off against France in which Thierry Henry's handball allowed his team to level on the night and progress on aggregate.
Trapattoni is also a former coach of the Italian national team, and enjoyed huge success at club level at Juventus, Inter Milan, Bayern Munich and Benfica.

Hypothetically, how would you feel about this if it happened?

major bill

let him go and all the best to him.

IRISHSPORTSGUY

major bill wrote: »

let him go and all the best to him.

Yup, I'm quite ambivalent personally. His style of management (sitting back, counter attacking) just doesn't suit the players at his disposal. He was a lucky general rather than a good one in so many of the qualification games IMO. Most of the time I'd be coming away thinking "how the hell did we get something out of that game?" with the system we play! We can't rely on Richard Dunne heroics forever!

Mr Alan

who would we get to replace him? Mourinho? Hiddink?

some people need to get a ****ing grip, he is our greatest asset.

GLaDOS

I'm quite happy with him, certainly deserves another campaign and would be disapointed to lose him.

major bill

Mr Alan wrote: »

who would we get to replace him? Mourinho? Hiddink?

some people need to get a ****ing grip, he is our greatest asset.

why??? and how??? seriously yes we got to a playoff game against france and done really well only cos he had no choice but to listen to the players and let them play the game how it should be played.anyone who knows football would know we didnt do aswell in the group as we should have done georgia at home(dodgist peno decision ever),cyprus away montenegro both games and bulgaria both games are the games imo that we should have done much better in.

if he wants to go let him go and all the best to him cos apart from his tactics he was a likable character but would not say he is our greatest asset.

jesus_thats_gre

This wouldn't be good at all.

leninbenjamin

IRISHSPORTSGUY wrote: »

His style of management (sitting back, counter attacking) just doesn't suit the players at his disposal.

Sorry, but have you watched the Irish team of late? Our most creative players are wingers, our midfield is sh*te and our best players are all in the defence. His tactics suit perfect tbh. We're a limited team, we play limited football.

Trap leaving would be a big loss, but if he wants to go to the world cup so be it. I wouldn't mind seeing the FAI lease out his contract for the tournament tbh.

Hank_Jones

I think people would do well to remember what it was like before Trap.

Staunton - W:6 D:6 L:5

Trap - W:6 D:7 L:2 (1 vs France,other a friendly vs Oz)

That_Guy

The style of football that he wants us to play may not be attractive but it's effective. I think he'll take us to the Euro's.

major bill

That_Guy wrote: »

The style of football that he wants us to play may not be attractive but it's effective. I think he'll take us to the Euro's.

in fairness he should with that group

IRISHSPORTSGUY

major bill wrote: »

why??? and how??? seriously yes we got to a playoff game against france and done really well only cos he had no choice but to listen to the players and let them play the game how it should be played.anyone who knows football would know we didnt do aswell in the group as we should have done georgia at home(dodgist peno decision ever),cyprus away montenegro both games and bulgaria both games are the games imo that we should have done much better in.

if he wants to go let him go and all the best to him cos apart from his tactics he was a likable character but would not say he is our greatest asset.

Agree with all that.

We play best when play a pressing, high tempo game - like we did in Paris. His system was a hindrance rather a help in most other games, mainly because we didn't have the players to play his system effectively - Whelan and Andrews could barely pass a ball ffs, but instead of pressing the opposition we sat deep usually!!

The Catenaccio system is waayyyyy more suited to continental European countries as their players focus more on technique and passing. However if we bring in players that can pass ( eg: O'Hara, A.Reid) I may revise my opinion.

Mr Alan

should he really?

Russia are a lot better than us. its a lottery after that.

speedboatchase

Russia aren't that good, call it the "Hiddink effect" and he's on his way out

That_Guy

Mr Alan wrote: »

should he really?

Russia are a lot better than us. its a lottery after that.

I don't think Russia are that good tbh. Slovenia made them look very very ordinary in their WC play off match.

major bill

Mr Alan wrote: »

should he really?

Russia are a lot better than us. its a lottery after that.

maybe on paper but i honestly think we can beat them if trap will let the team play. moscow bratislava and maybe pyunik will be a tough games but i think we can/should win all our home games and scrape draws even snatch wins in those places.

leninbenjamin

While I would agree they are overrated, Russia are still a much much better team than us and can break us down through their creative play from the likes of Zhirkov and Arshavin much more easily than we can them.

Slovakia I think overachieved the last time round, but make no mistake they have some very handy players in their squad and can take complete control of a game through the likes of Hamsik so we will still have to raise our game significantly to get anything from them imo.

So while it's achieveable, to expect us to qualify is foolish. At least with Trap we are highly organised and difficult to break down.

And if we were to play the more pressing style people want, well it's a risky game. You play higher up the pitch, you leave yourselves more vulnerable, you tire more quickly. Yes it might suit our forwards better but I don't think it would be sustainable, results would fall off as players tire imo.

A good tactical system gets you results when individual performances are poor, that's what the current system gives us. Do no underestimate it!

IRISHSPORTSGUY

leninbenjamin wrote: »

Sorry, but have you watched the Irish team of late? Our most creative players are wingers, our midfield is sh*te and our best players are all in the defence. His tactics suit perfect tbh. We're a limited team, we play limited football.

Trap leaving would be a big loss, but if he wants to go to the world cup so be it. I wouldn't mind seeing the FAI lease out his contract for the tournament tbh.

We are much better when we actually press the opposition - our performances in Bari and Paris are microcosms of this. Even Whelan and Andrews look okay when they don't give the other team time and space!! Whelan and Andrews are limited players but they are victims of Trapattoni's tactics to an extent because of their (lack of) passing ability! To get the best out of them they need to play like they do in the English game - high tempo pressing.

noodler

Mr Alan wrote: »

who would we get to replace him? Mourinho? Hiddink?

some people need to get a ****ing grip, he is our greatest asset.

Jesus, predetermined response or what?

No point in losing sleep about it if he wants to go.

lordgoat

Trap to stay. Firmly in Mr A's camp for once.

noodler

lordgoat wrote: »

Trap to stay. Firmly in Mr A's camp for once.

Nobody is hoping he leaves?

Wasn't aware there were two camps.

Kent Brockman

Jaysus aren't the nigerians taking enough off us:rolleyes: now they want our flippin national team manager.......:pac::pac::pac:

joe123

Mr Alan wrote: »

who would we get to replace him? Mourinho? Hiddink?

some people need to get a ****ing grip, he is our greatest asset.

This 100000000000000000 times. Would be a disaster if we lost him.

Mr.Nice Guy

The campaign I felt was a poor one up until the play-offs, particularly the second leg play-off which was one of the best performances I've seen from an Irish team in years. With that being the case I'd hope that he would stay on so we could see if it was the beginning of something special.

I can only dread the names we'd be linked with if we had to look for someone. Gary Megson etc. I hope he stays until 2012 as with Hiddink on the way out our chances for qualifying look pretty decent.

Mr. Incognito

People are INSANE!!!

We should press teams??

Where they hell have you been before Trap got here? The moon?

We tried that against Cyprus with Ireland and Reid in the team and lost 5-2.

People should stop repeating Eamon Dunphy and that guy down the pub slobbering at the end of the pub screaming at the TV.

Trap has forgotten more about tactics than any of his detractors in this country could even imagine.

Anyone doubting this, in my humble opinion knows absolutely nothing about Irish soccer, international soccer or reality.

The Volt

The grass isn't always greener people. The FAI aren't paying his wages and can't afford to (Is he still being bankrolled by a businessman?)

What manager could they afford to bring in?

IRISHSPORTSGUY

Mr. Incognito wrote: »

People are INSANE!!!

We should press teams??

Where they hell have you been before Trap got here? The moon?

We tried that against Cyprus with Ireland and Reid in the team and lost 5-2.

People should stop repeating Eamon Dunphy and that guy down the pub slobbering at the end of the pub screaming at the TV.

Trap has forgotten more about tactics than any of his detractors in this country could even imagine.

Anyone doubting this, in my humble opinion knows absolutely nothing about Irish soccer, international soccer or reality.

Firstly, clueless Stan was in charge. Ireland has much improved as a footballer since then (whether he should come back is another debate) and Reid didn't even play in that match.

And yes we should press teams, it's very frustrating that we don't because the central midfielders don't have the passing ability to play Trap's system effectively. Sometimes I wonder if people have watched the same matches as me - the results playing Trapatonni's system have been more lucky than deserved half the time. We usually have to rely on Richard Dunne heroics or Robbie getting an absolutely jammy goal out of nowhere! I usually have to watch the last 30 mins from behind my fingers! He gets way too much credit on here.

I stand by what I said, I'm not in the 'out' camp, but I would be quite ambivilent to him leaving. Hopefully fresh blood in midfield - the likes of Jamie O'Hara, James McCarthy, Chris McCann, Keith Fahey and (maybe) Andy Reid could bring some much needed fluidity to the midfield, to play the way Trap wants us to, because with the current system Whelan and Andrews just aren't good enough.

Mr. Incognito

Wheelan and Andrews were OUTSTANDING in the French match. Wheelans in particular.

Also he is savage from dead ball situations. His free kick ability is a fantastic asset.

Most importantly unlike Ireland or Reid, they shut up and do what they are told tactically and don't have a God complex.

The only people I can hear detracting them is Dunphy who, frankly, is a clown.

Ireland have made HUGE improvements under Trap and i'll wager you wou;dn't be as ambivalent as the inevitable collapse of form his departure would undoubtably leave.

leninbenjamin

IRISHSPORTSGUY wrote: »

Firstly, clueless Stan was in charge. Ireland has much improved as a footballer since then (whether he should come back is another debate) and Reid didn't even play in that match.

And yes we should press teams, and it's very frustrating that we don't because the central midfielders don't have the passing ability to play Trap's system effectively. Sometimes I wonder if people have watched the same matches as me - the results playing Trapatonni's system have been more lucky than deserved half the time. We usually have to rely on Richard Dunne heroics or Robbie getting an absolutely jammy goal out of nowhere! I usually have to watch the last 30 mins from behind my fingers!

I stand by what I said, I'm not in the 'out' camp, but I would be quite ambivilent to him leaving. Hopefully fresh blood in midfield - the likes of Jamie O'Hara, James McCarthy, Chris McCann, Keith Fahey and (maybe) Andy Reid could bring some much needed fluidity to the midfield, to play the way Trap wants us to, because with the current system Whelan and Andrews just aren't good enough.

I'd have a different interpretation of it. What I've noticed is that whenever our midfield goes missing in matches (and it does happen a lot) it also happens that are best defenders in Dunne and Given hoof the ball straight back to the opposition all the time. As much as I love them for the times they have saved our neck, there have also been times where their inability to retain possession has been our biggest weakness.

I think Trapp recognises this and the deep system is an attempt to counter it in some ways, by playing deep you keep you soak up opposition play and keep pressure off the defenders as much as possible.

Secondly, you have to recognise the vulnerability of certain positions. Dunne had a very inexperienced partner in St. Ledger, he accounted well for himself but he still had to be protected. Secondly, you've Kilbane playing LB 90% of the time. You play a pressing game, let an attacker get one one with Kilbane and it's game over. Again, he has to be protected. Traps system does this.

Remember too, almost all the goals we conceded were down to individual error more than anything else (Kilbane being caught on the wrong side of his man cost us 4-6 points over the campaign). It was very very rare that a team was able to tear us apart.

IRISHSPORTSGUY

Mr. Incognito wrote: »

Wheelan and Andrews were OUTSTANDING in the French match. Wheelans in particular.

Also he is savage from dead ball situations. His free kick ability is a fantastic asset.

Most importantly unlike Ireland or Reid, they shut up and do what they are told tactically and don't have a God complex.

The only people I can hear detracting them is Dunphy who, frankly, is a clown.

Ireland have made HUGE improvements under Trap and i'll wager you wou;dn't be as ambivalent as the inevitable collapse of form his departure would undoubtably leave.

LOL 'God complex' is going a bit far

Didn't the players defy Trap and said they had to press in Paris? He wanted to play the usual cautious system and nick a goal iirc. And that backs up what I'm saying - Whelan and Andrews played well because they PRESSED France.

I'm not an admirer of Dunphy either but he did make one decent point - Trap throughout his managerial career has coached many top class players who can play a disciplined way but also have enough natural ability to do the creative side of things. Whelan and Andrews don't have the latter. They are obviously limited players, however the way Trap makes them look even more shite.

i'll wager you wou;dn't be as ambivalent as the inevitable collapse of form his departure would undoubtably leave

Can't see results dramatically sliding unless we appoint a total rookie like Staunton again.

The only people I can hear detracting them is Dunphy who, frankly, is a clown.

All the national papers give them stick ffs!

Mr. Incognito

Didn't the players defy Trap and said they had to press in Paris? He wanted to play the usual cautious system and nick a goal iirc. And that backs up what I'm saying - Whelan and Andrews played well because they PRESSED France.

This, frankly is rubbish. I remember these rumors emanating from the RTE studio at half time. Kindly post a link that shows the players defied Trap and played their system as opposed to his system.

Ireland played disciplined football and caught France on the counter attack. If they had been PRESSING France then France would have been playing deep and Hunt would not have had that one on one chance.

Wheelan and Andrews are international novices. To say they are limited is both unfair and uninformed. Both have improved in every game and flourished in France. Who knows how good they will become in time and they are both Premiership players.

Frankly, I haven't heard anything from you that hasn't been bandied about by RTE commentators and slapped down here and repeated by people who watch the RTE commentary and repeat it verbatum, including this supposed dust up.

Kindly post me a link to a National Paper that gave Ireland stick after the French game.

Kindly post a link that backs up this supposed player revolt.

Kindly indicate who we would have to replace Trap and what system they would play to maximise out current crop of players because this is where Dunphy and Co fall down. It's easy to criticise with a little knowledge. It is difficult to constructively criticse and suggest alternatives because they have only a little knowledge. None of them have managed sucessful teams at any level. Wheelan, Dunphy, Giles, not one. Ronnie and Giles were decent players. Dunphy wasn't even that. Empty vessels make the most noise. I love his entertainment factor but when people start taking what he says seriously and come on here quoting it as gospel I despair.

noodler

Mr. Incognito wrote: »

People are INSANE!!!

We should press teams??

Where they hell have you been before Trap got here? The moon?

We tried that against Cyprus with Ireland and Reid in the team and lost 5-2.

People should stop repeating Eamon Dunphy and that guy down the pub slobbering at the end of the pub screaming at the TV.

Trap has forgotten more about tactics than any of his detractors in this country could even imagine.

Anyone doubting this, in my humble opinion knows absolutely nothing about Irish soccer, international soccer or reality.

Oh dear lord..where to start

EDIT: I'm being harsh, maybe you were born the day of the Cypriot defeat.

FYI Reid wan't even on the bench that night, Given wasn't in goal..

noodler

leninbenjamin wrote: »

Secondly, you've Kilbane playing LB 90% of the time. You play a pressing game, let an attacker get one one with Kilbane and it's game over. Again, he has to be protected. Traps system does this.

Remember too, almost all the goals we conceded were down to individual error more than anything else (Kilbane being caught on the wrong side of his man cost us 4-6 points over the campaign). It was very very rare that a team was able to tear us apart.

This myth has grown out of all proportion. For a start Kilbane is not slow. Secondly, when exactly did him getting roasted cost us anything in the qualifiers? Both his own goals had nothing to do with his pace.

He is getting the blame for absolutely everything. How about his perfectly weighted ball for Duff in Paris to setup the opener?#


EDIT: Players outright denied they "revolted" in Paris. However, it was the strangest performance of of the campaign anf we didn't play as attacking as that ONCE in the entire qualification series up until that point. If they say there was no "revolt" then fine but they did actually change their style of play and it seemed to work brilliantly. Much better that hanging on at home to Cyprus and letting them have 80% of the ball anyway.

parasite

IRISHSPORTSGUY wrote: »

Didn't the players defy Trap and said they had to press in Paris? He wanted to play the usual cautious system and nick a goal iirc. And that backs up what I'm saying - Whelan and Andrews played well because they PRESSED France.

Kevin Doyle was on OTB a couple of weeks ago and was totally bemused at the thought of a revolt

leninbenjamin

noodler wrote: »

This myth has grown out of all proportion. For a start Kilbane is not slow. Secondly, when exactly did him getting roasted cost us anything in the qualifiers? Both his own goals had nothing to do with his pace.

He is getting the blame for absolutely everything. How about his perfectly weighted ball for Duff in Paris to setup the opener?

eh? Where did I say pace had anything to do with it? I did not mean to imply that if that's how it reads. Simple fact is Kilbane is not a LB by trade, he doesn't have the positioning sense for it, he get's on the wrong side of the attacker all too often. When I said we cant let him get one on one, I just meant we need to be in a position to cover for him. If we play a pressing game, it creates more space in behind the defence and gives wingers more of an opportunity to expose Kilbane and his poor positioning. He's just too easy to get the right side of.

From my memory (which I'll admit may not be 100% reliable), both his own goals came about where he was caught in the wrong place when the ball came in forcing him to scramble back meaning he just couldn't deal with it properly. A considerable amount of the goals we've conceded came from that are of the pitch too, not just the OGs.

For the record, I've nothing against Kilbane, in fact I don't think anyone has shown the dedication to the national side that he has (at least not in my lifetime) and we're very lucky to have him. But that doesn't change that LB is not his natural position.

Rob113

I personally wouldnt like to see Trap go. Its not that im in any way a fan of the style of football he plays - it bores me to tears tbh, but think of the alternatives. Who else could come in and do the job. At least he has a plan and sticks to it and we came mighty close. We rode our luck at times but we were also outdone by the worst decision possibly in the history of the game.

I wonder does Brady know something and thats why he has thrown his hat in. I wonder just how important he was to that dressing room relaying gameplans etc.

aidan24326

leninbenjamin wrote: »

Sorry, but have you watched the Irish team of late? Our most creative players are wingers, our midfield is sh*te and our best players are all in the defence. His tactics suit perfect tbh. We're a limited team, we play limited football.

Trap leaving would be a big loss, but if he wants to go to the world cup so be it. I wouldn't mind seeing the FAI lease out his contract for the tournament tbh.

They were sh1te in the earlier games but to be fair Whelan and Andrews really grew as the campaign went on. They were good in the last couple of qualifiers and excellent in Paris when the shackles were finally taken off them. Trappatoni won't win any awards for sexy football but I would be quite happy for him to stay on, for one more qualifying campaign at least. He has the team very well organised and as things stand we can go into the euro qualifiers with optimism. Russia are nothing special, this is a group we could actually win but it would be nice if Trap loosened the chains just a little, that night in Paris should have shown him that this Irish team can play a bit of football when they're allowed to.

noodler

leninbenjamin wrote: »

eh? Where did I say pace had anything to do with it? I did not mean to imply that if that's how it reads. Simple fact is Kilbane is not a LB by trade, he doesn't have the positioning sense for it, he get's on the wrong side of the attacker all too often. When I said we cant let him get one on one, I just meant we need to be in a position to cover for him. If we play a pressing game, it creates more space in behind the defence and gives wingers more of an opportunity to expose Kilbane and his poor positioning. He's just too easy to get the right side of.

From my memory (which I'll admit may not be 100% reliable), both his own goals came about where he was caught in the wrong place when the ball came in forcing him to scramble back meaning he just couldn't deal with it properly. A considerable amount of the goals we've conceded came from that are of the pitch too, not just the OGs.

For the record, I've nothing against Kilbane, in fact I don't think anyone has shown the dedication to the national side that he has (at least not in my lifetime) and we're very lucky to have him. But that doesn't change that LB is not his natural position.

I just don't see how either of the goals were really down to bad positioning as such - the own goal (I just watched it again): it looks at first glance like he lost his man but it was actually a much deeper runner who nobody went with. Obviously the actually touch is his fault.

For the goal in Bulgaria it was just an unfortunate lack of communication between two players - he was in a perfectly fine position to actually deal with it.

Spiritoftheseventies

Trap linked with Nigeria along with Hiddink. Trap linked with Juventus along with Rafa. Brady returning to Arsenal. Not looking good.

noodler

Spiritoftheseventies wrote: »

Trap linked with Nigeria along with Hiddink. Trap linked with Juventus along with Rafa. Brady returning to Arsenal. Not looking good.

I'd be surprised if he left.

And angry.