Buffon hails Trap as 'great master' of football
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Friday October 09 2009
Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon yesterday hailed Ireland coach Giovanni Trapattoni as a "one-off" and a "great master" of football. The Juventus 'keeper played in Trap's Italy side for four years and has warned his team-mates to expect a battle at Croke Park in tomorrow's World Cup qualifier.
"Coaches like Trapattoni, Cesare Maldini and Dino Zoff will never be seen again," Buffon said. "They had a great capacity to manage teams and a great way of handling players. They lived through another kind of football and brought all of that experience into coaching."
The goalkeeper is one of nine players who made their bones in Trap's Italy team. Fabio Cannavaro, who is suspended for Saturday, Gianluca Zambrotta, Gennaro Gattuso, Nicola Legrottaglie, Fabio Grosso, Mauro Camoranesi, Andrea Pirlo and Antonio Di Natale are all well aware of Trap's powers of motivation.
"For several years he characterised our national team, years when we had our ups and downs," added Buffon. " But that doesn't affect how we think of him as a coach and as a person.
"Trap is like all of the important coaches who have characterised our football. Their fortune has always depended on the team they had at their disposal. Where they have had victories, it's natural that the name of the coach should have been exalted. Where the experiences have been negative it's obvious that can undermine the coach's professional image."
Buffon said that Trap's record as a club coach brooked no argument and that it was only bad luck which prevented him repeating that success at national level.
"Wherever Trap has gone he's always been a winner. With the national team, we had a bit of a dry spell during Euro 2004. But we were not very lucky there because we were knocked out despite having five points. Sometimes a bit of luck can change football history."
tomorrow's match is being set up as a clash of two Italian coaches with different football philosophies and Buffon did little to dispel this image. He defined Trap as the greatest coach of the football played in Italy in the past, while citing Lippi as one of the elite Italian coaches of the modern era.
The loss to injury of left-sided midfielder Claudio Marchisio is likely to force Lippi to abandon the 4-4-2 formation which was so successful against Bulgaria.
In yesterday's training session he trialled a 4-2-3-1 system, with Daniele De Rossi and Angelo Palombo in front of the back four, and Alberto Gilardino up front as a lone striker.
- Frank Dunne
Irish Independent
