Trapattoni's troops have little to fear on return to old haunt
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EVEN if revenge is to be served, the dish will not be cold. There's nothing freezing about Cyprus in September and, by this stage, there should be no surprise element when these teams meet either.
Fittingly enough, the temperatures in this curious little island have soared this week just as the race to qualify for South Africa next summer heats up. When you consider how much is staked on getting there for the FAI, they had enough reason to be sweating anyway.
The good thing for them is that their most important employee, a certain Mr Trapattoni, doesn't appear to be too flustered ahead of this evening's pivotal World Cup qualifier. Was he nervous?
"No," replied the 70-year-old. "I know that in football, the ball is always round." So there you have it.
The confines of the GSP Stadium may have bad memories for Ireland, but the atlas of Trap's mind is a larger place. He wasn't the gaffer for the nightmare of 2006 so he isn't particularly concerned about coming to a venue which doomed his predecessor to failure and bears the mental chalk-marks to outline where the international careers of Paddy Kenny, Andy O'Brien and Clinton Morrison met a grisly end.
Alternatively, he'll sit his players down this morning to watch Cyprus play Italy here a year ago, an encounter the hosts would have won if it wasn't for "great big Buffon," according to Il Capo.
That occasion was a rarity for the Cypriot international team, given that it was staged in front of a full house. This evening will be closer to the norm, another surreal experience for a game of such magnitude. On that infamous evening three years ago, the only thing more shocking than the Irish display was the complete disinterest of the locals who boycotted the game in force.
Hearts and minds in this nation belong to their club affinities and, as the Cypriot league continues to thrive with massive investment, those feelings have intensified. Around Nicosia, they are fascinated by the prospect of APOEL competing in the Champions League. It's new and exciting, while another international campaign meandering to a nothing conclusion is a familiar tale.
When Group Eight got under way, they entertained feint hopes of competing for a play-off place, but that ship has long since sailed. And, let's face it, if the novelty value of visiting Cyprus has evaporated for the visitors, then you can understand how hard it is for the hosts to drum up interest.
Unwelcome
Manager Angelos Anastasiadis has endured a difficult build-up to this encounter. Coming off the back of a 6-1 friendly defeat to Albania was certainly unwelcome for a man under pressure, but the real problem is in the personnel department.
Key striker Michael Constantinou and midfielder Konstantinos Makrides are suspended after picking up yellow cards against Montenegro in June, a catastrophic game for the Cypriots in which they threw away a two-goal lead, picked up those bans and lost their first-choice netminder, Antonis Georgallides, to an injury which has sidelined him since.
The less-than-convincing stand-in option is Sofronis Avgousti while important centre-half Andreas Constantinou is a doubt, although local reports indicate he can overcome ligament trouble.
Their creative force will be ageing playmaker Ioannis Okkas, although Trapattoni continually stresses his respect for his likely striking partner, Efstathios Aloneftis, who was a late pull-out before last year's game in Dublin.
All over the park, Trapattoni believes that the Cypriots still have the players to cause difficulties for Ireland this evening. Although he danced around the topic, it is patently clear that is the reason why he has opted for Damien Duff and Stephen Hunt on the wings and left Aiden McGeady on the bench. The dilemma was between Hunt and McGeady.
"It's not just because of defensive ability that I have picked Hunt," he insisted. "If you look at the English league this year, he has scored two goals.
"Every game the coach has problems about who to choose and we have good players in these (wide) positions. I have to understand the situations. The coach knows he will have to change during the game because from the first minute, for one hour, there will be a lot of fire. I will need to look to the line to bring on players."
We should see McGeady at some stage but it's hard to escape the conclusion he has been omitted because the tracking-back ability of Hunt has been a significant factor in avoiding defeat in the four games on the road in this group. The Cypriot full-backs like to get forward, so Duff and Hunt will have a dual responsibility.
In terms of full-time defensive duties, Trapattoni is praying that Sean St Ledger's knee suffered no reaction to training last night so that the Preston man can resume his centre-half partnership with Richard Dunne. The alternative is bringing John O'Shea into the heart of the back four and introducing Stephen Kelly -- short of match practice at Fulham -- at right-full.
As anticipated, Keith Andrews is restored alongside Glenn Whelan in the engine room. Three years ago -- sorry to mention it again -- the out-of-position Kevin Kilbane and a pre-kickboxing Stephen Ireland were hopelessly overrun in that area to leave the back four exposed. Whelan and Andrews have their doubters, but if they can remain compact this evening, Ireland will be halfway there.
This manager and group proved in Sofia that they are capable of approaching an away game with a positive attitude from the starting blocks, and it was only a mistake from Kilbane which gifted Bulgaria an equaliser that knocked the Irish out of their stride and back into their old habit of retreating into a shell and counting down the clock.
Naturally, it would be crazy to throw caution to the wind here because there is so much to lose, but if Ireland can impose themselves throughout like they did in the first half hour against the Bulgarians then they are capable of riding this one out.
Trapattoni senses the palatable buzz as the chequered flag draws closer. The optimist in him teases with the possibility that Georgia might upset Italy this evening to crown the perfect weekend if Ireland board their early-hours flight with three points in the bag. Then, they could travel back to Shannon wondering about South Africa next June; not South Africa in Thomond Park on Tuesday.
"Sure, we know the situation," smiled Trapattoni. "With a positive result, it gives us a great opportunity. It will give us good hope."
Tonight, their path is blocked by a banana skin, rather than a mountain. There's no reason why the dream should end here.
Prediction: Cyprus 0 Ireland 2
- daniel mcdonnell
