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Trapattoni takes his dear Irish side to Italy

Italian born Irish coach Giovanni Trapattoni will travel back to his home country to see his Republic of Ireland team affront Marcello Lippi’s Azzurri.

The Republic of Ireland’s success, the Italian factor?

The 70-year-old manager has not only shown his commitment to the squad through comments but also through remarkable results.

The Republic of Ireland are just behind Italy in Group eight going into their double header against Bulgaria and Italy. They are undefeated throughout the qualifying campaign and are ready to bypass the Italians for the top spot in the group.

"Sure. I came here because I believe in this team and I thought I could give the Ireland team my experience,” Trapattoni once stated when asked about Irish’s success in the World Cup qualifiers.

"I am proud of what this team has learnt under me. We are not Brazil, but I am proud of this team, of those players. I am told it is 20 years since our team was at the top of the table, and that's important.

"But it is early. Wait until after Italy.''

The Republic of Ireland will taste only their fourth World Cup appearance if they qualify to the finals; and they look to be on the right track at the moment to do so. Trapattoni’s potent mentality also seems to have set up the Boys in Green.

The Irish were 20 minutes away from dropping three precious points to Hector Cuper’s struggling Georgia. But words of knowledge and luck – if not controversy – helped them to snatch a victory at Croke Park in front of Italy’s Marcello Lippi who was a spectator on the night.

"In the first half, maybe Lippi thought Ireland did not have the same potential as his team. But in the second half, we showed him Ireland is a strong team,'' Trapattoni declared to the press after his side’s win over Georgia in the qualifiers last month, before ironically adding:

"I have not spoken to him yet - but I will back in Italy.'' Reflecting on the team’s morale during the game, the coach stated:

"The spirit of the team in the second half, I was very proud of them. I said to them at half-time, 'Believe in our game, it's possible'.

"We had a very, very important reaction, and I was proud of their spirit and character.'' The Republic of Ireland, led by skipper Robbie Keane, are showing unity and passion – two fundamental strengths for success.

On the other side of the battlefield, things don’t look the same way for Marcello Lippi’s world champions Italy…

Italy’s squad in broken pieces?

They say where there is misunderstanding, success doesn’t follow…

Apart from the Amauri saga, there is another story which has provoked controversy in Italy: Lippi’s exclusion of Giampaolo Pazzini’s Sampdoria club mate Antonio Cassano.

Defending his act towards the curious media in Coverciano, the World Cup winning manager retorted:

“Cassano is not here is he?”

“I want to talk about those who are here.

“It is not arrogance that makes me tell you that I have no duty to explain my decisions to call this player or that one, to anybody.”

“For a year and a half more, we will be World Champions, and there is no need to reshape the Italian game, no need to copy England just because of what happened in the Champions League.

“I have said it once, and I will say it again, if you want to judge a country’s game, look at their national team, and we are still the World Champions.”

Cassano’s Sampdoria team mate Pazzo however sided with Marcello Lippi.

"It is easier to score than in the past thanks to Cassano's passes but I've also created a lot of goals myself," the former Fiorentina front man stated.

"Let's remember that Lippi is a world champion and it is up to him to make the final decision. For me to reach the national team is a great satisfaction.”

Perhaps no-one will ever know the real reason behind Cassano’s absence from Marcello Lippi’s Italian squad that will face Montenegro and the Republic of Ireland.

This obscure decision could darken the Azzurri’s dream skies into a nightmare when they take on the strong Boys in Green on April 1st.

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