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The Times journalist and all round European soccer expert, Gabriele Marcotti, runs the rule over compatriot Giovanni Trapattoni

I’m not sure all the talk of Giovanni Trapattoni being a defensive minded coach is fair on the man, but he is definitely a coach that believes if you are 2-1 up, your first priority is to win the game rather than go after the third goal. You don’t survive at the highest level for as long as he has, he has been around since the early seventies remember, without being flexible and knowing how to adapt. If he feels that he doesn’t have the players at his disposal that are capable of playing a certain way, then he is able to make adjustments. He fielded some very attacking sides during his time at Fiorentina and at Euro 2004 with Italy.

Style Under Trapattoni
I think above all, Trapattoni would love to have a good holding midfielder available to him for Ireland. They are often a very big part of his plans and that could be good news for Lee Carsley although he would love to have a young Roy Keane at his disposal obviously. I think he will build his side around this holding midfielder, but he is also mindful of the fact that if you are managing a national side, especially of a small country in terms of population, you need to work with what you have and come up with a formation that suits that.

Motivation
At this stage of his career, Trapattoni has nothing to prove to anyone, but at the same time he would love to get the better of Italy just to silence a few critics in the media who claim he is past it. He probably feels that he has a bit of unfinished business at international level after his time with Italy. He got knocked out of World Cup 2002 in dubious circumstances by South Korea, in a game where the Italians dominated and although they didn’t lose a game at Euro 2004, they didn’t get out of the group thanks mainly to the colossal stitch up that was the 2-2 draw between Sweden and Denmark. I think part of the reason that he took that job with Ireland is due to the fact that he will get the chance to have another crack at a World Cup.

The Age Issue
A lot has been made of his age, but I can tell you one thing for sure, Trapattoni has a remarkable ability to relate to younger players, despite his advanced years. That’s one area of his coaching ability where he is quite underrated. I could see him talking to a Stephen Ireland or an Aiden McGeady and really getting his message across to them. I think he will be relishing the chance to talk to some of the younger players that are a bit more open to new ideas tactically and maybe are a bit more willing to listen to something different to the English style that has been drilled into their heads for so many years. He has already spoken to Sven Goran Eriksson about Stephen Ireland and he really feels that he is one player that he can get the best out of. Getting him back in the squad will be one of his main priorities.

Chances of World Cup Qualification
If they want to qualify automatically, Ireland will need to finish ahead of both Italy and Bulgaria and we are kidding ourselves if we pretend that is anything other than a tall order. Realistically, Ireland will be looking for that second spot and a place in the playoffs, after that, it’s largely out of Trapattoni’s hands – at that point it’s luck of the draw. If they got that far and drew Latvia or Belguim, you would fancy their chances, but if a team like Germany have a bad qualifying and end up in the playoffs, you know you’re in trouble.