Skip to content

Trap wants to restore pride

Image: Giovanni Trapattoni: Has called for Ireland to show the right approach against Italy despite elimination

Giovanni Trapattoni has demanded his Republic of Ireland players finish their Euro 2012 campaign with the right attitude against Italy on Monday.

Italy must work for any points against us, says Ireland boss

Giovanni Trapattoni has demanded his Republic of Ireland players finish their Euro 2012 campaign with the right attitude against Italy on Monday. Ireland's 4-0 defeat to Spain in Poznan on Thursday evening saw them become the first team eliminated from the tournament after losing both Group C games so far. But it's far from a dead rubber when Trapattoni's men return to Poznan to face an Italy side that needs to win to have any chance of progressing to the quarter-finals. And the 73-year-old boss wants his players to restore pride for their supporters with a more assured performance against his countrymen. Trapattoni said: "I need to think about the Irish team. I have to think about how disappointed our players are and the Irish people, who deserve a lot of respect. "We came here with confidence and enthusiasm, they cheered us when we were behind and the players mustn't forget this. "We have to approach the game with Italy and make sure that Ireland finish the game with our heads held high. "If Italy go through, it has to be because they played well and with the right attitude." Spain certainly showed that attitude in a comprehensive defeat of the Irish.

Poor defending

Fernando Torres capitalised on hesitancy in the Ireland defence to open the scoring early on and David Silva doubled the lead after the break thanks to more desperate defending. Torres sprung the offside trap to add his second before a short corner caught out Trapattoni's team for Cesc Fabregas to add a fourth. The veteran Italian manager was hardly surprised by what he saw from the world and European champions. And with four players each from Barcelona and Real Madrid in the starting line-up, he believes Vicente Del Bosque's men owe their success to their experience of playing together at club level. He added: "Spain demonstrated, even if we knew it already, that they are a team that can win, they showed they are a side which because of their technical ability, they don't actually use up a lot of energy at all. "It's like an orchestra - they involve everyone in the way they move the ball. "Vicente knows his players very well and they all play for the two biggest sides in Spain and that's a huge advantage for them. "When I was in charge at Juventus and the national team took seven or eight players from Juventus, Italy won the World Cup, and the Italy team was great because the players knew already what they had to do. "They could do it with their eyes closed, and that's exactly what Spain are like at the moment."

Around Sky