EURO 2012: 16 under a loupe: Republic of Ireland

Only two and a half months left until the pleasant days of Euro 2012 in Ukraine and Poland. As every football fan, I am looking forward to the Championship, analyzing the opportunities of participants and making my predictions. From now on I will try to describe the teams from the angle I see them. 16 teams and 16 stories. Here we go!

Republic of Ireland

Factsheet: 

Euro 2012 Group C: 10-06-12: Rep. of Ireland - Croatia, 14-06-12: Spain - Rep. of Ireland, 18-06-12: Italy - Rep. of Ireland

FIFA/Coca Cola World Ranking: 19

Previous European Championship Appearances: 1988

Qualifying record: 12+7=4-1 20-8

Interesting facts:
There are no players from the Irish League standing close to the national team. The vast majority of the players have contracts with English teams. Only Aiden McGeady, Robbie Keane and Anthony Stokes represent other -than- English leagues – consequently Russian, US and Scottish. 

Robbie Keane holds the all-time record for the most scored goals for Ireland. He has scored 53 times so far.

Shay Given holds the all-time record for the most matches played for Ireland. He has been a part of a match 121 times so far. Both of the players are involved in Trapattoni’s current team.

73 year-old Giovanni Trapattoni will become the oldest ever coach at European Championships.  

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Ireland, not a very often guest at a big tournament, is back to European Championships after a 24-year break. Despite this fact, fans keep on criticizing Giovanni Trapattoni for his extremely result-oriented style, which has never been the main characteristic for The Boys in Green before. However, the wise Italian knows what he is doing: the team has not lost in its last 11 matches and conceded only in 3 of their 12 qualifying matches.

Anyway, a big tournament assumes more serious contenders. And this is where the real worth of the Irish team can be tested. After the opener against Croatia, Ireland is scheduled to meet such heavyweights as Spain and Italy. 

The furious history of European Championships 1960-2004  

Statistics against Croatia: 6+2=3-1 7-7*

The match we remember: A dramatic match at Maksimir in Zagreb ended with a 91st minute Davor Suker goal and gave the Croatians a victory of 1-0 over The Boys in Green. This, however, was not enough for them to qualify for Euro 2000. Ireland did not qualify either, as they could not win this right over Turkey in play-offs.

Statistics against Spain: 24+4=7-13 18-48

The match we remember: The confident Spaniards seemed to win a World Cup 2002 last sixteen match, when Robbie Keane got the chance to equalize from a penalty on the very last minute. The Spaniards won, however, that evening after post-match penalties missed by Matt Holland, David Connoly and Kevin Kilbane.

Statistics against Italy: 11+2=2-7 9-18

The match we remember: the same day of 18th of June 18 years before the Euro 2012 Rep. of Ireland-Italy match in Poznan, the dramatic Group E opener at World Cup in USA ended 1-0 thanks to an early goal by Ray Houghton leading the Eire to unexpectedly take the victory that evening.  

Two profiles:

Giovanni Trapattoni: He was the most successful club coach in Serie A when the Italian League had no equals in Europe. He won bunches of trophies with Juventus, Internazionale, Bayern and many others.

On the other hand Il Trap can be considered as the unluckiest national coach. His sides were denied a place at 2002 World Cup quarterfinals and a 2010 World Cup ticket as a result of poor refereeing decisions.   

There is no need to talk about his professional abilities. The aging legend is without any doubt one of the most tactically intelligent coaches in European football history. And his credibility has never been under question among the Irish players.

This might be the last time we enjoy this charismatic coach with his amazing press conferences and emotional manner during matches.

Aiden McGeady:  If Berti Vogts asks you to change your mind and play for his team when you are 17, if you make your debut for you national team when you are 18 and you are Scottish Player of the Year when you are 22, means you have been concidered as one of the most highly evaluated young players in Europe.

He hasn’t been the most important profile during the Euro 2012 qualification, but he has got the features to run non-stop during 90 minutes, deliver quality crosses and dribble into 25-yard box. So if Trapattoni needs an energetic winger to make difference, he knows to whom to apply. McGeady is my Irish profile no.2 at Euro.

My prediction: 

A solid team with a big coach. They are definitely able to dry the game and wait for their chances. So many goals are not expected in those matches. And if Ireland is lucky, and the state of mind is right, they have the quality to surprise the group favorites. The team construction is a right mix of experienced players like Shay Given, Robby Keane, Damien Duff, John O’Shea and youngsters Aiden McGidey, Shane Long, Simon Cox, Darron Gibson. Profiles like Anthony Stokes, James McCarthy and James McClean have been noticed by Trap. Now it’s up to them to keep on scoring for their teams and the road to Poland, and why not, to Ukraine** will be open. 

On the other hand, there are almost no players with a big tournament experience in the squad. The Irish flag has not been present in any big tournament for 10 years now. This might be the crucial factor for Ireland at Euro 2012. Another negative factor is the fact that Group C seems to be the most straightforward one, where two teams are obvious favorites. It is going to be really hard for the Eire to find weapons against favorites from southern Europe. My bet: Ireland will fight hard, but leave Poland after just three games. 

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* 6+2=3-1 7-7: played 6, won 2, tied 3, lost 1, scored 7, conceded 7 

** the group C matches are played in Poland