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Ireland's draw full of eastern promise
By Liam Mackey
So yes, there is life after the World Cup and
now we know what it looks like.
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Photo newsfeed.tcm.ie
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And none too daunting it is too, after the European Championship
2012 draw in Warsaw yesterday put Ireland in a group which is not only
negotiable but, if we can allow ourselves to be optimistic for a change,
downright winnable.
If anything, the outcome of the draw had something of the routine about
it, especially when set against the sexier options of unfinished business
against France, a renewal of ancient rivalry with England or even the
moderate spice of coming up against former gaffer Brian Kerr and his Faroe
Islands.
No matter. Giovanni Trapattoni always likes to say that if you want a
show you should go to La Scala. Winning football matches is, in the Italian's
book, another matter altogether, and what was served up in the Palace
of Culture yesterday is much more likely to fit that bill, thereby increasing
Ireland's chances of reaching their first finals in 10 years.
Indeed, some of the biggest challenges are likely to be geographical and
logistical, depending in part on how the fixture list pans out - winter
in Russia is never an ideal time to go east chasing points, for example,
while an excursion to Armenia at any time of year will require in-depth
planning by the green army.
From a purely football point of view, however, Group B is, on balance,
just about as good as it could get for Trapattoni and company.
Drawing Russia as a top seed is certainly preferable to having to overcome
the biggest guns, like European champions Spain, our recent friends Italy
or always redoubtable Germany. The Russians blew red hot and icy cold
at Euro '08, ultimately departing the tournament at the semi-final stage
with a desperately poor showing against the Spanish. And there was more
of the same in the qualifiers for the World Cup in South Africa, as they
crashed out in the play-off against Slovenia.
In other words, even with the inspirational Guus Hiddink behind them,
the Russians have shown a surprising vulnerability - and with a serious
question mark hanging over the Dutchman's future at the helm, things could
get worse for them before they get better.
By contrast, second seeds Slovakia exceeded all expectations by qualifying
automatically for South Africa, and how they fare on the highest stage
this summer will tell Giovanni Trapattoni a lot more about what he can
expect to face when the Euro qualifiers get under way in September.
But having beaten them at home and drawn with them away, even as Irish
football's stock was sinking to an all-time low under Steve Staunton,
Ireland have recent enough experience of the Slovakians not to be unduly
daunted by the prospect of meeting them again.
History will hang over the trip to Bratislava in another way, however,
since that was the scene of one of the most celebrated virtual crimes
in Irish football - the one still commemorated on the terraces with the
enduring anthem, "Stephen Ireland's two grannies, alive, alive-o".
Rest assured that as the preparations for the next campaign gather speed,
the subject - however flimsy - of the Cobh man's own international resurrection
will get another lively airing or two.
For different reasons, Macedonia is a name to send shivers down the Irish
spine but their under-whelming World Cup campaign - despite a tradition
of showing stern resistance in Skopje - suggests that, having finally
laid the Cypriot ghost to rest, an Irish team coached by Trapattoni should
have no real reason to fear history repeating itself.
In a group, barring Ireland, of all the 'a's, the two nations whose names
both begin and end with that letter seem certain to occupy the x and y
berths at close of play. Armenia may occasionally punch above their weight
- as an admittedly struggling Belgium discovered when losing 2-1 in Yerevan
during the World Cup qualifiers - but so long as the Irish keep complacency
at bay, they should have more than enough about them to maintain their
footing as they negotiate the group's mandatory banana skin.
And then there's little Andorra, as sure-fire a six-pointer for the opposition
as European football has to offer. (As we used to say about, er, San Marino).
So, on paper then, there's every reason to feel reasonably confident of
Irish qualification for Poland and Ukraine, if not automatically, then
via the play-offs. (And, lest we forget, since UEFA in their wisdom have
already seeded the play-offs and, worse, handed the top seeds home advantage
in the second play-off leg, the desirability of Ireland avoiding another
death or glory qualifying climax is self-evident).
But, of course, what looks good on paper does not automatically transfer
to grass. All predictions for the road ahead must carry the health warning
that it's a long way from here to journey's start, never mind journey's
end.
For that reason, there are many imponderables, such as how Ireland will
bed in at their new home, the Aviva Stadium on Lansdowne Road; how much
more Trapattoni can get out of his old guard while seeking to inject new
blood into the squad; the fitness or otherwise of Steven Reid; the return
or otherwise of Andy Reid; and, yes, the availability or otherwise of
Stephen Ireland. He might not have come back but he hasn't gone away,
you know.
But all we can go on, for now, is the most recent evidence - and that,
for all the crushing disappointment and dismay at the result in Paris,
was hugely encouraging.
The likes of Robbie Keane, Damien Duff, Richard Dunne, Shay Given and
John O'Shea might all be a bit nearer the end of their own road, but they
are not so far down it that they can't provide the spine of a productive
Irish challenge at the beginning of a new one.
And, now that we all know where we are going, we can sit back and enjoy
the distraction of that little warm-up tournament in South Africa before
the real business begins in eight months' time.
Irish
Examiner.com, February 08, 2010
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