Soccer:Giovanni Trapattoni will resist the temptation to throw Robbie Brady in to the Republic of Ireland team for next month's qualifier against Germany.
Brady wowed the crowd last night at Craven Cottage last night when he scored one goal and set up two more as Trapattoni’s team coasted to a 4-1 win over Oman.
The 20-year-old, who is yet to play for Manchester United, put in two top-class crosses to allow Shane Long and Kevin Doyle to score and he also showed instinct by lashing home a volley from a cleared corner on the edge of the box.
Trapattoni, renowned for his conservative approach to team selection, was impressed with the winger’s contribution, but today insisted Brady is not yet ready to start such a big game as the October 12th World Cup qualifier in Dublin.
James McClean also impressed during a 30-minute cameo last night, but rather than include the duo against Germany, the Italian looks set to recall the likes of Simon Cox and Aiden McGeady, who both struggled in last week’s drab performance in Kazakhstan.
Trapattoni said: “I have been asked whether players who play in friendlies will play in the qualifiers immediately after before and in the case of the game against Germany, the answer is no: absolutely no.
“We need to play with the players who know the system and who know what they can do because the Germans are strong. ” They (the likes of Brady) can be in the squad but not in the team because we have the team that played in Kazakhstan. We have to have a team that is fit and strong mentally.
“At the moment maybe it’s better to have Cox than others. I choose the players on the basis of the job ahead. Obviously there are players in the squad who are coming back like Richard Dunne and maybe Damien Duff.”
Brady impressed on loan at Hull last season and took part in United’s pre-season tour of South Africa. The forward, who can play on either wing or just behind a main striker, became the Under-21‘s record goal scorer last week, but Trapattoni thinks the 20-year-old still has a lot to work on in his game.
“Brady played well, he has good creative qualities,” the Republic boss said. “But I spoke with him after the game and told him he needs to understand that although he is a good dribbler and he shows good personality, he must also sometimes play it simple. There were two or three times last night where he missed the opportunity to pass the ball.”
After watching his team crash out of Euro 2012 with three defeats, Trapattoni’s position came under further scrutiny on Friday when his team snatched three points in Astana thanks to last-gasp goals from Robbie Keane and Kevin Doyle.
Last night’s win appears to have given the 73-year-old fresh enthusiasm for the job, however, and he insists he has learned a lot of vital information about his squad over the last 10 days.
“People like James McCarthy, Seamus Coleman, Marc Wilson and Alex Pearce have confirmed that they are good technical players,” Trapattoni added. We now know better the attitude of the players we have brought in and we played better yesterday than we did in Kazakhstan.”
Last week’s preparation for the Kazakhstan game was overshadowed in part by Trapattoni’s announcement that he hoped to bring Duff out of international retirement. Trapattoni invited Duff to last night’s game, but did not speak to the 33-year-old about coming back for the World Cup qualifying campaign.
“I didn’t see him,” the Italian said. “He did not come in to the dressing room because he has respect for his friends. He is an intelligent man and knew that the media would focus on this rather than them.”
When asked whether he was hopeful Duff would return for the qualifying double-header against Germany and the Faroe Islands, Trapattoni said: “I don’t know. I don’t know what I am doing on October 12th. Maybe I eat fish or drink milk. I can’t discuss this now. I will speak about this when it is the time.”