Ireland's players will relish this opportunity against world-class opposition but tonight also marks a significant milestone for loyal striker Robbie Keane, writes PAT FENLON
THIS IS an awkward time of year for an international friendly window.
It is the managers at club level that I feel most sorry for as they have just got their best players back into some decent pre-season rhythm and they are gone again.
Several of them will inevitably return as damaged goods. On the eve of a new season that is a nightmare scenario, especially when the summer spending is all but complete.
For those who featured at the World Cup – like our opponents tonight – it will be strange, annoying even, to be back together so soon after living in each others shoes for several months. It will be great for the Spanish but the other 31 nations need more time for the wounds to heal.
It would be interesting to be a fly on the wall in the England camp or our visitors’ post-Diego Maradona.
For the Republic of Ireland, however, it is not such a bad time to be gathering. They appear, from the outside at least, to be a happy camp and will relish this opportunity against world-class opposition.
Argentina’s form in the group stages had many respected figures tipping them to win the World Cup remember. They are certainly not as bad as the Germans made them look. They just lacked some essential defensive structures. That is the task for the new regime.
The main positive for Irish players tonight is it gives them another chance to measure the Giovanni Trapattoni system – which the squad have bought in to – against a top-level team.
We are expecting a little bit of the solidity that brought them to runners-up spot in the last campaign combined with the dash of that crazy night in Paris.
For Trapattoni and his backroom – presuming Giovanni is well enough to attend tonight – the game is of little benefit with the trip to Armenia followed quickly by two home matches against Andorra and then Russia on October 8th.
Really, the Irish management would have been better served with less vaunted opponents that they could impose similar tactics to Armenia/Andorra and work at building up confidence as there are nine points for the taking in the opening three Euro qualifiers.
Trapattoni knows his best team and what he wants from each individual player. The shape and concentration levels have denied opponents over-running them for the past 18 months so the next step is to learn more about strength in depth.
This must be viewed as an opportunity for others to make an impression.
It is now all about getting fresh talent to fit into a settled team so there is sufficient cover when injury or suspension denies the strongest selection.
Most players look replaceable, others are not and we know who they are: Shay and Robbie.
With that in mind, it’s a missed opportunity for Manchester City’s Greg Cunningham as Kevin Kilbane continues at left back. Will Kilbane be with us for the entire qualifying campaign? From what we’ve seen so far, Cunningham is set to continue the long line of quality Irish full backs.
The game also marks a chance for Derby’s Paul Green in the all-important midfield holding slot alongside Keith Andrews.
I liked what I saw of Green at the RDS a few months back. Glenn Whelan and Darron Gibson are also to come back into the reckoning but Green, I would argue, has more dynamism than his three more established midfielders. There is a bite in his tackle as well and he will claw his way forward when the opportunity arises.
Presuming Richard Dunne fails to recover from injury, it is crucial that Darren O’Dea gets some exposure at this level.
Again, it is about being able to trust the next man when or if Dunne, John O’Shea or Seán St Ledger go down.
For example, we know Liam Lawrence and Stephen Hunt can do a job on the wings if Damien Duff and Aiden McGeady are ruled out.
That said, if Cillian Sheridan comes in for Kevin Doyle up front I think he will do fine.
Sheridan will provide a physical presence, much like Caleb Folan can, and considering how Ireland go about their business, set-piece attacks are where the majority of goal chances will stem from.
Doyle is hugely important to our progress but the real worry would be if Robbie Keane was laid low.
They can have a go at Robbie until he earns 200 caps, and they probably will, but we simply don’t have a ready-made replacement for him in this country.
Hence the 100 caps and 43 goals. But that is not the only thing that makes him irreplaceable. The system of using two holding midfielders was employed by other European sides throughout the World Cup (notably, not Argentina when they were torn asunder by the Germans) but we differ from most as Trapattoni can go with two strikers because Robbie is able to do such a good job dropping into the hole.
He does it so well because he has the appetite to do it, allied by his ability.
Robbie’s enthusiasm makes the Trapattoni system work. What has made us believe in this Irish team again is their passion under the most intense pressure.
Keane and his old friend Duff were the leaders when we needed them most.
You don’t get to this landmark in international football unless you are hugely passionate about representing your country.
It is a special night for Irish supporters to be returning down Lansdowne Road to see the shiny new Aviva Stadium (well, those who skipped last week’s forgettable Airtricity XI meeting with Manchester United) and from a financial perspective it is the ideal manner for the FAI to launch the new home but it should all be overshadowed, or at least coincide perfectly, with the arrival of Keane for his ton of appearances in green.
Robbie has had his detractors but I am not one of them and never will be. We should salute his remarkable achievement tonight.
