SOCCER: Republic of Ireland managerial appointmentGiovanni Trapattoni has turned to World Cup winner Marco Tardelli to help him transform the fortunes of the Irish team, the former World Cup winner having informed his former boss that he will tell him by the end of this week whether he will become his assistant in the new, somewhat improved, national team set-up officially unveiled by the FAI yesterday.

The 68-year-old will formally succeed Steve Staunton on May 1st, it was confirmed, and after being turned down by another of his former players, Claudio Gentile, Trapattoni has targeted 53-year-old Tardelli - also a Serie A title winner with him at Juventus and European Championship winning coach of the Italian under-21s - as his number two, with Fausto Rossi still set to come in as fitness coach.

The FAI's chief executive, John Delaney, said it might take some time to confirm the precise make-up of the new man's backroom team but he made little attempt, in the meantime, to disguise his satisfaction with the way the protracted search for the coach had ended.

"We are now entering a new era with a manager whose track record is one of the most successful in Europe," he told a packed media room in Abbotstown. "He is widely acknowledged to be one of the most outstanding coaches in the European game and I'm personally looking forward to Ireland benefiting from Giovanni Trapattoni's vast football knowledge, his wealth of experience, his unique expertise as we mount our challenge to qualify for the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa."

He also confirmed that half of the cost of employing the new management team would be met by the businessman Denis O'Brien, who, he said, had made contact in November to offer his assistance with funding for the recruitment of a top-class manager.

"The offer of assistance was a pivotal moment in the entire process," said Delaney, "because it allowed us to set the bar even higher than we had intended to."

Asked if accepting the money might compromise the association, he was adamant it would not. "He (O'Brien) repeatedly stressed that he didn't want to influence our decision in any way, nor did he want anything such as tickets or sponsorship opportunities in return.

"My own view is that we've had enough Irish businessmen investing in the English game and I'm grateful to Denis O'Brien for his decision to invest in the game here. I hope others will follow his example."

The terms of Trapattoni's deal were not revealed although it is believed to be worth about €2 million with the possibility of significant additional performance-related bonuses.

Delaney did, however, confirm the duration: "It's a two-year deal to be reviewed after the two years," he said, "so if he wants to stay on and we want to keep him then it might go further than that."

Earlier, in Salzburg, Trapattoni, who will be based in Milan, said the opportunity to spend more time with his family had been a factor in attracting him to the job. He confirmed Liam Brady had played a role in persuading him it was worth taking and said he anticipated the Dubliner would play a role in his new management team.

"I called him and asked him what does he think and he said to me that the team can do very, very well," said the Italian. "I said to him you can come and I asked the federation if he can come and work with me. He knows the federation, he knows the players so he can work with me . . . not full-time, though.

"Liam has a very, very important job with Arsenal; but I know Arsène Wenger and I am sure that when I need him I can ask Arsène and he will allow Liam to come and work with me."

The former Juventus, Inter and Bayern Munich boss went on to express confidence the Irish team he is about to inherit is capable of finishing ahead of Italy and Bulgaria to top its forthcoming World Cup qualifying group.

"It is like Austria," he said in imperfect but clearly understandable English, "the team does not belong in the second division. I think all of the national team players are in the first division. I asked the first time I came to Austria: 'Why do people think our team is a little bit down?' And it is the same with Ireland.

"So I think we have the possibility to be in that position. Sure, I know there are very hard teams - Italy, Bulgaria, Cyprus - but I think we can take first place, I think so."

His track record certainly suggests the team will be considerably better than in the last campaign and one of the association's three-man recruitment panel, Ray Houghton, said he came away from last Sunday's meeting with the veteran Italian utterly convinced they had got the best man available.

After interviewing "six or seven" candidates for the job and speaking less formally to another 10, Houghton was unequivocal. "We believe 100 per cent that the man we've brought to the association is the man to bring this team forward. You can't fault his credentials. You might question his age but I can assure you that when you meet him you'll find that he's somebody who runs with the team, who trains with the team. His fitness is not in question. He's got an unbelievable passion for the game of football which is exactly like Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United. It's just something that he has to do.

"He's really up for the campaign ahead," continued the former Liverpool midfielder, "and extremely pleased about the timing of the games against Italy.

"We asked him about those games and his answer was that 'you know how it is with ex-professionals . . . you always want to beat the team where you used to play and that's no different with me'.

"I couldn't give a more a glowing report," concluded Houghton. "I spoke to him for two hours and, hand on heart, there is no question but that I knew by the end of that time that he was the man to manage Ireland."