Ireland: Finally on the brink of revolution

Like the world cup qualifying campaign, Trap and his boys and green have given their heart and soul to the Irish cause in attempting to qualify for a major tournament. Despite their best efforts, the last qualifying campaign ended in tragedy; of course we all remember the controversy of the second hand of God in Paris two years ago. The major issue which occurred at the back end of that particular campaign was FIFA’s last minute decision to seed the play-offs draw, perhaps understandable to do so at the beginning of qualifying, but to do so at the very last minute was undoubtedly suspicious and unfair on teams such as Ireland. But this time, it was made clear that seeding would take place and further to that; Ireland are seeded. This is the opportunity of the decade for Irish football.

 

By no means is it said and done that qualification is complete, because although Trappatoni will breathe a sigh of relief at avoiding Croatia, Portugal and the Czechs, Estonia must not be taken lightly. They did oust World cup qualifiers Servia and Slovenia to finish second behind Italy. The difference for Ireland in these play-offs as opposed to others is that they will most likely be favourites. And they must seize this opportunity. When the championship begins next May, Ireland will have gone ten years without playing at a tournament (No. I am not counting that thing they took part in with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland). And if they remain composed and play like they did on that faithful night in Paris, they will end their 10 year drought come June. And boy, if they qualify, they can turn heads.

 

The boys have qualified for just 3 world cups and one European championship. You would think they would have no reason to boast, but in each tournament they have arrived home heros. And not just because they put in a good performance or two, but because they have stamped their mark on the international stage. 1988: Beat the English. Need I say more? 1990: Quarter finals of the World cup, beaten by a single goal against Italy. 1994: Defeat the Italians and get out of a group of death to make the 2nd round. 2002: Battle back to draw with Germany, make Spain look ordinary before losing out in penalties – without Captain Keane. The one thing you can rely on with Ireland is that they won’t go to a tournament with great expectations and embarrass themselves (England and France come to mind). Yes, the expectations are lower than these powerhouses have on their shoulders, but the Irish will not lie down for anyone. In the past few years, they have gone to Moscow, Rome and Paris and come away with pride and a point, they have not looked at all out of place against the bigger teams. If in fact, there is one criticism of Ireland, it is their under-achieving against the lesser sides such as Slovakia, Macedonia and Cyprus. The good news is that the only sides they will meet at the Euros will be the big boys.

 

We all remember Greece in 2004. Well, maybe we don’t. It was a dreadful tournament, plenty of under-achievement and although Greece should be praised for their victory, their progress to the final was made easy by some horrible under-performing teams and a final won against a country who froze under the expectations of their home crowd. Now what Greece did was prove that no team should go into the tournament under the opinion that they are just making up the numbers. Look at Denmark in 1992, they didn’t even qualify for the tournament, they got in by default and won the damn thing. So ruling out Ireland’s chances would be naive. However, I do think Spain, Holland and Germany would prove too strong. But I do not see any other team defeating these three. 6 games is all it takes to win it. For the likes of Keane, Duff, Richie Dunne and John O’Shea, this will most likely be their curtain call on the international stage. This is a team with a good mix of experience and promising youth. They conceded for the first time in 9 games against Armenia, granted they don’t score bags of goals, but if there is a dark horse for the Euros – it’s the Irish.