Breaking news this morning from the Emerald Isle as the Republic of Ireland are now searching for a new manager.
Following two defeats during the recent international break, 74-year-old manager Giovanni Trapattoni has left his role as Ireland’s manager after almost six years in charge.
The legendary Italian coach has called it quits, as qualification to the 2014 World Cup is now almost out of reach for the Irish after a 2-1 defeat to Sweden on Friday and Tuesday evening’s 1-0 loss to Austria.
Trapattoni has become a fans favorite over recent years, and he thanked the Irish nation for the opportunity to coach their side.
“I want to thank everyone in Ireland who has given us their support during our time here which has always meant a lot to us,” Trapattoni said. “We leave this country with emotion because we understand the Irish supporters who have a well-deserved international reputation and they have our utmost respect.”
While the Football Association of Ireland posted the following statement on their website.
“We thank Giovanni Trapattoni, Marco Tardelli and Fausto Rossi for the last five and a half years during which we qualified for our first major tournament in ten years and were close to qualification for 2010 World Cup in South Africa after the play-off in France.”
Trapattoni took charge in 2008 to stabilize Ireland’s faltering fortunes on the international stage and he came agonizingly close to reaching the 2010 World Cup, as the Irish lost in a playoff to France after Thierry Henry’s widely condemned handball knocked Ireland out.
(MORE: European qualifying roundup: Two qualify, while four groups remain tight)
However the Irish did mange to qualify for Euro 2012 last summer but the tournament was a disaster as Trapattoni’s men who lost all three group games to crash out. Yet despite that damaging European Championship campaign, the Irish fans still believed their Italian manager was the man to lead them forward to Brazil.
This WC 2014 qualifying campaign was always going to be Trapattoni’s last if the Republic didn’t qualify and that was all but confirmed last night as they lost to Austria and Sweden beat Kazakhstan. That result leaves the Irish six points off the playoff spot with just two games to go and a huge goal differential deficit to overcome. They had shown brief moments of promise throughout qualifying but pivotal losses this week marked the end of Trapattoni’s Irish adventure.
As for Ireland’s next manager, the early bookmakers favorite to replace Trapattoni is former Aston Villa and Sunderland manager Martin O’Neill. While other frontrunners include former Ireland manager Mick McCarthy returning for a second spell, Norwich City manager Chris Hughton and former Ireland captain and controversial figure, Roy Keane.
