The FAI is set to appoint veteran Italian coach Giovanni Trapattoni as Steve Staunton's successor. The 68-year-old is on course to reach an agreement with the association over the coming days and is likely to be in Croke Park on Wednesday night to watch the team play Brazil.
It is not yet clear whether the former AC Milan, Juventus and Inter Milan boss will take charge after that game or see out the season at Austrian league club Red Bull Salzburg, as he has indicated he would like to, but given his hugely impressive track record, it is expected that board members will agree to wait for him until the summer if that is what is required.
Trapattoni's sudden emergence as the association's preferred candidate follows a frantic few days of behind-the-scenes manoeuvring by his representatives. The Italian has been on the lookout for a new job for some time having expressed his desire to move on from Salzburg last summer.
Only in the past few days, however, has his interest in taking over the Irish team been confirmed to the FAI, with John Delaney apparently having been made aware of it earlier this week. The three members of the recruitment panel may have heard about it even more recently than that and it is believed that they will only get to interview him today.
Given his record, though, and his willingness to work for the money on offer (the 1 million salary is said to be roughly on a par with what he is currently paid in Austria), he is considered virtually a certainty to receive their endorsement.
The three (Don Givens, Don Howe and Ray Houghton) must then make their recommendation to a meeting of the association's board and that looks set to happen tomorrow evening, in the hours before the organisation's annual awards in Citywest.
In Italy it is believed that Trapattoni has expressed a desire to bring Liam Brady in as his assistant. The pair worked together for two successful seasons at Juventus between 1980 and 1982, with the Turin club winning Serie A titles on each occasion.
The Dubliner would be regarded as a very welcome addition to the new team with the FAI and his knowledge of Italian would be a help given Trapattoni speaks very little English.
Trapattoni's overall record, though, is quite remarkable, with the 68-year-old (his birthday is March 17th) winning seven Italian league titles as well as three other championships (Germany, Portugal and Austria) along with a European Cup, a Cup Winners' Cup, three Uefa Cups and a string of other, lesser honours.
With the opportunity to hire one of the game's most successful coaches representing something of a coup for the FAI, even at this stage in his career, the Italian's interest appears to have left the long-time favourite for the job, Terry Venables, now looking like an emergency fallback.
Givens, who denied on Wednesday night there had been any contact with Trapattoni, would merely confirm yesterday that he has not been talked to so far, that one candidate is to be interviewed, that it is hoped that the meeting will happen today.
When asked at the start of December about how a late entrant to the race might be treated, Givens observed: "If it gets towards the end of January and we're sort of waiting and suddenly Jose Mourinho phones up, then you've got to see him, don't you?"
It seems that in Giovanni Trapattoni, the panel have found their Mourinho.
Trapattoni: The facts
Born : March 17th, 1939, near Milan.
1959 : Signs for Milan and plays over 300 games. Wins two Serie A titles (1962, '68), two European Cups ('63, '69), a Coppa Italia ('67) and a European Cup Winners Cup ('68).
1971 : Leaves for FC Varesse before retiring having won 17 caps.
1974 : Appointed as coach of Milan.
1976 : Takes over at Juventus where he guides the club to six league titles (1977, '78, '81, '82, '84 and '86), two Coppa Italias ('79 and '83), a European Cup ('85) and a Uefa Cup ('77).
1986 : Moves to Inter where he wins a league ('89) and the Uefa Cup ('91).
1991 : Returns to Juventus where he wins the Uefa Cup ('93).
1994 : Moves to Bayern Munich.
1995 : Back to Italy for spell at Cagliari.
1996 : Takes on Bayern Munich and wins the Bundesliga ('97) and subsequently adds the cup ('98).
1998 : Goes back to Italy to manage Fiorentina.
2000 : Appointed coach to the Italian team which qualifies for the World Cup in 2002 and Euro 2004.
2004 : Becomes Benfica manager and helps the club to secure its first Portuguese title in over a decade ('05).
2005 : Has brief spell at Stuttgart.
2006 : Moves to Red Bull Salzburg and wins league in first season ('07).