GIOVANNI TRAPATTONI will make history as the first Republic of Ireland manager to attend the draw for a European Championship finals when he flies to Kiev with the FAI delegation this afternoon. His arrival is as eagerly awaited by the host nation as his team is feared by some in their ranks.
Whereas Jack Charlton chose to watch the 1988 drawing of lots from the comforts of a Dublin hotel, Trapattoni will press the flesh when tomorrow night’s proceedings get underway in the lavish Palace of the Arts in the Ukrainian capital.
The Italian, with his new contract in his back pocket, will be surrounded by some of the biggest names in the European game as the likes of Del Bosque, Capello, van Marwijk and Loew await their Euro 2012 fate.
Some admirers will also sit alongside Trap in the coach’s club tomorrow night, not least the Ukrainian team boss and European Championship ambassador Oleg Blokhin, who played against Trapattoni teams in his Dynamo Kiev heyday as one of the game’s top strikers.
“Giovanni Trapattoni is one of the most respected managers in the world game,” said Blokhin, keen to renew acquaintances with the Ireland manager tomorrow but not next summer.
“He is well known and liked in the world of football and it is no different in the Ukraine. We know him as a great manager and we will respect his team.”
Blokhin would prefer to play any of the other fourth seeds – France, Denmark or the Czech Republic – in the Euros and so would one of his top players despite Ireland’s status as the 16th team in the hat and the lowest ranked of all the qualifiers.
“Ireland will be dangerous, they will have to be respected,” said the former Liverpool player Andriy Voronin, who hopes the draw throws up a spicy Soviet derby tomorrow night.
“I want to play Russia. It would be a big, big game for everyone in the Ukraine as hosts and the emotion of it all would be an advantage for us.”
Aside from the excitement of playing in the European finals next year, the locals are also keen to put their best foot forward when so many eyes from all across the continent will be watching events unfold in Kiev tomorrow.
Stung by the suggestion that they are second rate next to co-hosts Poland – an idea not helped by England’s decision to base themselves in Krakow even if they have to play in the Ukraine – they have been pulling out all the stops to be ready for the biggest sporting event they’ve ever staged.
Grounds have either been rebuilt or constructed from new in Kiev, Donetsk, Kharkiv and Lviv. Work is continuing to improve roads and airports and bullet trains are under construction in Japan and due to arrive shortly.
Hotels have been upgraded and some 15,000 rooms added. Emergency workers and border guards are taking English lessons. The government here has even vowed to pressure from Uefa and outlawed the execution of stray dogs. They clearly want to please.
“I think that in this difficult time the country has done everything possible to prepare for the Championship to the best of its ability,” said former Chelsea striker Andriy Shevchenko, the Ukraine’s most famous footballer, who will fly straight back from Europa League action in Stoke to attend the draw.
“And I think many more will be done in order to demonstrate the beauty of our country both to ordinary fans and participants of the competition.”
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