Trapattoni wary of Barca backlash

Soccer:Giovanni Trapattoni has said he is confident that Ireland's Wolves contingent will relish the opportunity of putting a difficult league campaign behind them when the European Championships come around but warned that the same will be the case for Spain's Barca stars.

“I’m confident about them (Kevin Doyle, Stephen Ward, Stephen Hunt and Kevin Foley),” said the Italian, after visiting Croagh Patrick for a fundraising climb on Saturday, “even if they are last in the table and relegated. When they come with us, it’s a completely new opportunity. It’s different to be in the national team, a new opportunity to be proud.”

But, he warned, the Barcelona stars rocked over the past week by crucial defeats in the league and Champions League will be looking to pick themselves up in Poland too. “Obviously they will be disappointed,” said the manager of the likes of Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Carles Puyol, “but after every match there is the reaction. I don’t think morale will be a problem for either country, the national shirt is heavy for both of us.”

Asked whether Fernando Torres might be bolstered by his late goal at the Nou Camp this week, Trapattoni laughed and said that he could have scored in the circumstances. Quickly, though, he made the point that the Spanish squad is packed with formidable players. “They are world champions but Chelsea proved that in 90 minutes anything can happen. They reached the final and they deserved it.”

Trapattoni, who is due to name his squad for Euro 2012 on Monday, May 7th, suggested that he has more or less settled on the group that he will call up for the trip already but said that he was pleased that players like James McCarthy and James McClean were continuing to press their case with strong performances for Wigan and Sunderland this weekend respectively.

“No, it’s not a problem, it’s a good thing,” he said before adding that Richard Dunne’s return for Aston Villa at West Brom, where the defender played all 90 minutes, had been the best news he had received this weekend.

“We have heard what the players have done and it is good, they are all important but especially Richard Dunne.”

Trapattoni revealed, meanwhile, that the Ireland training game to be played during the squad’s time in Italy ahead of the tournament is now likely to be a fundraiser for the family of Piermario Morisini, the Livorno player who died during a recent league game. The opposition seems likely to be composed of a local representative selection.

The Italian was speaking in Mullingar where he broke the journey back to Dublin after his latest visit to Croagh Patrick which up to 1,000 people climbed yesterday in a fundraising event that had been the idea of the Taoiseach, Enda Kenny.

“I made a promise two years ago that if we qualified I would come back and pray to St Patrick again,” said Trapattoni, who met with participants as they set off from Murrisk. “It was very emotional, a fantastic day.”