Tardelli ready to assume reins

SOCCER/Rep of Ireland v Argentina:GIOVANNI TRAPATTONI'S chances of attending this evening's friendly international against Argentina will be assessed this morning when the 71-year-old is seen by consultants at the Mater hospital. He had tests yesterday in the wake of suffering what was initially diagnosed as a case of food poisoning. As of last night, his condition was described as "stable and not serious".

Though he appeared well and in good humour on Sunday afternoon after training, the Italian had reportedly been feeling unwell for the previous couple of days and, having attended to him during the course of Monday evening when Trapattoni was suffering bouts of vomiting, the team doctor, Alan Byrne, decided it would be best if was brought for tests in the early hours of yesterday morning.

The results of initial tests have been positive, according to the FAI, but no diagnosis appeared to have been settled upon as of last night when the association issued a brief statement to say the manager would be staying in hospital until at least this morning when further results are expected.

It is not clear whether Trapattoni will be deemed well enough to take his place in the Irish dugout but it seems less likely than when his illness was first revealed at a scheduled press conference at the Aviva Stadium yesterday morning.

Byrne, with Trapattoni’s assistant Marco Tardelli and captain Robbie Keane, addressed the media in a somewhat sombre mood despite the doctor’s suggestion the Italian’s condition was not a matter for major concern.

It is the second time in the space of a few months the preparations for a Republic of Ireland game have been overshadowed by medical matters. At the start of the summer Everton defender Shane Duffy was seriously hurt during a training game at Malahide and had to undergo emergency surgery in order to prevent his death due to internal bleeding.

And a member of Trapattoni’s management team, Liam Brady was rushed to hospital two years ago with chest pains after arriving in Dublin from a trip to Norway.

Byrne, Tardelli and Keane all expressed the hope Trapattoni would recover sufficiently to take his place in the dug-out for the team’s first match back at its lavishly-redeveloped home.

“Some tests are already known and they are already very good,” said the doctor. “It’s not a serious problem, but with shellfish-type food poisoning it can have a greater impact . . . we’ll be guided by the results and how Giovanni feels between now and then.”

If Trapattoni doesn’t make it along, Tardelli will oversee a game in which Keith Fahey and possibly Cillian Sheridan are set to start. The midfielder comes into the starting line-up after Liam Lawrence, who was originally named on the right-hand side of midfield yesterday, flew back to England apparently for treatment for a groin strain. Richard Dunne should start after recovering from a knee problem. Sheridan must wait to see if Kevin Doyle comes through a test on a calf strain.

Elsewhere, the team is largely built around well-established players with the likes of Shay Given, Keith Andrews, Damien Duff, John O’Shea and Robbie Keane, who will make his 100th appearance, all set to start.

The scale of the impression Paul Green made back at the start of the summer can be gauged from the fact he gets another chance to impress in central midfield while Kevin Kilbane retains his place at left back despite repeated suggestions by Trapattoni he will look to use fresher legs during the European championships campaign.

Tardelli sought to echo the manager’s confidence regarding the game yesterday, insisting the Irish have the potential to hold their own this evening. Needless to say, most of the media’s attention was focused on Lionel Messi who is expected to feature from the outset despite his late arrival. However, Tardelli said the Irish would not try to change their game so as to specifically counter the Barcelona star, predicting it would only cause problems in other areas.

The quality of the performances against Algeria and Paraguay at the end of last season entitled the Italians to head off for the summer break with some cause for contentment but it is possible tonight’s game might more closely resemble the encounter with Brazil in London in March when the Irish were comprehensively beaten.

The presence of not just Messi but also so many of his international team-mates from the likes of Real Madrid and Inter, suggests the visitors may be treating the game more seriously than would have been expected a few months back after a disappointing World Cup. Sergio Baptista’s stars will be no more match-fit than their hosts, however, and it is not until the game actually gets under way that it will be possible to gauge the real nature of the contest.

The caretaker manager may have defended his predecessor against charges of tactical naivety yesterday but there seems little doubt he will look to achieve a rather different balance within the side this evening to the one stuck between all-out attacking and defence with little in between witnessed in South Africa.

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: Given (Manchester City); McShane (Hull City), O’Shea (Manchester Utd), Dunne (Aston Villa), Kilbane (Hull City); Duff (Fulham), Andrews (Blackburn Rovers), Green (Derby County), Fahey (Birmingham); Keane (Tottenham), Doyle (Wolves) or Sheridan (Celtic).

ARGENTINA (probable): Romero (AZ); Burdiso (Inter Milan), Demichelis (Bayern Munich), Samuel (Inter), Heinze (Marseille); Banega (Valencia), Mascherano (Liverpool), Gago (Real Madrid); Higuain (Real Madrid), Messi (Barcelona), Di Maria (Real Madrid).