Trapattoni deftly dodges the Cox-or-Walters question

And skipper Keane is happy to have beaten injury to shape up for what could be another defining chapter in the history of Irish football

“IT’S cold, eh” Giovanni Trapattoni said brightly. And it was, but as the mercury fell in Tallinn, the Italian’s spirits remained high as he took his seat in the catacombs of the decidedly cosy A Le Coq (a local beer rather than patriot) stadium and reflected upon what will be the defining games of his time as Ireland manager.

At some point today, he will decide whether to start Simon Cox or Jonathan Walters alongside Robbie Keane but despite persistent quizzing, he remained enigmatic about the factors that will make him plump one way or the other.

Apart from that –“It’s only one! It’s not 10” he exclaimed, dismissing the selection as a trifling matter – he was eager to discuss the bigger picture. For there was a sense last night that Trapattoni’s journey with Ireland has reached a crucial juncture in this pretty Baltic city where football remains a new curiosity rather than a residual passion.

For the Italian and for the players, with this play-off fixture comes the realisation that this opportunity will not be coming around again.

Faded into yesterday is the hyper-drama of that World Cup play-off in France. Ireland have rode their luck hard in this European championship campaign and won few new followers for their style but Trapattoni was unrepentant.

“We try to make a show but for me the show is the second position. First is the result because with a positive result, everyone is happy.

“It creates enthusiasm and confidence. It is the first time Estonia participates in this play-off. Maybe it is the game of their life. But also for us, there aren’t many other chances. For us it is very important too.

“We start like our last seven games without conceding a goal but I think it is important to score a goal and I think we have the possibility of scoring. That is 50 per cent important.”

In other words, he is not about to abandon the tried and tested methodology. Beside him, Robbie Keane listened with amusement as Trapattoni effortlessly evaded questions on the Cox-or-Walters conundrum.

For the most part, Keane could hardly contain his glee at the fact he has beaten the injury which threatened to keep him sidelined for this tie.

Although it is a global game, football at the level in which Keane moves remains a select and rarefied society. Just over a week ago, his schedule with the Los Angles Galaxy meant a visit to the New York Cosmos and thus a reunion with Thierry Henry, the villain of that Parisian drama two years ago.

But Keane was taken aback at the idea that the infamous handball might have come up in any conversation.

“Yeah. We had about an hour’s chat about it! What do you think? Nah. I am fully focused on playing for Galaxy. We just said hello and shook hands. That was it.”

Footballers move on. Sentimentality is a luxury of the fans. And yet Keane has grown up wearing an Irish shirt and when he spoke last night, his thoughts were tinged with the acceptance that soon, all this will be over. He wants to go out in a last glory burst.

“This is a great opportunity for everyone,” he said with intent.

“Maybe this could be my last opportunity and for people like Shay and Richard, whoever. We have to grab this with both hands. Listen, this could change the whole country. It could give us a massive, massive boost which it hasn’t had for a while.

“I have been lucky enough to play in a World Cup but we haven’t qualified for a European championship for 20 odd years and every time I watch it on television, I am desperate to be there. It would mean everything.

“These players are desperate to qualify.”

It is up to Keane and the other senior players to set the tone. For Trapattoni, the task remains simple:

“I believe the team deserve to be here. It is suggested we are favourites but I don’t think so. I believe we can qualify but this is a game of 180 minutes and only after this time can we say if we deserve to go or not.”

Some time today, he will look to the sky above Tallinn for some sign as to whether it should be Cox or Walters. As ever, he will go with his instinct, gloriously indifferent to critical opinion. During a leisurely talk last night, Trapattoni took himself far away from Estonia to the west coast of Clare, where he recently visited the Cliffs of Moher. He acknowledged that depending on the result of this play-off, his time with Ireland could also be limited.

“The manager’s life is like that, he said of the stark Clare beauty spot.

“It is dangerous and on the edge. But I think I live again! I don’t know where, but sure, I will not stop here.”

And such is Trapattoni’s indefatigable energy is hard to see him ever stopping. He has not produced an Irish football team that has endeared him to the aesthetes but he is close to those elusive European Championships, source of such untrammelled joy back in 1988.

A return next summer will bring financial as well as emotional rewards. Trapattoni, the eternal winner, is close and he can sense it.

How many games has the shrewd, smiling man seen down the decades?

Thousands.

“In football every Sunday – or in England on Sunday – you can see the little teams beat the great teams,” he says. “That is football. That is no surprise. But we must think that for 180 minutes, this is our life. Players, manager, Irish people: I should be very proud if we achieve this result.”