The football manager born in Italy blew his top late on Tuesday afternoon as the questions rained down again about the continued absence of one of his top players from his squad for Saturday’s big match in Croke Park.

He had had enough by the time one of those television sorts asked a question too many of a man renowned as one of the finest tacticians of his generation.

The midfielder in question has yet to feature in his country’s squad for any of the Group Eight games that will draw to a conclusion on Wednesday of next week.

And not for the first time, the reporter wanted to know why with a line of questioning that didn’t endear itself to the veteran coach.

“I’m fed up with this question,” said Marcello Lippi at Italy’s training camp high in the Tuscan hills as the continued absence of playmaker Antonio Cassano from his squad dominated the first official press conference of the week Italy can confirm World Cup qualification.

Hundreds of miles away, in the north Dublin suburbs, the Irish media had a little giggle when word came through of the latest Cassano row in the Italian camp.

The news broke, you see, as they prepared for a pitchside update in Malahide with Giovanni Trapattoni when the absence of another talented midfield artist was about to dominate the proceedings.

Andy Reid is to Ireland’s current World Cup squad what Cassano is to Lippi’s Italy.

He is the playmaker playing out of his skin for his club Sunderland at the moment, just as Cassano is back to top form with Sampdoria having finally found a maturity to match his skills.

Just last Saturday night, satellite football fans watched a five star show from Reid as he almost orchestrated a shock win for Sunderland at Manchester United’s Old Trafford ground, a victory denied only by another 96th minute goal for the home side.

The new, slimmer Reid, as the television viewers saw that day, was exceptional on the left flank for his club just before what is going to be a huge week for his country.

He tormented compatriot John O’Shea from start to finish and was the architect of the second Sunderland goal, finished by Kenwynne Jones, that almost stole all three points for the visitors in the 2-2 draw.

The chances are that Giovanni Trapattoni was watching Reid’s live TV show back in his Milan home. He doesn’t go to many games in England despite his huge salary, but Trap loves to watch Premier League matches on his flat screen.

So we can only hope that Trapattoni noted that Reid’s performance was anything but flat, as acknowledged by his marker O’Shea at a Dublin press conference on Monday afternoon.

“Andy definitely could be in the squad with his ability, without a doubt, but that is up to the manager,” said O’Shea at a Carlsberg function, and he was probably right (get it?).

“He’s doing his talking on the pitch now, and hopefully that will be enough for him to get into the squad.”

By the time O’Shea made those remarks, Trapattoni had already added to the intrigue surrounding Reid’s continued absence by calling the unheralded QPR midfielder Martin Rowlands up for the Italian game as cover for Steven Reid and Darron Gibson.

Rowlands is an average player next to Reid with the greatest respect to the QPR man, a work horse next to a thoroughbred, so his inclusion can be seen as another insult to those calling for Andy’s return.

By Tuesday afternoon, the plot had thickened further when Trapattoni confirmed that Fulham winger and potential match winner Damien Duff is definitely out of the Italy match, and his presence is only a possibility for Montenegro next Wednesday thanks to a calf injury.

Duff’s loss is a big blow to Ireland, and while Trap can claim that Rowlands is a like-for-like replacement for Gibson or Steven Reid, surely he cannot look past Andy Reid as Duff’s stand-in.

Nobody is saying that Reid should start ahead of Stephen Hunt or Aiden McGeady next Saturday night for a game Ireland now have to win following FIFA’s u-turn on the seedings for the draw for the playoffs.

But surely Andy Reid has done enough in recent weeks to merit a place in the Ireland squad at the very least.

After all, a great manager picks the best players available to him at all times and nobody, not even Giovanni Trapattoni, can convince me that Martin Rowlands or Glenn Whelan or Keith Andrews are better footballers than Andy Reid.

Trapattoni has two games left to get Ireland to the World Cup finals automatically, or four games to get us there via the playoffs, but how he treats Andy Reid over the next few days will tell us all we really need to know about our Italian.

If he takes the Lippi route and refuses to answer any more questions while continuing to leave Andy in the cold, then the next two years are going to be long ones for Irish football.

If he recalls Andy then Trapattoni might just get the results in the next two or four games that can realize the World Cup dream for a new generation.

Over to you Trap -- let’s see what you’re really made of now that Duffer is out of the Italian game. 

Sideline Views

SOCCER: Some people just can’t let go. On Monday the Daily Mail, one of our imported English tabloids, had a laugh at Steve Staunton’s expense with a back page headline that read “Stan’s Back -- With the Worst Job in Football.” Stan is indeed back as manager of the Darlington team that’s bottom of the English Leagues and, like Roy Keane’s Ipswich, still waiting for its first win of the season. That means the only way is up for a hungry Steve Staunton and for Darlington. When he brings the team out of its current slumbers I really hope Stan sticks two fingers up to the begrudgers.

SOCCER: Now for some bad news. The former Irish international striker Ray Treacy announced his retirement as a travel agent on Monday after 30 years flying football fans all over the world. Of late Ray has been the official travel agent for the Irish team and media, and he has been a pleasure to do business with. I can only wish him well -- and look forward to meeting him on a golf course in Portugal in the very near future. Thanks Ray -- and staff!

SOCCER: Fate being what it is, Richard Dunne opened the scoring for new club Aston Villa against his old club Manchester City in the Premier League, a goal that was greeted by cheers from the City fans who still rate the player treated so badly by manager Mark Hughes and his Arab bosses. Dunne by the way didn’t celebrate his goal against a team that still means so much to him.

GAA: Good news from GAA headquarters in Croke Park. The recession may be hitting every GAA fan with the exception of that idiot former minister John O’Donoghue, but new figures show that attendances at all GAA championship matches in hurling and football this season were up to 1,523,000 from 1,519,000 in 2008. Proof positive that top class sport remains a real attraction, even in hard times.

RUGBY: Don’t read too much into John Hayes’ red card for stamping on Leinster’s Cian Healy in the big Magners League match at the RDS on Saturday night. It was out of character for Hayes, and having watched it more than once on replay I am still not sure it was deliberate. The IRFU disciplinary committee may not be as forgiving, however.  

HEROES OF THE WEEK

IT was a pleasure to visit Tallaght Stadium last Friday night for the Dublin derby between Shamrock Rovers and Bohemians when the sense of occasion was immense, even if the football didn’t match for much of the game. Those fans who rescued Rovers from financial oblivion a couple of seasons back deserve nothing but credit for revitalising League of Ireland football. If their manager Michael O’Neill can go on from Friday’s win and win the title it will probably be a just reward for a club offering a real future for domestic football on our island.

    

IDIOT OF THE WEEK

AN English psychic by the name of Supernatural Sue has claimed that Roy Keane’s Ipswich Town have been cursed by the spirits of druids buried under their Portman Road ground, and that’s the reason why the Tractor Boys have yet to win a match all season. She may have a point, but the Suffolk Druids hardly explain why Ipswich have yet to win a game away from home all season as well -- unless these are Traveling Druids! Roy is just a struggling young manager under real pressure, end of story.