Giovanni Trapattoni turns down the Old Lady for Ireland

By: Declan O'Kelly | Published Saturday, January 12, 2013, 11:01 AM | Updated Saturday, January 12, 2013, 11:01 AM

Giovanni Trapattoni has revealed that he turned down the chance to take over at crisis hit Juventus to concentrate on his job with Ireland.

Juventus ended last season by sacking Claudio Ranieri, who had done a more than stellar job with the Turin club, and handed the reins over to former defender Ciro Ferrara.

Under Ferrara’s reign, Juve fell apart and when they let him go, the suits came looking for Trap, who led the club to six Serie A titles, two Italian Cups, A European Cup, two UEFA Cups, a UEFA Cup Winners Cup, a European Super Cup and an Intercontinental Cup in his two spells a the club from 1976-1986 and 1991-94.

All but one UEFA cup was won in that first glorious spell under Trap's reign. So you can see why they wanted him back.

However, The 71-year-old, who has been tempted by many jobs since taking over the Irish, decided to stick with the boys in green.

"It was impossible to divide my time between Ireland and a club," Trapattoni said on Italian TV "With a heavy heart I had to turn it down, as it was impossible to divide my time between Ireland and a club. It would not have been professional of me."

Forza Trapattoni! Forza Irlanda!