News : Trapattoni Takes Irish Soccer Job

The Football Association of Ireland's (FAI) protracted search for a coach to take over the international soccer team finally ended with the appointment of former Italian national team boss Giovanni Trapattoni. The FAI had become the butt of many jokes in their meandering search for a successor to Steve Staunton, who they fired four months ago, but after 113 days Trapattoni was unveiled.

The Italian's credentials are well established. He has managed club sides to domestic honors in Italy, Germany, Portugal and currently in Austria where he manages the Salzburg Red Bull team. He also took charge of the national team in Italy in 2000 but was fired four years later when the team performed poorly. Yet he is still highly regarded in the game, and while at 68 years of age - he was born on St. Patrick's Day in 1939 -- he is not in his prime but remains very fit and characteristically passionate about the game.

However, the appointment was shrouded in controversy when it was revealed that businessman Denis O'Brien contributed half the reported salary of 1.5 million euro in an effort to attract a top soccer manager to the job. O'Brien, a tax exile and a major player across Irish media interests, insists his generosity was simply an effort to land a top-class manager and that his role in the appointment had no strings attached. FAI executives also insist O'Brien had no input on the selection process.

Ireland was rudderless for a prestigious friendly game against Brazil, one of the most glamorous sides in world soccer. The Brazilians came to Croke Park on a dull January night and won 1-0 in a game that caretaker manager Don Givens and the capacity crowd would rather forget.

Trapattoni's first game in charge will be a friendly in Dublin on May 24 against Serbia. The real action will start in September with visits to Georgia and Montenegro as World Cup 2010 qualifying kicks off. For the new boss the immediate aim will be to qualify for the tournament in South Africa. The Irish team has fallen steadily over the past five years, and with few world-class players at Trapattoni's disposal, instant success will be a tall order.