Tardelli Looks Ahead to Qualifiers

Republic of Ireland assistant manager Marco Tardelli was in Wexford today to announce the squad for the upcoming European Championship qualifiers against Armenia and Andorra. Tardelli was filling in for manager Giovanni Trapattoni, who had just recently left hospital following surgery on his abdomen.

Perhaps the most obvious talking point regarding the 25-man squad was the decision to call up just three strikers, in Kevin Doyle, Robbie Keane and Shane Long. Tardelli did however mention that Cillian Sheridan would be on standby, although he hoped that the CSKA Sofia man would not be needed as he is key to the Under-21 side as they face into crucial away qualifiers against Switzerland and Turkey. The Italian World Cup winner was confident that Ireland would have sufficient firepower as they begin their Group B campaign. “It is possible Sheridan will come back [to the senior team], I don’t know, we will see during training. If the strikers stay well we have also [Andy] Keogh, who it is possible to play as a striker. Against Argentina we tried him and he played well so it is possible. But if we need, Sheridan can go back.”

Tardelli dismissed speculation that Trapattoni may not travel to Armenia and revealed that he is ‘always’ in contact with the veteran Ireland boss. “Giovanni is well and I’m sure that he will come to Armenia. He is very well.”

Tardelli was also quizzed about Robbie Keane’s seemingly limited game time at club level, but he was quick to downplay this as a problem. “I prefer [that he plays] because we would have Robbie fit. I saw the match against Young Boys, when Robbie came on he played very well, he gave the ball for the second goal. I think Robbie is very important for us, but it’s no problem. If he plays it’s better for us.” Tardelli also refused to be drawn on whether he felt Keane should move clubs before the transfer window closes at the end of August. “It’s not my problem, it’s Tottenham’s problem. We want him to play. It’s important he plays half an hour, forty minutes, one half, so that he can stay fit.” Likewise, Tardelli was calm about Shay Given’s newfound substitute status at Manchester City, where he has lost the number one jersey to England’s Joe Hart. “For us Shay Given and Robbie Keane are very important and I think they will start to play in one or two weeks because they are very good players. And now Tottenham have also a problem with Jermain Defoe, if he is injured maybe Robbie can play.”

Two of the newest names amongst the Ireland senior squad are Paul Green and Keith Treacy, and Tardelli was complimentary about the qualities both players bring to the table. “All players in the squad have a possibility to start. Paul Green played for us [the last] three matches, he played very well. He runs, he works very hard but I am here to give you the squad, Giovanni picks the team. Keith Treacy, for us, is a very good player. [He has] quality, he is very fast and he has a good cross. I think in the future he will be very important, but also now because when he played against Argentina he played well. We have a good option for the future.”

Optimism seemed the order of the day and Tardelli believes the squad announced today will be enough to ensure a flying start to our European Championship campaign. “Our goal is to win every match. We will go to Armenia to win, as normal and also with Andorra but for me the crucial match is Armenia. I think our team now is a good team, a very good team. They believe in themselves and after France we go back with the same mentality. They want to win the group because they deserve it.”

The Republic of Ireland will take on Armenia in Yerevan on September 3rd before hosting Andorra at the Aviva stadium in Dublin in the stadium’s first competitive game.