Wednesday 30 January 2008

Trap denies Ireland link

Italian coach Giovanni Trapattoni has insisted that he is not in talks to become the new Republic of Ireland manager.

The veteran coach is currently in charge of Austrian first division side Red Bull Salzburg and has moved to end speculation surrounding his future.

"I admire the imagination of certain managers. Two weeks ago, I was being linked with Africa, last week it was in England and now we are talking to Ireland," Trapattoni told the APA news agency.


"I'm curious to see where I will be next week."

Sky Sports reported on Tuesday that Trapattoni was in contact with the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) with a view to succeeding Steve Staunton who was sacked after failing to take the team to the UEFA Euro 2008 finals.

The 68-year-old has a wealth of experience and has coached clubs including AC Milan, Inter, Fiorentina, Juventus, Bayern Munich and Benfica.

He was also in charge of the Italian national team between 2000 and 2004.

Ireland's caretaker manager Don Givens, one of the FAI's recruitment panel, says Trapattoni is not being considered for the post.

"I've heard he's the new favourite, but how many are we going to have?" he told the Irish Times.

"When I see that story, I find it absolutely amazing because we haven't spoken to Trapattoni and I find it rather hard to believe that the FAI are going behind our backs."

Source: Sky Sports

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