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We’ve also got a highlight real of the Republic of Ireland’s recent destruction of Italy for you today. The Irish manager Giovanni Trapattoni used to manage the Italian national team, but Ireland is now the second county he has taken charge of that has beat his former side. Ireland was without most of its big name players as defections and players saying they need rest after tyhe season tool on a team already hurting from injury. But from this bleakest of situations heroes tend to emerge. Ireland found those heroes in two unknowns, Simon Cox, and Keith Andrews.

The first goal from Andrews is an absolute rocket, and its no wonder the giants of the Premiership are queuing up for his services. I’m thinking Liverpool with come out ahead in that race and he should fit in well with their side in the coming year.

Simon Cox is another relative unknown. Born in Reading England, where he played with Kevin Doyle, Shane Long, and a few other of the Republic’s greats he chose to play for Ireland as he qualifies through his maternal grandmother. I’ve always said the men in Ireland jerseys would have best side in the world if our best players didn’t play for other countries. Wayne Rooney, Clint Dempsey, even Charlie Adam are all eligible for the Republic, but play for the nations they were born in. Hopefully, Cox’s success will set a new example for up and coming players.

Players like Shane Long had better take note, if they continue to refuse to show up for international duty due to the fact they’e “tired.” Cox and others wait in the wings. The truth of the match is Italy were not at full strength, but they were far closer to a first team than the Irish, and they played the match in Liege, Belgium, which has a sizable Italian population. All in all, it was a great match for the Irish, and Italy will have some work to do after this kind of a thrashing.

Written by: Matthew Wall, editor, soccerprose.com

 

About the author: Matthew Wall

 

I've played soccer since I could walk thanks to my father and love keeping up on all the latest gear and gab. I'm in my twenties, and I'm lucky enough to have found work in search marketing for a leading soccer retailer after completing my M.A. at Georgetown in 2008. My team is Liverpool, and national side is Ireland, but I've also got a passion for GAA and a number of sports. Feel free to give me a shout on Google+

 

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