Giovanni Trapattoni

Giovanni Trapattoni
Giovanni Trapattoni
Personal information
Date of birth March 17, 1939 (1939-03-17) (age 71)
Place of birth Cusano Milanino, Italy
Playing position Defender, midfielder
Club information
Current club Republic of Ireland (manager)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1959–1971 Milan[1] 274 (3)
1971–1972 Varese[2] 10 (0)
Total 284 (3)
National team
1960–1964 Italy[3] 17 (1)
Teams managed
1974 Milan
1976 Milan
1976–1986 Juventus
1986–1991 Internazionale
1991–1994 Juventus
1994–1995 Bayern Munich
1995–1996 Cagliari
1996–1998 Bayern Munich
1998–2000 Fiorentina
2000–2004 Italy
2004–2005 Benfica
2005–2006 Stuttgart
2006–2008 Red Bull Salzburg
2008– Republic of Ireland
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Giovanni Trapattoni (born 17 March 1939), known as "Il Trap",[4] is an Italian football coach and former player, considered the most successful club coach in the history of Serie A.[5]

Trapattoni is currently the manager of the Republic of Ireland national team, also having coached the Italian national team and throughout Europe. He is also the only manager to have won all UEFA club competitions and the Intercontinental Cup. He achieved this with Juventus over his two spells with the club.

One of the most celebrated managers in football history, Trapattoni is one of only two coaches, alongside the Austrian Ernst Happel, to have won the league title (10) in four different countries (Italy, Germany, Portugal, and Austria). Alongside the German Udo Lattek, he is the only coach to have won all three major European club titles. Also, he is the only one to have won all UEFA club competitions and the World Club title, also having the record of UEFA Cup wins (three).

Contents

Playing career

Born in Cusano Milanino near Milan, Trapattoni had a successful career as a player with Milan in the 1960s and early 1970s. Playing primarily as a defender and defensive midfielder with the main task of passing the ball to more creative players such as Giovanni Lodetti and Gianni Rivera, he also played for the Italian national team, mostly as centre back with notable marking skills, appearing at the 1962 FIFA World Cup in Chile.

After taking a break from the national team, Trapattoni thought he could settle with a mid-table team for one last season instead of being at one club all his life, subsequently moving to Varese and, after a successful season with them, retired from professional football and embarked on a highly successful managerial career two years later.

Coaching career

Trapattoni began coaching at Milan as a youth team coach, before becoming caretaker coach. He was appointed first team coach in 1975. In 1976, he moved on to Italian giants Juventus, where he won all UEFA club competitions (European record) and, ten years later, went to Internazionale, being very successful with both sides. He returned to Juventus in 1991 before taking his first job outside Italy, as coach of Bayern Munich in 1994, and then from 1996 to 1998. He is well remembered by German fans for an emotional outburst in broken German during a press conference on 10 March 1998 ("Was erlauben Strunz?"..Ich habe fertig!" − How dare Strunz? … I have finished) where he criticized the team's attitude ("Diese Spieler waren schwach wie eine Flasche leer!" − These players were weak like an empty bottle).[6][7] He also coached Cagliari (1994–95) and Fiorentina (1998 to 2000, leading them to a UEFA Champions League place).

Italy

In July 2000, Trapattoni took charge of the Italian national team after the resignation of Dino Zoff. He led the team to the 2002 FIFA World Cup. In that tournament, after winning its first match against Ecuador, Italy's form dropped and they controversially lost to Croatia. They drew with Mexico, with Alessandro Del Piero scoring a late equalizer. In the second round, Italy were eliminated by South Korea, in a controversial match that saw Italy lead for most of the game, concede an equaliser two minutes from full time, and lose in extra-time with Ahn Jung-Hwan scoring a golden goal that sealed their fate.

At the 2004 European Championship, Italy once again failed to impress. They drew with both Denmark and Sweden, leading to an unexpected early exit. On 25 June 2004, Marcello Lippi was named as Trapattoni's replacement, as his contract ran out on 15 July 2004.

Benfica

On 5 July 2004, Trapattoni was named as new coach of Portuguese League club Sport Lisboa e Benfica, which he led to win the 2005 league, the first in 11 years, and also to the Portuguese Cup final (which Benfica lost to Vitória de Setúbal). He resigned after the 2005 season, saying he wanted to be closer to his family (in the north of Italy).

Stuttgart

Trapattoni returned to management in the German Bundesliga in the summer of 2005, by signing at VfB Stuttgart, with much hype about his appointment. However, during his 20 games at the helm, Stuttgart produced poor results. Denmark internationals Jon Dahl Tomasson and Jesper Grønkjær openly criticized their coach, claiming he was afraid to attack. Trapattoni responded by dropping both players to the bench. With the atmosphere in the team worsening, he was sacked after just seven months, on 9 February 2006, reportedly for "not fulfilling the ambitions of the club". He was replaced as manager by Armin Veh.

Red Bull Salzburg

In May 2006, Red Bull Salzburg announced it had signed Trapattoni as its new director of football, along with one of his former players, Lothar Matthäus, as coach. Trapattoni initially cast doubt on this report, claiming he had not signed any contract. But three days later, both he and Matthäus signed and made their hirings official. After their successful season of 2006–07, the club's board of directors unanimously decided to dismiss Matthäus, making Thorsten Fink Trapattoni's new assistant.

Ireland

On 11 February 2008, Trapattoni "agreed in principle" to take over the Irish manager's job,[8] but finished the season with Red Bull before taking up the Irish position on 1 May. Former Ireland midfielder Liam Brady was expected to be part of the Italian's backroom staff,[9] while Marco Tardelli was confirmed as Trapattoni's assistant manager.[10] Trapattoni signed Brady back in 1980 for Juventus from Arsenal for just over £500,000.

Red Bull Salzburg confirmed, on 13 February 2008, that at the end of the 2007–08 season, Trapattoni would be leaving the club to take over as the Republic of Ireland manager.[11]

Trapattoni's first game in charge, a friendly against Serbia on 24 May 2008, ended in a 1–1 draw. His second, another friendly, against Colombia five days later, meant his first victory with the national side, 1–0. This was followed by a 1–1 draw with Norway, his first competitive win against Georgia and a draw with Montengro in the 2010 World Cup qualifying stage.

Trapattoni with Marco Tardelli during his time as Ireland coach

Trapattoni's first defeat came in a friendly against Poland on 19 November 2008, a 3–2 loss at Croke Park.[12] He also managed to claim a 1–1 away draw against 2006 FIFA World Cup champions Italy, that he had managed himself from 2000 to 2004, thanks to a late equaliser from Robbie Keane. He finished the qualifying campaign unbeaten, becoming only the third Irish manager to do so, qualifying for a playoff place for the 2010 World Cup.

In September 2009, he signed a new contract with Ireland that would have seen him continue as manager until the 2012 European Championships.[13] In the first leg of the World Cup playoff in Croke Park on 14 November 2009, France won 1–0 with a goal by Nicolas Anelka.[14] In the second leg in Paris, on 18 November 2009, a goal from Robbie Keane levelled the aggregate scores at 1–1 in the first half. In extra time, however, a William Gallas equaliser put France through 2–1 on aggregate.[15] Replays of the French goal showed that Thierry Henry had twice used his hand to control the ball before crossing for Gallas to head home.[16]

Personal life

Trapattoni is a cooperator of Opus Dei.[17] He is married to Paola and has several grandchildren.[18]

Health

In August 2010, Trapattoni was submitted to hospital in Dublin, one day before Ireland's friendly with Argentina. It was initially believed that shellfish he ate before arriving in the country was to blame for him feeling unwell.[19] Trap underwent surgery in the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, Dublin on 11 August.[20] He missed the Argentina game due to his surgery.[21]

Honours

One of the most celebrated managers in football history, Trapattoni is one of only two coaches, alongside the Austrian Ernst Happel, to have won the league title (10) in four different countries (Italy, Germany, Portugal, and Austria)[22] and the fourth coach with the most international competitions for clubs won in the world — second in Europe — with seven titles in eight finals, including the Intercontinental Cup final (mainly with Juventus).[23] Alongside the German Udo Lattek, he is the only coach to have won all three major European club titles. Also, he is the only one to have won all UEFA club competitions and the World Club title, also having the record of UEFA Cup wins (three).

Player honours

Italy Milan

Managerial honours

Italy Juventus
Italy Internazionale
Germany Bayern Munich
Portugal Benfica
Austria Red Bull Salzburg

Managerial statistics

As of 7 September 2010[24]
Team Nation From To Record
G W D L Win %
Milan  Italy 1974 1974
Milan  Italy 1976 1976
Juventus  Italy 1976 1986 300 163 97 40 54.55
Internazionale  Italy 1986 1991 230 126 59 45 54.78
Juventus  Italy 1991 1994 141 74 44 23 52.48
Bayern Munich  Germany 1994 1995 34 15 13 6 44.12
Cagliari  Italy 1995 1996
Bayern Munich  Germany 1996 1998 68 29 20 9 42.65
Fiorentina  Italy 1998 2000
Italy  Italy 6 July 2000 15 July 2004 44 25 12 7 56.82
Benfica  Portugal 2004 2005 48 28 10 12 58.33
Stuttgart  Germany 2005 2006
Red Bull Salzburg  Austria May 2006 April 2008
Republic of Ireland  Ireland May 2008 Present 25 10 10 5 40

See also

References

  1. ↑ ACMilan.com
  2. ↑ FIGC.it
  3. ↑ Di Maggio, Roberto (13 April 2003). "Giovanni Trapattoni - International Appearances". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/trapattoni-intl.html. Retrieved 12 February 2009. 
  4. ↑ Trap sidelined by one from the net. Irish Independent. 11 August 2010.
  5. ↑ "Trapattoni wants Italy deal". BBC Sport. 2004-03-30. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/europe/3581675.stm. Retrieved 2008-10-15. 
  6. ↑ Short version of press conference (English subtitles)
  7. ↑ Long version (in German)
  8. ↑ Trapattoni set to get Ireland job
  9. ↑ Trapattoni named Republic manager
  10. ↑ Tardelli to be Republic assistant
  11. ↑ Red Bull Salzburg announcement; Trapattoni leaving club at end of 2007/08
  12. ↑ "Republic of Ireland 2-3 Poland". RTÉ Sport. 2008-11-19. http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2008/1119/repofireland_poland.html. Retrieved 2009-03-19. 
  13. ↑ "Trapattoni signs new Ireland deal". ESPN. 2009-09-25. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=679576&cc=5739. Retrieved 2009-11-17. 
  14. ↑ "Anelka's deflected strike hurts Irish". ESPN. 2009-11-14. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=284570&cc=5739&league=FIFA.WORLDQ.UEFA. Retrieved 2009-11-17. 
  15. ↑ Winter, Henry (2009-11-19). "France 1 Republic of Ireland 1, agg 2-1: match report". The Daily Telegraph (London). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/international/republicofireland/6598616/France-1-Republic-of-Ireland-1-agg-2-1-match-report.html. Retrieved 2009-11-19. 
  16. ↑ "Henry's hand ends Irish World Cup hopes". The Irish Times. 2009-11-19. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2009/1119/breaking10.html?via=mr. Retrieved 2009-11-19. 
  17. ↑ Irish Independent: The true cost of landing Trapattoni -- February 17 2008
  18. ↑ Giovanni Trapattoni's trappings of success. The Sunday Times. 17 February 2008.
  19. ↑ "Giovanni Trapattoni in hospital". ESPN Soccernet. 2010-08-10. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=813220&sec=euro2012&cc=5739. Retrieved 2010-08-10. 
  20. ↑ Trapattoni to undergo surgery. RTÉ Sport. 11 August 2010.
  21. ↑ Giovanni Trapattoni to undergo surgery and will miss Argentina game. The Guardian. 11 August 2010.
  22. ↑ "Trapattoni climbs another mountain". FIFA. 7 May 2007. http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/clubfootball/news/newsid=128101.html. Retrieved 9 February 2009. 
  23. ↑ Only Carlos Bianchi, Alex Ferguson, and Manuel José de Jesus (all with eight titles) have won more official international titles for clubs in the world. Trapattoni is, alongside Ferguson, the most successful club in Europe for UEFA club competitions titles won with six titles. See also: European Cups - performances by coach - www.rsssf.com.
  24. ↑ Di Maggio, Roberto (18 December 2008). "Italian National Team Coaches". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/ital-coach-triv.html. Retrieved 12 February 2009. 

External links

Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Bob Paisley		 UEFA Cup Winning Coach
1976–77		 Succeeded by
Kees Rijvers
Preceded by
Alex Ferguson		 Cup Winners' Cup Winning Coach
1983–84		 Succeeded by
Howard Kendall
Preceded by
Alex Ferguson		 UEFA Super Cup Winning Coach
1983–84		 Succeeded by
Anghel Iordănescu
Preceded by
Joe Fagan		 European Cup Winning Coach
1984–85		 Succeeded by
Emerich Jenei
Preceded by
José Pastoriza		 Intercontinental Cup Winning Coach
1984–85		 Succeeded by
Héctor Veira
Preceded by
Dino Zoff		 UEFA Cup Winning Coach
1990–91		 Succeeded by
Louis van Gaal
Preceded by
Louis van Gaal		 UEFA Cup Winning Coach
1992–93		 Succeeded by
Giampiero Marini