MARCO TARDELLI EXPECTS Celtic’s Champions League hero Giorgios Samaras to be a handful for the Republic of Ireland defence.
The Greek striker was a key man in the Bhoys’ historic European nights against Barcelona and was credited with opening the scoring in the 2-1 defeat in the Camp Nou.
Ireland assistant Tardelli took note of Samaras’s performance that night, and in Celtic’s unforgettable win at Parkhead last week, and picked him out as a threat ahead of Wednesday’s international friendly in the Aviva Stadium
“It is a very tough test,” the Italian said after training in Malahide this morning. “I think Greece is a very good team.
They are a team that plays very hard and they have good players like Samaras. We know Samaras. He played against Barcelona and played well.
Alongside the long-awaited recall of Norwich City playmaker Wes Hoolahan, manager Giovanni Trapattoni has again shown faith in the younger players at his disposal.
James McCarthy, James McClean, Ciaran Clark, Robbie Brady, David Meyler and the uncapped Conor Clifford are all aged 23 or younger and Tardelli feels that Wednesday’s game will be an important proving ground.
“I think it’s a good test for us and it’s a good test for the young players. For the young players, it’s good to play during training but it’s important to play matches.”
Asked if he was looking forward to the end of the year and the chance to draw a line under Ireland’s European Championships and last month’s 6-1 defeat to Germany, Tardelli said that 2012 was a “fantastic year” in his eyes.
We went to play at the European Championships. It was very important for us, it was 25 years since the Irish team played there.For me, it was a very good year. We discovered many younger players that are here with us. I think when there is change, it is important to have patience.
