GIOVANNI TRAPATTONI MOVED to end talk of an international return for Damien Duff today, insisting that he respects the winger’s decision to call time on his career with Ireland.
Faced with a growing injury list ahead of the World Cup qualifiers against Germany and the Faroe Islands, Trapattoni dismissed reports that he hopes to coax the Dubliner out of retirement as a “misunderstanding.”
Duff won 100 international caps but retired earlier this summer following Ireland’s disappointing campaign at the European Championships in Poland and Ukraine. Injuries to Glenn Whelan (hamstring) and James McClean (hip) look set to limit Trapattoni’s options in midfield, but asked if he would consider recalling Duff under the circumstances, the Italian ruled out the move.
“[Myself and Marco Tardelli] only one time said to Damien, after he scored one goal, ‘you are rested, you can come back.’
“He said ‘No thank you. I’m finished.’
“I never said to him again ‘Damien come back’, because when he said to me, ‘No, I’m finished’, I respect that. I didn’t insist that he came back. It must have been a misunderstanding. I respect his decision.”
