Ireland (National Football)

The news that Richard Dunne is considering his international future, just weeks before Ireland embark on a voyage towards Brazil 2014, will come as a shock to the legions of green-clad supporters who did their country proud at Euro 2012.

The prospect of Giovanni Trapattoni's charges lining out without the imposing center half in their ranks, will be, well, different to say the least. And the big man's absence, having been a fixture at the heart of Ireland's defence since 2000, will surely have some fans despairing of their country's chances of reaching the Samba World Cup.

The performance of Trap's top-rated defender in Moscow last year is still regarded as one of the greatest by any Irish player. The Aston Villa center back almost single-handedly kept Russia at bay for ninety minutes as wave after red wave almost sunk Irish hopes of reaching Euro 2012.

Indeed, if there was an identifiable, pivotal moment along the road to Poland, it was surely that at the final whistle in Moscow, as Russia's players were the picture of dejection while their counterparts punched the air after gaining a point from a goalless draw. Dunne was lavished with rich praise across the length and breath of Ireland, and rightly so.

But nobody should be too downtrodden if Richard Dunne rides off into the international sunset.

The former Everton and Manchester City player has enjoyed decent innings in an era when the Irish defence was arguably among the least effective in its history.

The statistics will show that the Boys in Green had an unbelievably good run of results on the road to Poland, but they belie the fact that it was largely due to Trapattoni's emphatic focus on defense —with large numbers of players behind the ball.

Helping to bolster the record were a series of games against middle of the road opposition in group play, combined with one or two encounters against disinterested teams at friendly level.

When Ireland were matched against quality opposition over the last two years, they were badly exposed for long periods. Russia bossed the proceedings in Dublin in the opening Euro 2012 qualifier between the nations, and few experts, many among them Irish, still can't explain how Guus Hiddink's team failed to find the net in the return leg.

Dunne was an imposing figure who scored two memorable headed goals in the qualifying campaign for South Africa 2010, and he was part of the squad which made it to Japan/South Korea in 2002. But along the way, the big lad's lack of technical ability was always masked by an abundance of physical power.

There was the sense that no one, not even the most ardent fan watching on TV, would want to pit his wits against the monster who is Richard Dunne.

And there is likely no target man in European football who would relish facing the big Irishman in an aerial battle—Dunne emerges from these situations almost always the winner.

But aside from this aspect of his game, the 32 year old has little else to recommend him. Contrast the Dubliner's game to that of Gerard Pique.

When the latter is threatened by a long aerial ball, he will take it on his chest, hit a touch pass to a teammate, move for the return and usually find a midfielder with his next touch, thereby turning defense into offense with a minimum of effort. It's as if, as soon as Pique receives the ball in defense, he instantaneously becomes an attacker.

Ditto Sergio Ramos, Thomas Vermealen and even John Terry.  All have honed his game to match the world's best in recent seasons.

Dunne could never be accused of being such a player—his game was to treat such situations by sticking his head on any ball above knee high and send it right back where it came from, which was usually to the gleeful feet of the opposition.

In international football, particularly that of the current day, such a tactic lies somewhere between extreme waste and suicide.

Richard was schooled in the old British style of football—any threat to one's goal should be met with all the physical resistance possible, repelling the ball away from the danger zone as far as possible.

And in the pubs and clubs of Dublin, few would ever question the bravery of the Aston Villa colossus.

But the game has moved on to a more sophisticated place, as Spain, Barcelona and even Manchester City have shown us in recent times.

Richard Dunne was a great servant to his country and his contribution to the cause, should never be diminished. But do not despair for his parting, if in fact the big man does decide to hang up his international boots.

Irish football is in need of radical change, change that will hopefully see its next generation, if not emulate the game of the Spanish, Croats and Italians, or at least try to.

With Ireland’s European Championships over, Neil Sherwin, Ger McCarthy and Bleacher Report's Willie Gannon reflect on their miserable run, while the World Football Show's Mina Rzouki offers an Italian perspective on the tournament as a whole so far.

Three games and three defeats leave Ireland with a dreadful record at a major tournament, and the lads try their best to look at what went wrong. Even with an improved performance against Italy, the end result was still the same, and there are questions asked about where this group of players, as well as the manager, go from here.

The focus then turns to the quarterfinal, with each of the lads giving their opinion of who could triumph and make it all the way to the final.

Ger takes the chance to wax lyrical about France while Willie takes the opposite view about Greece and offers an opinion that Spain could do to England what they did to Ireland.

In part two, it’s goodbye to Ger and Willie and hello to Mina Rzouki, who joins Neil to talk about the Italians’ progress thus far. She also offers her thoughts on the Irish situation with Giovanni Trapattoni and believes all might not be lost as far as the near future goes.

Don’t forget, you can subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or RSS! Also, if there is anything you would like to hear on the show in future, simply drop us an email, tweet or comment on Facebook.

You can listen to the latest pod here.

Euro 2012 Preview Podcast. Listen here.

If the Republic of Ireland's penchant for conceding early goals and imploding on attacks continues into their third group match against Italy, the Boys In Green will easily earn themselves a 16th-place ranking in a 16-team Euro 2012 tournament.

Is it crazy to think that things might just turn around on Tuesday against the Azurri of Italy? 

Ireland's pattern thus far has been to give up quick goals (of four halves of football, opponents have scored within the first five minutes of three of them) and then to do everything in their power not to string together more than three passes as the opposition intercepts possession and goes down to score on poor ol' Shay Given.

But something tells me the Italians are ripe for Irish wonderboy Robbie Keane to score a goal or two, and I don't think it's the green Guinness talking.

Firstly, I believe the Irish midfield will actually control possession in this match, thereby giving Keane more chances than he's ever had in either of his side's matches.

According to ESPN, their first two matches against Croatia and Spain, Ireland held the ball just 45 percent and 34 percent of the time, respectively.

That number's going to be above 50 percent by the end of the match Tuesday, and I believe it's because Italy's midfielder maestro Andrea Pirlo will finally be disrupted.

Despite the fact they were outgunned against Spain, Ireland continued to play an up-tempo, high-energy match. Irish midfielders were switching opponents among each other in a hybrid man-to-man/zone defensive strategy.

In the first half against the Spaniards, they hardly had the ball and were completely outclassed, but except for a lucky bounce to Fernando Torres in the fourth minute, Ireland was able to use spirited play to keep La Roja out of goal.

That up-tempo, high-energy match will work to Ireland's advantage as they play an Italy midfield that (to put it mildly) struggled against Croatia on Thursday.

Emanuele Giaccherini committed several unfortunate fouls due to the fact he was beaten quite often, Christian Maggio was also chasing Croatia's forwards much of the match and Claudio Marchisio couldn't string together an attack all night.

Except for Pirlo, Italy has been subpar in midfield. If Ireland marks up Pirlo and they can play in high spirits all match, they'll make up for their disadvantage in athleticism and frustrate the Azurri into a costly mistake or two.

Midfield aside, if Italy's first two games are any indication of their tactics, the Azurri will employ a 3-4-1-2 formation with just three men at defense and two midfielders, Thiago Motta and Claudio Marchiso, supporting in back when need be.

The Irish offense can be summed up in two tactics—counter-attacking and long crosses.

Keane is at his best when he's poaching at the midfield line and waiting for a long ball to come his way. Focusing on countering after an Italian attacking possession and getting a long pass to the Irish captain will limit the effectiveness of Motta and Marchiso in helping the defense as they won't have time to transition into defensive support.

With a long bomb to Keane, and help from fellow forward Simon Cox, Italy's back three will be susceptible to a quick turn and lucky strike.

Lastly, Ireland's fans have been top-quality at the tournament, and even though they're the first to get booted, they still have something to play for in their third and final group match—the satisfaction of sending Italy home early as well.

The Irish fans will absolutely revel in their role as spoilers, and will continue to eat, drink, sing and dance on Tuesday night in Poznan.

Robbie Keane feeds off of Ireland's supporters, not to mention the underdog role that's been cast for them the entire tournament.

You can say a lot of things about the Boys In Green, but one thing you can't say is that they don't play with energy, excitement and spirit. Robbie Keane will sneak one past Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, stun the Azzurri and make sure that if the Irish are going down in flames that they're taking the Italians with them.

Thursday night saw the Republic of Ireland consigned to being the first nation officially eliminated from Euro 2012 after they were drubbed by Spain in Gdansk, but their fans deserve a trophy.

The tournament can cheerily bid good riddance to Giovanni Trapattoni’s players, who were meekly booted out after failing to earn a point from their first two games, yet their supports’ spirited backing has put every other nation to shame.

That may sound like the sort of condescending cliché typically bestowed upon the Irish team by an Englishman, but the supporters who have had to travel the furthest to get behind their team have been a timely example of what is good about football.

Off the pitch the tournament has been marred by fan violence, bigotry and racism. From the Russian thugs who battled with Polish hooligans in the streets of Warsaw to the small pocket of Spanish supporters who directed monkey chants at Italian striker Mario Balotelli, this tournament has been in dire need of some positive vibes emanating from the stands to match the thrilling, high-quality fare being routinely served up on the pitch.

England have only brought a handful of fans across Europe this time around, but even when they bring the strongest travelling contingent of any nation to a tournament, as they regularly do, their presence is nothing like the edifying one of those who hail from the island just to their west.

It has been left to Ireland to provide (another cliché alert) a splash of colour to these finals, their first for a decade, and they have done so with aplomb.

Even Spain manager Vicente del Bosque was moved to say in his post-match press conference: "The Irish fans have shown us what football really is."

The internet is already clogged up with websites and blogs dissecting the tactics of Spain’s performances, comparing and contrasting data of how they fared with a false nine in their first game compared to an actual No.9 in their second, but the human element of football is just as essential though unquantifiable.

My colleague at Eurosport, Sean Fay, has been travelling around Poland with the Irish fans, and he has told stories in his brilliantly-titled blog “Lord of Gdansk” of how every town they have visited and every group of rival fans they have encountered have been greeted and treated as old friends.

The cheap beer helps, of course, but the Irish have brought their infectious good humour to a tournament in dire need of it. Just one example is this picture, which did the rounds on Twitter ahead of the Group C opener against Croatia in Poznan, of two Irishman standing in front of a phalanx of Polish riot police bearing hand-written signs saying “Careful now” and “Down with this sort of thing”, an ingenious reconstruction of a scene from classic Irish sitcom Father Ted.

Ironically, Giovanni Trapattoni’s team have probably been the worst in Poland and Ukraine thus far. In the first half, Ireland captain and striker Robbie Keane touched the ball a total of nine times. After the break, they conceded a goal within five minutes of the start of a half for the third time in the tournament. The final completed pass count read 788 to 178, with Xavi breaking European Championship records for both passes attempted (136) and completed (127).

But even as Cesc Fabregas smashed home the final goal of the defending champions’ comfortable 4-0 win in the closing stages of the game, the Irish fans rang out a loud and stirring rendition of Fields of Athenry that ensured the insipid performance of the Boys In Green on the pitch was not reflected on the country as a whole.

On Spanish television there was a mix-up with the sound during the post-match coverage. Instead of the usual punditry and interviews that follow the final whistle, all that could be heard for a short time was the sounds of Irish fans, mixed in peacefully with the Spain supporters, singing proudly as though it was their side who had just won 4-0. It was a perfect metaphor for the mark they have left on the tournament.

Their players have one last chance to follow suit, against Italy in Poznan in Monday. Even if, as is likely, that feat is beyond them, at least the fans are sure to leave their mark. 

Ireland defender Sean St Ledger was critical of his side after an embarrassing 3-1 defeat to Croatia on Sunday, and rightfully so. St Ledger, arguably his country's best player, told ITV that the side gave up "sloppy" goals, per Goal.com. 

Ireland is going to need to step it up on defense if it wants any chance of upsetting heavily favored Spain on Thursday. The Spaniards are coming off a 1-1 draw with Italy, which is certainly disappointing by their standards. With the reigning champions looking to rebound, the Irish will need to regroup, and fast. 

St Ledger, of course, will be key against the Spanish strikers, along with fellow defender Richard Dunne. Dunne plays a pivotal role in the center himself, but the 32-year-old will have to battle through blisters and tired legs to do so.

The Irish do have one thing going for them, however.

Fernando Torres has been a shadow of himself this season. He missed three prime opportunities to score against Italy, which is remarkable given his scoring prowess. In fact, it was Torres who scored the game-winner for Spain in the Euro 2008 final. 

Whether Torres struggles or not, Ireland can't play like it did against Croatia. The side looked listless and lost, playing timid on the pitch. The Irish must play fearless if they are to upset Spain—it's that simple. 

It's not looking good for Ireland right now, but if St Ledger can rally his troops and pull off an improbable draw, the Irish will be right back in it.

Vanilla Ice: Check. Irish footballer: Check.

YouTube documentation: Oh, thank heavens.

Today's B/R Viral Video of the Day involves an Irish footballer, Irish fans, Euro 2012, Vanilla Ice and a karaoke machine.

Trust me, it's all that you hoped it could be.

In the video above, we have former Republic of Ireland international Kevin Kilbane rapping Vanilla Ice's 1990 magnum opus "Ice Ice Baby" in front of a group or Ireland fans in Gdansk.

This video serves as a great example as to why Irish fans are so much fun to have around at major tournaments like this.

Now, if you've never wondered what "Ice Ice Baby" would sound like with an Irish accent, there's really only one thing to say: Why in the world not? It's brilliant.

And Kilbane, in all fairness, is actually pretty good. Now 35 and out of the spotlight—playing most recently in the English Championship for Derby County on loan—he clearly still knows how to have a good time.

The Irish lost their opening match at Euro 2012, allowing three soft goals in a 3-1 loss to Croatia. That means their next match—against defending European and World Cup champions Spain—is pretty much their do-or-die moment.

So, with the big match looming, doesn't it make sense for Spain to counter with an early '90s white-boy rap of their own?

The white boy I'm thinking of is Snow and the song is "Informer." And since David Villa is injured, I say he should do the honors.

(h/t 101 Great Goals via @ConorMcNamaraIE)

How can Ireland beat Spain? How can anyone beat Spain? An act of God? It is a question almost as old as the game itself, and only six managers have achieved this almost superhuman feat since November 2007.

Yes, you read that right. Since 2007 Spain's record reads as PLD-78 W-64 D-8 L-6. It is a truly frightening record.

So how do you beat them? With great difficulty obviously, but how can Ireland beat them is the real question?

Before you face Spain you have to face up to a number of important factors.

1. Spain will have more possession than you.
2. Spain are fitter than you.
3. Spain are better than Ireland from 1 to 23

With that in mind, you can start building a strategy to best Vicente Del Bosque and his almost unbeatable team.

Midfield is where Spain is strongest and no matter what team you field against them, you will concede the middle ground. In football this is essentially the high ground in wartime tactics, and as everyone knows—if you control this area, you control the tempo of the battle.

For Ireland, competing against Spain in midfield is a no-go area. There is no point whatsoever in taking the battle to where you are weakest and where your opponent is strongest.

Conceding midfield is essential for Ireland especially when you consider the players they have at their disposal.

The four recognised central midfielders in Giovanni Trapattoni's squad are all similar type players. Glen Whelan, Keith Andrews, Darron Gibson and Paul Green are all "ordinary decent" players but none are going to compete against the likes of Xavi, Iniesta or Cesc Fabregas.

Mobility is the key to this battle in midfield

Vicente Del Bosque chose to go with six midfielders against Italy in their first group game, and for long periods they dominated. However, and most significantly, they were vulnerable to attacks down either flank and through quick direct attacks.

With that in mind, Ireland do not possess the players to attack Spain down the wings in the same manner as the Italians so utilizing a direct style, which is exactly how Ireland play anyway, while conceding midfield is the way to go.

To achieve this Trapattoni should opt for a 4-3-3 formation and forego the width in the Irish team that he usually strives to retain.

This is important for a couple of reasons.

Each one of Spain's attacks begins at the back, so going with three forwards against their four defenders will help close off many of Spain's moves before they even begin. This, in theory, will force goalkeeper Iker Casillas to kick slightly longer than he or his manager likes to.

If the ball is in the air and a 50/50 challenge can be made, Ireland will be favoured to win these challenges because of their physical strength and height advantage.

The 4-3-3 formation would also lend toward playing three of four defensive central midfielders and given that Ireland will concede midfield, these players will drop deep to support a four-man back line against a six-man midfield with no width.

Meaning that for Spain to find a way through, they will either have to score from distance, against one of the best shot-stoppers in Europe (Shay Given) or pass the ball through a seven-man forest that would be the equivalent of going through the eye of a needle.

Choose the right players

Shay Given is certain to start in goal, even with his recent injury worries. If the Lifford man can regain the form he is capable of, he could realistically hold the Spanish armada off by himself, so he must start.

At the back, Richard Dunne and Sean St. Ledger are the two best central defenders Trap has at his disposal, so they are also certain starters.

As for the full-backs, the first change to be made is at left full. Stephen Ward had an extremely poor game against Croatia and is realistically only in the team because of the natural balance he provides. He should be replaced by Stephen Kelly, who is an experienced Premier League full-back after his years with Spurs and Fulham and can play anywhere across the back, as can John O'Shea.

With that natural ability in mind, both players, Kelly and O'Shea should come in at right and left full respectively. From there they can help shuffle the team across the 18-yard box, where most of Spain's attacks will come from, and be comfortable in any position.

This defensive unit will be vital in holding the Spanish at bay. And as Spain pressurizes high up the pitch, each player in the back line is most comfortable in playing fast and direct to a front line of three. Thus in effect, Ireland's tactic will be to bypass midfield, where Spain is strongest, completely.

For the midfield battle, Ireland need players who are good defensively and who can mark zones. For this; Whelan, Andrews and Gibson are best suited, with the latter two also offering the potential for shots from well outside the box.

All three players play in defensive roles for their clubs so dropping deep to help their back line will be no different than an average Premiership weekend for them.

Up front is where Ireland will hope to hurt the Spanish back line that can be vulnerable from set-pieces and pace.

For his mobility and physicality, Jonathan Walters must be a certain starter as must Kevin Doyle, leaving Robbie Keane, Shane Long and Simon Cox to battle it out for the final berth.

Long should claim this place instead of Keane, the Irish captain, as the West Brom man is both strong in the air, more mobile and has the potential to get onto through balls from as far out as the halfway line.

His pace would instantly force the Spanish back line to drop slightly deeper than they would like, and with midfield spread further apart the ultra-fit Spanish will have to work that little bit harder while Ireland bypasses it completely.

With three mobile and physically strong strikers, Ireland will have the ability to close the Spanish defence down quickly as well as provide out-balls for their own defence.

When Spain do eventually get the ball into midfield—and they will—the forward three should condense in the centre of the Spanish defence, thus dragging their markers in with them, so when clearances come the way of attack they must read the clearance be first to the ball so as to avoid instant counter attacks.

With a 4-3-3 formation, one central midfielder is always used defensively and his position is dictated by how the defence are set up and play. His starting position will then dictate the positions of his two midfield compatriots.

Whom will the defenders pass to?

The next phase of the 4-3-3 depends upon to whom the defenders pass the ball to. If they go to midfield the longest pass will be a 20- to 30-yard ball with each midfielder having to cover the same amount of ground between receiving and moving the ball on.

If the defender chooses to go long to the strikers, then the two supporting central midfielders will have some 50-60 yards to make up ground as they support their teammates. By going too long too many times, fatigue can set in very quickly.

However to play Spain, Ireland would be better set up for the three strikers to roam while only being supported by one midfielder who would rotate this job with his other teammates while basically leaving Ireland with six defensive players marshalling the back.

This, of course, if all very easy to say and it is entirely dependant on each and every Ireland player having the game of their lives.

Against Croatia they were disappointing to say the least and many senior players now feel they owe themselves and the many thousands of travelling fans a performance to remember.

It will take this and more to beat Spain. With Ireland as 12-1 rank outsiders for the match, it will take the miracle of miracles for them to make the quarter-finals.

But as a wise man once said: "Football, it's a funny old game." 

Watching Ireland lose 3-1 to Croatia on Sunday was really quite depressing. Not merely because of the defeat, but because of the manner of the defeat.

Ireland looked like a prehistoric side, totally bereft of ideas and guile, with only one speed and one game plan. The effort was there and along with some bad luck, but the thing that struck me was how terrible Ireland were with the ball. At times, it was embarrassing. 

Giovanni Trapattoni's tactics have gotten Ireland to the group stage and he has done a fantastic job to qualify, but that's not enough.

First and foremost, I am a football fan, and, I want to see some ambition in my team. I want to see the team try and pass the ball. 

Ireland, under Trap, refuse to do this. He doesn't want the team to get the ball down and play. Against Croatia, it was embarrassing to see how limited Ireland were on the ball. Time and time again, they passed it back to their fullbacks who aimlessly hoofed the ball long up the pitch and straight back to the Croats. 

The lack of movement of the Irish team was telling. No one showed for the ball in midfield, as if the idea of showing for a pass was pointless, as they knew it would be lumped up the field. It was brutal to watch.

Trapattoni's selection of Green, Whelan and Andrews—whilst leaving out the likes of McCarthy, Coleman, Houlihan—sums up his ambition or lack thereof. He doesn't want players who can play. Trap just wants workhorses in midfield, and then hopes our front players will nick a goal. 

What does this say to the kids in Ireland who want to become professional footballers?

Ireland should be encouraging passing football; promoting skill and technique, and not fearing the ball. The midfield should have technical players in it who can control the tempo of the game. 

The Football Association of Ireland need to make a complete overhaul of the Irish setup, and they need to get all the Irish club sides and school youth teams involved. Ireland should take a look at FC Barcelona's La Masia, and try to get Irish clubs to incorporate their coaching techniques into their youth system.  

Ireland should pick a formation (personally, I'd go for the 4-3-3), and get all the youth teams to agree to use this. We need to ban long balls from the youth system and stick to passing it short at all times (including the goalkeeper).

We shouldn't worry about the scores in youth football, and instead focus on promoting passing and technique. We should also incorporate "El Rondo" ("the round" possession technique) in all youth setups. 

No Irish players should be afraid of getting the ball, as was so evident against Croatia. Ireland need to be brave on the ball. I do not believe for a second that Ireland cannot produce technical players. We can and we have. The problem is that we don't encourage them.

Ireland don't like players to take risks or to keep the ball. They panic and want them to "get it up the field," and a lot of youth coaches are to blame for this.

Look at Athletic Bilbao as a example. They are like a mini-international side who will only sign Basque players and, therefore, have a small pool of players to pick from. Look at how technical they all are and how well they play.

Why is this? It's simply down to their youth setup and their philosophy on the game.

Ireland need to change their philosophy on the game as a nation, and it has to start from the bottom up. They are miles behind most teams in terms of their style of play, and its time to catch up.

The FAI need to send people to Spain and Holland and look at the setup there. Learn from the masters, apply it and stick with it as a long-term plan. 

Trapattoni's tactics have taken Ireland to the Euros and it is a great achievement, but I fear for Ireland against Italy and especially Spain.

Ireland looked utterly clueless against Croatia. Imagine what the Spaniards could do to them.

Hopefully, the FAI learn from this tournament and Ireland can finally move on from this long-ball football for good.