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National Football Team: Trapattoni's Bitter Debut It was not the result everybody expected and hoped for the debut of the winning trainer par excellence. At last, Giovanni Trapattoni was able to sit on the bench of the national team. The most successful Italian trainer had to wait until he turned 61 before someone called him to train the Italian team. In fact, due to a sort of dynasty that included both trainers and their assistants, he was excluded for many years from what is undoubtedly the most prestigious task for a trainer. At the end, a series of favourable events has led to what all football supporters consider the most logical decision, i.e. the "Trap", the strong man, the charismatic and winning trainer, was chosen to lead one of the teams with the most prestigious tradition all over the world.  He started this new adventure among the enthusiasm of both experts and players; he brought with him a wave of optimism, a sort of shake in terms of communicativeness that lacked for too much time. Indeed, Bearzot, Vicini, Maldini and Zoff had all in common great seriousness and professionalism.  But they were uncommunicative, not too emotionally involving and mainly were always on the defensive, since they could not boast of a prestigious pedigree that includes championship shields, European and world cups. On the contrary, thanks to his reliability also in the national environment, Trapattoni will be able to work without being too influenced by external pressure. Giovanni has broad shoulders, and he knows how to steer the Italian ship and hold current at bay. I personally heard some journalists complaining because only after 3 days of training camp he had already announced the formation to play with Hungary, thus making this match a bit less interesting from the viewpoint of possible scoops. Yet, at this point it is necessary to emphasize the inconstancy of journalists, who only a few months ago complained because Giovanni's predecessors only announced the sideline at the very last minute.  But Trapattoni, with his wave of enthusiasm, goes beyond all that: we have already seen that soon after the first match with Hungary. The scornful draw reached by the modest Magyars in the last minutes, with final 2-2, would have certainly aroused more perplexity, had not there been the new trainer with his skill to lead Italy to qualify for the 2002 World Championship. Trapattoni immediately managed to calm down supporters and the press by mentioning the 5/6 clear chances to score a goal and the scarce training of a team that still has not started to play in the championship. Moreover, the fact that he stood up for some single players (mainly Del Piero) other trainers would not even had the nerve to call to the team represents the cherry on the cake, a cake that will undoubtedly leaven in the near future. Now Trapattoni has a month to prepare the home match with Rumanians, who are the most dangerous rivals of the group. But it is almost certain that by then the Great Motivator will have managed to change his team. We really should see another Italian team at the Meazza stadium, where Trapattoni was a protagonist as both a player and a trainer. Paolo Ghisoni

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