Given Captain
for 100th Cap
14 Oct 2009
SHAY GIVEN has been handed the captaincy for his 100th Irish cap at
Croke Park tonight.
The Donegal man must avoid a booking this evening though as it would rule
him out of the first playoff match next month.
Trapattoni has decided to rest the other
first-team players with a caution for the concluding
Group 8 match with
Montenegro but not Given as he believes that a
goalkeeper is rarely booked and it allows Given
celebrate a significant personal milestone.
Given was booked against
Cyprus last October, another yellow would rule him out
of the first play-off match on November 14. Tonight he joins the '100 Club' along
with team-mate
Kevin Kilbane.
Given had a few comments at the press conference yesterday, "You've got
to use your experience and if you're not 100pc sure in your mind that you're
going to get the ball...well ... I've been around the block a few times, so
I can hopefully make the right decision," said the Manchester City 'keeper.
Nobody should need reminding of his importance to the Irish World Cup
ambition, but, in case such individuals exist, Given provided further
evidence when discussions yesterday turned to his happiest memories
representing his country.
Pressed to identify the most important save that he has ever made, he
cited Ireland's 2-0 first leg play-off win over Iran in 2001 which
effectively secured qualification for Japan and Korea. A second-half stop
from Ali Karimi at Lansdowne Road ensured that Mick McCarthy's side
travelled to Tehran in control.
"To not concede an away goal was so important," he said. "Their manager
was quoted as saying that he would hang himself from the crossbar if they
didn't win. Getting to the World Cup as a player was something very
special."
What he certainly knows is that Ireland's performance in drawing with
Italy last Saturday was nothing to be ashamed about. Given neglected to go
down the Stephen Hunt road in his condemnation of Eamon Dunphy's irrational
RTE outburst, but instead stressed the significance of the bigger picture.