JOHN O’SHEA slipped seamlessly into the captain’s role, rallying Ireland’s new-look side with a call for them to play as a team rather than as individuals in tonight’s World Cup qualifier against Germany.
O’Shea is one of only four players remaining from the 11 which started Ireland’s Euro 2012 campaign against Croatia, and in the absence of the injured Robbie Keane, the Sunderland defender wears the captain’s armband on his 82nd appearance for his country.
“Captaining your country at any stage is very special,” O’Shea said at yesterday’s pre-match press conference. “To do it in a competitive game against Germany will be very special again.”
The Waterford native leads out a side transformed by retirements and an untimely slew of injuries. Seamus Coleman makes his first competitive international start the day after celebrating his 24th birthday, while Toronto’s Darren O’Dea is named at centre-half alongside the stand-in skipper.
Facing into an already tough task against the Euro 2012 semi-finalists and the country currently ranked second in the world, O’Shea is quick to downplay the disruption.
It’s going to be about the team, it’s not going to be about individuals or individual pairings. The team is going to be very important and as the manager stressed earlier, [so is] the quality of the players we having coming on as well when needed.That’s how we’re going to achieve our result against Germany. It’s not just going to be about one or two lads, it’s going to be a massive team effort and as I said, the substitutions at certain stages could be vital for us.
Talk is cheap, particularly more than 24 hours before a high-pressure game, and so O’Shea knows that he will need to lead by example.
Asked about his own role in the absence of usual squad veterans such as Keane, Richard Dunne and the retired Shay Given and Damien Duff, he says: “Basically it’s the organising of the whole team and making sure that everybody knows their roles beforehand.
“It’s not just about one individual tomorrow for a game like this; it’s about the whole team. That’s gonna be the main thing tomorrow, the whole team doing their job as a whole.
“Leading by example will just be organising at the back and focusing and making sure we keep a clean sheet.”
Rather than see the changes as a negative forced on the manager by fate, O’Shea spins them positively. After waiting patiently in the wings while Trapattoni’s usual regulars clung on to their starting spots, now is the time for some of the bright young things to shine.
What better stage to do it on; what better opponents to do it against.
“Other lads are going to get a chance now to start and stake their cases for a starting place for the ongoing qualifying matches. What a team to do it against –the cream of Europe, the cream of the world, ranked second and some of the best young players in the world.
It’s a massive test for us but one that the players, the management and the fans are looking forward to. We look forward to these occasions and especially as a player, to play internationals against the best players, that’s what you dream of.It’s one to look forward to and one to grab hold of and take the challenge.
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