Trapattoni warns Juventus of Shamrock Rovers threat

Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni has warned Juventus to take Irish side Shamrock Rovers seriously in next week’s Europa League tie.

The former Juventus boss is expected to be in attendance for the first leg in Dublin next Tuesday and Trapattoni delivered his own advice for new Juve boss Luigi Del Neri for handling the threat posed by the Irish minnows.

The veteran coach faced Athlone Town in the 1975 UEFA Cup when in charge of AC Milan. The match ended in a 0-0 draw with the combative nature the Irish side restricting AC Milan’s style of play.

“From my own experience of Athlone, it is definitely not a game or place (Ireland) that any Italian team should under-estimate going to,” warned Trapattoni.

He continued: “Man for man, Juventus have better quality players but Shamrock Rovers are well organised and will be very well motivated as they are in the middle of their season.

“That will count for a lot in the game and I am sure Juventus will not under-estimate them.”

Juventus’ superior squad should prove adequate to overcome the Dublin-based side, but Trapattoni believes that the Hoops should not allow the stature of their Serie A opposition to hinder their performance.

“Players like (Alessandro) Del Piero can change a game in a split second with a piece of skill.”

“But if Rovers are not overawed by the challenge, then they can have a chance,” advised Trapattoni.

Shamrock Rovers earned the glamorous tie against the presitgous Italian side by beating Isreaeli club Bnei Yehuda 2-1 on aggregate in the first round of Europa League qualifiers.