Friendly
18.02.2004 at 19:30 - Lansdowne Road
Professional pride sparked a knee-jerk reaction when Newcastle United's Andy O'Brien was invited to speculate on Shay Given's response to facing the most deadly attacking force in world football.With Ronaldo, the emerging Kaka and the ebullient Ronaldinho, Brazil have more arrows in their quiver than Robin Hood.
"I'm sure it will be a challenge for Ronaldo to try and beat him!" said O'Brien.
"Shay Given was made 'player of the season' at Newcastle. He's a top goalkeeper, as good as they come and I'm sure the likes of Man United and Arsenal would be looking at him if he ever became available.
"He is one of the top goalkeepers in the Premier League and the best of it is he's such a nice person as well."
O'Brien showed a large measure of graciousness himself when reviewing his relatively few caps eight since his first almost three years ago.
"I would like to think that playing regularly for Newcastle would strengthen my case with Ireland. I'm playing for a club that has qualified for Champions' League two seasons on the trot and we're pushing for a third.
"I've come close to playing 120 games in three years for Newcastle and hopefully that will stand me in good stead. I'm only 24 and playing with the players with Ireland and Newcastle will improve my game as the seasons go on."
"I appreciate that the manager has a difficult choice to make. He has a squad of 23 players and only 11 can start.
"Richard Dunne has been playing recently, John O'Shea plays all the time and so does Kenny [Cunningham]. So there are a lot of alternatives in that we are all playing regularly.
"The manager picks the team and my philosophy always has been that if I'm in the team I'll do my best to stay in it and if I'm not then I'm going to work hard to get a position in the starting eleven."
O'Brien is likely to start tonight alongside team captain Cunningham with Stephen Carr and O'Shea at full-back.
The match effectively marks the beginning of manager Brian Kerr's World Cup campaign and is the first of at least nine friendlies before meeting Cyprus in the opening qualifying tie on September 4.
Kerr dampened down expectations of an overhaul of the team by stressing the need to secure results to build confidence before the World Cup.
He said: "I would like to think that people will be realistic about where we stand at the moment. We are in a World Cup group with Switzerland, who have beaten us twice.
"We are also in with France, who would be considered world leaders and market leaders, along with Brazil, in player development, in their consistency, and the type of players they are producing.
"I think people have to be realistic [about Ireland] because of the changeover of players, the departure of many key players who were at the heart of qualification for the last World Cup finals. We are in the process of having to blend some new players into that."
Cunningham dismissed talk of a lingering negativity after the failure to qualify for Euro 2004:
"A bit of a dark cloud has followed us around from the disappointment of the qualifying campaign but I wouldn't want to give the impression that people are moping around and tripping over their bottom lips on the training pitchbecause that's not the situation.
"I think most people have cleared their heads since then and are looking forward to the new campaign ... and this is the first early step."
Unfortunately, the marvellous Damien Duff will be missing but the precocious Andy Reid (Nottingham Forest) will be given an opportunity to build on his exciting debut, last November against Canada.
The expected Irish team is: Given; Carr, O'Brien, Cunningham, O'Shea; Finnan, Holland, Kilbane, Reid; Morrison, Keane.
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