Giovanni Trapattoni: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t

Giovanni Trapattoni Plays Santa Claus, Cat in His Sack

What he said:

"The cat is in the sack, but the sack is not closed. The cat is in it, but it’s open – and it’s a wild cat."

Giovanni Trapattoni milks an overused metaphor for all its worth.

The Republic Of Ireland manager warned his players not to get too cocky following their 4-0 victory over Estonia in Tallinn.

Ireland take on Estonia at home for the second leg of the Euro 2012 qualifiers.

Trapattoni said:

In my opinion, we deserved to win. Maybe we were helped after the first goal by the sending-off – at 11 v 10, we had more opportunities to score goals.

But we have to have respect for our opponents for what they have achieved in this qualification campaign.

At this moment, we are near qualifying at 4-0. But I repeat the same sentence: don’t jump the gun.

I have been many times at the edge of a cliff. I know these situations. I have been to many big tournaments and matches like this are what I call top level matches.

But it’s not necessarily important to achieve one objective, we have to focus on what comes next.

This is my law. I never look back, I always look forward.

What he really meant:

“To steal another metaphor: it’s not over until it’s over. Can you hear the fat lady sing?”

What he definitely didn’t:

“The Estonians are coming over with our tie (cat) gift-wrapped—in a sack.”