Giovanni Trapattoni (Italian pronunciation: [dʒoˈvanni trapatˈtoni]; born 17 March 1939), sometimes known as "Trap" or "Il Trap", is an Italian football manager and former footballer, considered the most successful club coach in the history of Serie A. As a player he was part of Italy's squad at the 1962 FIFA World Cup.
Trapattoni is currently the manager of the Republic of Ireland national team. He led them through a successful UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying campaign after narrowly missing out on the 2010 FIFA World Cup (that his team were controversially knocked out of by France as a result of a handball incident). Then at UEFA Euro 2012, his team flopped leading to the retirement of star players Damien Duff and Shay Given. Trapattoni coached his native Italian national team to the 2002 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2004.
One of the most celebrated managers in football history, Trapattoni is one of only four coaches, alongside Ernst Happel, José Mourinho, and Tomislav Ivić to have won league titles (10) in four different countries. Alongside Udo Lattek, he is the only coach to have won all three major European club titles. Also, he is the only one to have won all official continental club competitions and the world title, achieving this with Juventus during his first spell with the club. Also he has the record of UEFA Cup titles won (three).
Born in Cusano Milanino near Milan, Trapattoni had a successful career as a player with Milan in the 1960s and early 1970s. Playing primarily as a defender and defensive midfielder with the main task of passing the ball to more creative players such as Giovanni Lodetti and Gianni Rivera, he also played for the Italian national team, mostly as centre back with notable marking skills, appearing at the 1962 FIFA World Cup in Chile.
After taking a break from the national team, Trapattoni thought he could settle with a mid-table team for one last season instead of being at one club all his life, subsequently moving to Varese and, after a successful season with them, retired from professional football and embarked on a highly successful managerial career two years later.
