Friendly against Italy in June

[Edgar]

http://www.calciosport24.it/2011/04/29/nazionale-figc-lavora-per-amichevoli-con-irlanda-e-giappone/

Most likely on June 7. Location unknown yet.

[Serb]

Seems very close to the Macedonia game. Also, if this is correct, we're going to have 4 full international matches in 13 days. I'd say we're likely to see second string teams against Northern Ireland and Scotland and the big guns for Macedonia and Italy.

[TrapAPony]

Brussels likely to host Ireland and Italy

http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/soccer/brussels-likely-to-host-ireland-and-italy-153281.html

[tetsujin1979]

Could be in Italy, according to the Independent: http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/trapattoni-eyeing-friendly-clash-with-azzurri-2635306.html

[Deckydee]

Please God let it be in Brussels!!!!!!!!!!!

[IsMiseSean]

Please God let it be in Brussels!!!!!!!!!!!

Hopefully, I've never been. This could be just the excuse....

[BonnieShels]

It's a great town.

[frog-gufc]

any more news
on this game???

[AlaskaFox]

Liege, Belgium - Tuesday, June 7th.
Kickoff 20.45 CET.

[frog-gufc]

its confirmed so?? brussels would have been so much easier to go to

[IsMiseSean]

its confirmed so?? brussels would have been so much easier to go to

Charleroi and Eindhoven are just over an hour away. Swineair fly to both from Dublin.

[SwanVsDalton]

No direct bus from Tallaght? Hmmmfph.

[theworm2345]

I think I remember the last Italy friendly (August '05 maybe?) being a fairly tepid affair with us losing 2-1 and Andy Reid scoring...hopefully this one is little more exciting.

[jbyrne]

I think I remember the last Italy friendly (August '05 maybe?) being a fairly tepid affair with us losing 2-1 and Andy Reid scoring...hopefully this one is little more exciting.

my memory is that the Italians were superb that day. so much so that I backed them for the following years wc on the back of their performance.

i have to ask why on earth we are playing this match given that we already have 3 matches over the next few weeks after a long season?

[tetsujin1979]

Was at the game, on the north stand in Lansdowne with my mate and his new Italian GF

Clinton Morrison had a last minute equaliser disallowed for backing into the defender IIRC?

[SwanVsDalton]

my memory is that the Italians were superb that day. so much so that I backed them for the following years wc on the back of their performance.

i have to ask why on earth we are playing this match given that we already have 3 matches over the next few weeks after a long season?

We've a lot of potential options in and around the squad who have very little experience, so be good to get them some game time. I'd agree with you if it was anything more than a scratch team, but I expect it'll be a lot of newer, inexperienced faces with a few others who could use the game time. And I always like playing Italy...:D

[theworm2345]

Was at the game, on the north stand in Lansdowne with my mate and his new Italian GF

Clinton Morrison had a last minute equaliser disallowed for backing into the defender IIRC?
Sounds familiar though I can't say for sure

[Real ale Madrid]

Absolutely delighted with this news - Just 1hr 20 mins away from me here in Belgium, big buzz around the office today when the news officially broke, hopefully a lot of Irish around here will get down. Never been to Liege though. Anyone familiar?

[BonnieShels]

Absolutely delighted with this news - Just 1hr 20 mins away from me here in Belgium, big buzz around the office today when the news officially broke, hopefully a lot of Irish around here will get down. Never been to Liege though. Anyone familiar?

I only have the experience of Brussels and Hasselt. Shame it's so early in the summer cos I'm going on a Euro roadtrip in August.

Remember watching the last friendly in Rathcoole. What a pain that was. Italy were brilliant that day.

[gspain]

Nice good old fashioned football stadium. Close to the pitch and a good atmosphere. Not in the greatest part of town though.

Anybody found a way back to Charleroi airport by public transport in time for the Ryanair flight the following morning? Last trains seems to leave Liege shortly after the final whistle.

[geysir]

At least it's not in Bruges.

[BonnieShels]

Nice good old fashioned football stadium. Close to the pitch and a good atmosphere. Not in the greatest part of town though.

Anybody found a way back to Charleroi airport by public transport in time for the Ryanair flight the following morning? Last trains seems to leave Liege shortly after the final whistle.

Who do we know who's good at sorting out the fans with trains...?

http://irishmediawatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/John-Delaney.jpg

[Irish_Praha]

Absolutely delighted with this news - Just 1hr 20 mins away from me here in Belgium, big buzz around the office today when the news officially broke, hopefully a lot of Irish around here will get down. Never been to Liege though. Anyone familiar?

It's onlt about 1.5 hours away from where I live in Germany. Nice city with a going out area in the middle of the city not unlike Temple Bar; lots of narrow streets with hidden bars and restaurants.
Will make for an interesting night out with thousands of Irish fans packed in there. Shame it's on a Tuesday night as I have to work the next day and I have no hope of getting any time off because I have the following two weeks off.

[elroy]

Can someone explain to me the reason this is on in Belgium? I hear its because the commercial group who have the agency rights for the game but surely attendance at the game would be greater if played in Ireland or Italy?

[Cuyahoga]

' thousands of irish fans' a few hundred more likely !

[Irish_Praha]

' thousands of irish fans' a few hundred more likely !

With it being a meaningless friendly, very close to an away qualifier, on a Tuesday night and in a relatively unknown city you could be right. I wonder myself a bit about the sense and value of the game.
However it is within a 3 hours drive of a lot of big German/Dutch and of course Belgian cities with relatively large ex-pat communities. So I would expect in the region of 5000 Irish fans or am I being deluded?

[Real ale Madrid]

There was about 4,500 at the Georgia game in Mainz - 99% of that crowd were Irish, I'd be amazed if there were more Irish than that, at it. Its a bizarre location - no doubt about it.

[gspain]

I can't see us bringing more than a couple of hundred fans.

I've rented a car now - on the Ryanair flight to Charleroi on the Tuesday morning back wednesday morning.

Anybody want a lift on a cost sharing basis?

[Charlie Darwin]

There was about 4,500 at the Georgia game in Mainz - 99% of that crowd were Irish, I'd be amazed if there were more Irish than that, at it. Its a bizarre location - no doubt about it.
Belgium probably the best location they could have found outside of the UK and Ireland in terms of proximity to ex-pats and affordability. Not sure about Liege thogh - presumably because it's close to Ryanair? Though I'm still not entirely sure why they restricted themselves to locations outside the two islands.

[ArdeeBhoy]

Can someone explain to me the reason this is on in Belgium? I hear its because the commercial group who have the agency rights for the game but surely attendance at the game would be greater if played in Ireland or Italy?
Hopefully this will explain. All for friendlies, besides the 'glamour' ones at home, being played away from Ireland as they're generally terrible in Dublin.

http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/liege-is-536miles-from-dublin-and-687miles-from-rome-so-why-are-ireland-playing-italy-there-on-june-7-2648546.html

Can't see more than 500 or so going, but that's not the point.