GDYNIA, Poland — Often charming and even downright grandfatherly at times, Ireland coach Giovanni Trapattoni has become quite an endearing figure at the European Championship with his sometimes fractured use of the English language.
The 73-year-old Italian, who has won league titles in Italy, Germany, Portugal and Austria in a trophy-laden career, speaks a multitude of languages and certainly has shown he can get his message across to his players.
But he sometimes does it in a peculiar way.
Trapattoni's translator, Manuela Spinelli, tells The Associated Press "sometimes I do find it to be quite funny and it probably shows. You probably see me smiling at times and putting my head down."