Speed faces first Wales test

New boss Gary Speed takes charge of Wales for the first time tonight as his side faces the Republic of Ireland in the newly formed Nations Cup.

The former Wales skipper, who has only four months managerial experience with Championship side Sheffield United, will go up against Italian legend Giovanni Trapattoni; winner of seven Italian league titles and five European tournaments – including the European Cup with Juventus.

The pair have met before however, and Speed came out on top as he led Wales to a 2-1 victory over Italy in 2002 when Trapattoni was manager of his native national side.

The former Newcastle and Leeds midfielder will come up against another Italian afterwards - England manager Fabio Capello - in the crucial European Championship qualifier in March.

Speed is keen to test himself against the best managers in the world and believes he will have a tough job on his hands going up against the two experienced Italians. “It is not daunting, it's exciting and a great challenge. You want to test yourself against the best," said Speed.

"And to pit your wits against someone like that for my first game, I could not have wished for a greater test but It will give me great experience.”

“the first two games will be very tough as I go up against Giovanni Trapattoni and Fabio Capello, they are two of the great names of world coaching” he added.

Wales face a tough time of qualifying for the Euro’s having lost all three of their qualifiers so far. The run of results lead to the sacking of previous manager John Toshack, and now Speed will hope to make an impression in the Nations Cup before turning his attention to qualification for the tournament held in Poland and Ukraine.

The Home-Nations style tournament will feature Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. England have not been included but earlier this month declared their interest in resurrecting the old Home Nations tournament to celebrate their 150 year anniversary.

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