Gareth Maher
Gareth Maher is a journalist for setanta.com, who will be supplying his detailed opinions on football related matters.
He has written for numerous international publications and has been part of the Setanta Sports team for three years now.
His extensive knowledge of European and International football allows him to ignite debate about various topics and he will be unloading his thoughts on a regular basis.
Gareth is also our Irish Football Editor and as part of our enhanced exclusive coverage on setanta.com, he will also be providing blog entries on all of the major events in Irish football.
Italy's poor showing is good news for Ireland
Giovanni Trapattoni would have found Italy's poor performance in the Confederations Cup very interesting indeed.
The Republic of Ireland manager is currently plotting to overtake his home nation in Group 8 of their World Cup qualifying campaign and will surely have been enthused by Italy's recent displays.
The reigning World Cup champions failed to reach the semi-finals of the Confederations Cup after losing 3-0 to Brazil on Sunday and United States pipped them to a place in the final four as they had a better goal difference.
There are some tough questions that the Italians have to ask about themselves now.
While Marcello Lippi will point to his team's struggle to adapt to the altitude, he cannot hide the fact that many of his aging stars were found out in their matches against United States, Egypt, and Brazil. Are his key players no longer as influential as they once were?