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Filippo Giovagnoli is hoping to have a pre-game pep talk with one of his childhood heroes, Liam Brady, to give him a final push ahead of Dundalk’s fairytale clash with Arsenal at the Emirates on Thursday night.
Giovignali was a huge Juventus fan growing up and fondly remembers Brady’s time in Turin in the early 1980s.
Brady, who built his reputation with the Gunners before moving to Italy, spoke with Giovignali a few weeks ago before the Europa League group stage draw.
The pair share a mutual friend, with Brady happy to offer Lilywhites boss some words of wisdom.
“I tried to call him … I’ll try again tonight,” said the Italian on the eve of the clash with Emirates.
“We have a mutual friend who connected us and was very kind to me. He was one of my idols when I was young. He was playing for Juventus. It was very nice talking to him a few weeks ago. Nice person.
“It was before the group stage draw. We didn’t know we were playing Arsenal. He honestly told me that he doesn’t know much about Irish.” [domestic] football. Then he said, ‘Let’s talk later if you want any advice on English football or whatever.’
“I’m going to try calling him tonight. I’d love to meet him as soon as possible.”
Dundalk was beaten 2-1 by Molde in their opener in Group B a week ago and is heading to London a huge underdog, even if the hosts are expected to line up a much-changed side with their sights set on their journey of the Premier League to Manchester United at the weekend.
Giovignali admitted his team felt tense before the Molde showdown, but urged them to relax and use Arsenal’s total commitment to playing from behind as inspiration.
“You can have fun acting; you can have fun challenging your opponent,” he said.
“It’s not just about the result. It’s about applying what we try to do in practice.
“The style that Mikel Arteta wants to implement with Arsenal is a complete inspiration for us. The way he wants to build, they did it even against Liverpool, which is one of the best pressure teams. They didn’t care.
Arteta praises Dundalk boss’s ‘big story’ ahead of Europa League clash
“It’s an attacking style, but through built principles, they are incredible.
“You can see what Mikel wants to do. Of course it will take time to consolidate the style he wants to apply, but I think it is the right way to do it.
“Last week we felt a little more responsible because we were playing at home against Molde, even though they are a very strong team from Norway and a team bigger than us. We felt we had some chance to score some points against them. “
Dundalk, who was beaten by Waterford last Sunday, is in the midst of a frenzy of games.
Still needing a win to secure third place in the Premier Division, they face St Pat’s in Inchicore on Sunday and also have an FAI Cup quarter-final against Bohs on November 14.
While Giovignali recognizes the importance of closing that European spot through his league ranking, he is still seizing the opportunity to swing at a European powerhouse.
“Tomorrow night is going to be different,” he added, before joking: “It will be the preparation for the game against St Patrick!”
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