Giovanni Trapattoni will take over as Republic of Ireland manager in 11 weeks' time, courtesy of the backing of a billionaire benefactor who has helped to turn "a pipe-dream" into reality.

Denis O'Brien, one of Ireland's foremost entrepreneurs, is to part fund Trapattoni's wages for the next two years in a no-strings-attached deal.

It is thought O'Brien, who has amassed his fortune from telecommunications and media enterprises, will pay around £1.5m for Trapattoni and his assistant - anticipated to be Claudio Gentile, the former Italy defender - after becoming frustrated with Ireland's lack of progress in recent years.

Trapattoni will take up his post on May 1 after seeing out the Austrian league season with Red Bull Salzburg, with whom he hopes to clinch back-to-back championships.

John Delaney, the Football Association of Ireland's chief executive, insisted the cash would have been made available for Trapattoni in any case, but O'Brien's offer in November came at a troubled time for Delaney and the FAI, in the wake of Steve Staunton's sacking and Ireland's failure to qualify for the Euro 2008 finals.

Delaney said: "Following Stephen's departure, an Ireland supporter contacted the FAI and said he was prepared to sponsor the new manager's salary and ensure money was not an insurmountable obstacle to getting our man.

"His offer came at a difficult period as Stephen had just gone and there was a lot of negativity around, but it enabled us to raise the bar even higher than we had intended.

"When somebody comes forward with an unconditional gesture of that nature, you would be mad not to take it. I am certain if the guys had come back and said Giovanni Trapattoni is our recommendation', we would have done a deal for him anyway, given our own financial strengths, but his money allows us to put more finances into the grassroots of football here in Ireland."

O'Brien came up with the idea after talking to former Formula One boss Eddie Jordan about the need for a top-class manager. He said: "I'm a great believer if you hire the right people you get the right results. But I think all the credit should go to John Delaney and the FAI.

"The criticism they have received was very, very hard, but they stuck to their guns and now they've the right man."

Don Givens, who headed the three-man recruitment panel which also included Don Howe and Ray Houghton, admitted he felt it was "a pipe-dream" when 68-year-old Trapattoni's name was first mentioned.

They had already interviewed a number of candidates, but once they spoke to the Italian, they knew he was their choice.

Givens revealed: "He picked us up at the airport in Salzburg on Sunday and took us to his home. We had a positive, enjoyable, two-hour meeting.

"He was very impressive. Talking two hours' football with that man was exceptional. We then returned to our hotel, had a half-hour meeting, and at that time we knew he was our man, and he is an outstanding man."

Trapattoni's first match in charge will be a friendly against Serbia at Dublin's Croke Park on May 24.

Trapattoni v Capello

Ireland have followed England's lead by appointing an Italian as their national team manager - but who's better?

Trophy haul
 Both managers boast enough silverware to fill most clubs' trophy cabinets to bursting. Trapattoni wins hands down if you look at the raw figures, the 68-year-old having claimed 20 major prizes domestically and in Europe. Capello has 11, though that swells to 15 if the Italian Super Cup (effectively the Community Shield) is included. Trapattoni, however, enjoyed the bulk of his success in the 1980s and early 90s, while his recent titles have come in the less heralded Portuguese and Austrian leagues. Capello, who is seven years younger than his compatriot, boasts a far more impressive recent track record, with four league titles alone in Italy and Spain since the turn of the millennium (though Juventus were later stripped of two of those).

Foreign success
 Trapattoni is the most widely travelled, having managed in Germany, Portugal and most recently Austria. Capello has limited himself to Italy and Spain. However, this is almost certainly because he has always been in huge demand in Europe's top leagues. Trapattoni's star has arguably been on the wane since the mid-1990s, though he did recently end Benfica's 11-year wait for a league title. Yet, while Capello has won silverware at every club he has managed, Trapattoni failed to do so at both Fiorentina and Stuttgart.

International experience
 Trapattoni is at an advantage. Capello is a novice at international level, while his compatriot was in charge of Italy for four years between 2000-04. However, his period at the helm was far from a success by Italy's high standards.

A humiliating - if controversial - defeat to co-hosts South Korea in the last 16 of the 2002 World Cup was one of the biggest upsets in the tournament's history. At Euro 2004, Italy failed to progress to the knockout phase. Trapattoni lost his job as a result.