Fabio Capello

Friday, 23rd October 2009 at 12:10pm

So in the end, 'The Special One' didn't want the job. He flirted publicly and privately with the hierarchy at Soho Square, but eventually decided that the job wasn't for Jose, even if the job seemed so perfectly suited to a man of his talents. The FA has, in the past, been known to stumble in its approaches towards suitable England managers, most recently with Guus Hiddink and Big Phil Scolari. This time, they wasted no time and can't be faulted for asking the question of Mourinho. It was what they, the FA wanted, what the team wanted and what the country wanted. But the answer was no. In the past, the FA might have wallowed in self pity at not being able to get their man, but instead, Brian Barwick took it on the chin and went in search of a man who would fit the description almost as well as the former Chelsea boss. It was done with speed and the minimum of fuss, which could not be said about Steve McLaren's shambolic appointment. In this writer's opinion they got it absolutely right with their appointment of Fabio Capello, known simply as The Don. A man for whom winning is everything, but also a man who likes to distance himself away from the game, pursuing his love of the opera and travel amongst other things, which makes for a well rounded man indeed.

As I voiced in a previous blog, my choice would have been Mourinho, but the hiring of Capello as England manager can only be a good thing for the national side. His record as a manager speaks for itself. Nine domestic titles in two of the toughest leagues on earth, a European cup success and experience of being in the highest of high pressure positions thanks to his time accumulated at AC Milan, Juventus and Real Madrid. The latter being a position where expectations are so high that even a man of Capello's considerable talents can be fired. It's important to remember he won the league in both his stints as Madrid manager and last season ended Madrid's four season trophy drought, one of the longest barren periods in the club's prestigious history and still lost his job, which speaks more about Real than it ever would about Capello himself. The title he would probably pride himself on the most would be the Championship won at Roma where the southern Italy side was able to challenge and break the dominance of the northern Italian clubs, which has been pretty rare of late with the added exception of Sven's Lazio. At these clubs The Don has managed some of the biggest names in the game from Maldini, Desailly, Gullit and van Basten in his Milan days, Francesco Totti at Roma, Del Piero, Nedved and Ibrahimovic at Juventus and most recently Raul, Van Nistelrooy and Beckham of Real Madrid. The list reads like a who's who of world stars from the past fifteen years. Critics may argue that a lot of these achievements have come on the back of huge sums of money being spent on players, but it still takes a top manager to be able to combine these talents and egos into a functioning unit. It also seems that those critics who were probably clamouring for Mourinho, will have forgotten his Chelsea sides were bankrolled by the biggest transfer budget in history . With the England team, he won't have a chequebook, but he does have a large group of talented individuals who are in desperate need of moulding into a well organized and functioning team, so they can achieve the success they desperately desire.

Since the appointment was announced a number of Capello's ex players have come forward to praise the work he does with his teams. Clarence Seedorf has spoken out in favour of him as has Marcel Desailly, Capello's captain of his hugely successful Milan side. Of Capello, Seedorf said

"He has always asked for 100% in training and on the field but he is not a very demanding person off the field. He can also drink a beer with the players in the bar or the hotel."

"When the focus is on the training, then he really expects 100 per cent and not less. That has basically been his approach when I have been playing under him."

Marcel Desailly added that"

"The guy's a winner - you look at his background and see he's won titles at every club he's been manager of. The players will have to put their egos to one side a little bit because Capello is a very demanding coach. He doesn't give you the chance to fool around and you have to show in every training session that you are the man who is going to be his first choice."

Ruud van Nistelrooy spoke out about the intensity of his training sessions and how they were ruled over by an iron fist, but went on to add that he'd never been fitter in his life and it showed as Madrid came from behind to take the title on the last day. Capello does indeed come with a reputation of a hard task master, which has earned him his nickname, but he is a born winner and a passionate one at that. He can often be seen gesticulating wildly on the touchline if his instructions aren't being followed and is not afraid to sacrifice the "higher profile" players for a lesser known player if he feels that he can contribute to the benefit of the team more. It is this approach that will give England its best chance in years of achieving some success on the International stage. Under Eriksson and McLaren, the England players have had it too easy. There were too many stories of players whining about playing a certain way and then being molly coddled by the men in charge. Not any more. There were too many occasions when the Mclaren seemed to want to be friends with his players with his references to 'Stevie G', 'JT' and 'Becks' rather than their manager and man in charge. That time is over. Under Capello it is "my way or the highway" and it is about time. The England players will get someone who will tolerate very little by way of distraction when it is time to get down to business and once again, this can only be a positive step.

Despite Capello's obvious success and the abject failure of Steve McLaren's reign as England head coach, there are still many people out there who feel as though the next England manager should be English. I ask the question, why? Who is there out there that has the credentials to match Fabio Capello? There isn't a single English manager currently active in the game who has managed at the top level of club football. Steve McLaren had the same experience and we can all look forward to a summer of watching the cricket as a result. No English manager has the experience of dealing with international superstars of the game and again this was a problem that undermined the previous regime. It is no consequence that the top 5 clubs in the Premier league, at present standing are coached by foreign managers. I would love to see an Englishman coach the national side but until there is someone who was the experience and the acumen, this is the way it must be. Ruud Gullit summed it up perfectly when he said that "You had a foreign coach and it didn't work so he left. You then had an English coach, who reminded you how much better the foreign coach was." Capello has already said that he would like to bring in some English coaches to compliment his trusted backroom staff and the addition of Stuart Pearce and Alan Shearer would benefit both them as coaches and the players, having someone they have admired so greatly in the past, involved in the team setup.

So with no fixture until February, England supporters will have to wait to see what sort of affect The Don has had on the England team. It will also be interesting to see his first squad and first starting eleven and see if it differs radically from Steve McLaren's. I for one am very excited about the prospect of this new era for the national side and wait with baited breath to see how Capello's England will fare and to see if he can end our long, long wait for silverware in South Africa 2010.

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