Fabio Capello will be the sixth to manage England at a World Cup, and the Italian’s record as a manager speaks for itself. He has won domestic titles with every one of his four clubs, gaining a reputation as a first rate tactician with a firmly no-nonsense approach. And he will certainly have to rely on these years of experience as he plots the Three Lions’ route to the later stages of World Cup in South Africa.
Capello’s managerial career got off to a flying start at AC Milan, where he led the Rossoneri to the Scudetto four times in five seasons. Capello has also enjoyed successful spells at Juventus, Real Madrid and Juventus.
And Capello’s impact on the England team after taking over from Steve McLaren was immediate. He stamped his authority by introducing more intensive training and a number of new rules aimed at improving team spirit and making the squad more focused on winning. This new winning mentality made itself manifest with impressive results in England’s highly successful World Cup qualifying campaign. The team won all but one of their ten matches, scoring 34 goals.
Given the level of respect Capello commands from players and his impressive knowledge of the game, it is tempting to draw parallels between him and England’s most successful manager, Alf Ramsey. Both Ramsey and Capello would never give any support to the idea that any one player could enjoy a special status within the team. On a 1964 tour of Brazil, a number of England’s players failed to stick to an agreed curfew, returning to their rooms to find their passports waiting for them on the beds.
The fondly remembered was one of Alf Ramsey’s successors at Ipswich. Yet Bobby Robson was a different sort of manager to Ramsey and Capello. He enjoyed success at some of Europe’s top clubs, including Barcelona and Porto, motivating his players with his infectious enthusiasm for the game he loved. Robson led England to two World Cup Finals, and at Italia ’90 helped the Three Lions to one of their most successful tournaments since the triumph of 1966.
With his glittering CV and years of experience, Fabio Capello looks well-placed to help Steven Gerrard and the England side repeat the success of Ramsey and Robson.
