Fabio Capello is only the sixth manager to mastermind an England World Cup campaign. The Italian as a reputation as one of the best tacticians around and has won domestic titles with every club he’s ever managed. 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.
After graduating from Coverciano, Capello enjoyed pretty much instant success as a manager with AC Milan, leading the Italian giants to the Scudetto four times in five seasons. After Milan, Capello went on to taste success with other continental giants such as Juventus, Roma and Real Madrid.
When he took over from Steve McLaren as England manager, Capello brought his years of experience to bear. 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 Three Lions announced themselves serious tournament contenders by winning all but one of their World Cup qualifying games, scoring 34 goals in the process.
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. Like England’s current boss, Ramsey thought the team was more important than the individual and refused to brook the notion of some players enjoying a special status. On one occasion, when some of England’s biggest names failed to return before a 10.30 curfew, he did not hesitate to take action, the players returning to their hotel rooms to find their passports waiting for them on their beds.
Like Alf Ramsey, Bobby Robson, arguably the England manager remembered with the most affection, managed at Ipswich. But Robson was a different kind of manager to both Capello and Ramsey. 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 extraordinary CV and wealth of experience, it is hard to think of anyone better placed to try to emulate the achievements of Ramsey and Robson than Fabio Capello, together with the England captain Steven Gerrard.
