The English Football Association have announced that they have selected former Real Madrid and A.C. Milan coach Fabio Capello as their new manager. Capello succeeds Steve McLaren, who was shown the door after England failed to qualify for Euro 2008. Capello has signed a four year deal worth six and a half million pounds a year, and will officially start his job on January 7.
Capello lead Real Madrid to the Spanish La Liga last season, but was sacked for his 4-2-3-1 system, which made the club play more defensively than the free flowing football that the fans were used to.
Capello is a man who is not afraid of dropping stars. Antonio Cassano and David Beckham were dropped at Real, and the Italian has made several high profile players, including Allessandro Del Piero, Francesco Totti and Ronaldo sit on the substitutes bench in his career.
So do not be surprised if one of Lampard or Gerrard are dropped from the national side, given their inability to combine effectively as a pair.
The BBC has a feature on their site which allows you to pick what you think will be Capello’s 11. They have even hinted at him bringing Scholes and Carragher back. Scholesy is still one of United’s best players, and Carragher has an assured spot in central defence week in and week out for Liverpool.
David Beckham currently has 99 caps for England . Will Capello award him his 100th ?
Can Capello weave his magic with England and guide them to their first World title since their 1966 triumph. He certainly has the credentials for the job, and the task before him is enormous. But first of all, he needs to learn English, and he has promised that he will be comfortable in the language in a month.
The Telegraph reports that he intends to rekindle England’s fighting spirit.
Good luck Fabio 🙂