Fabio Capello is only the sixth manager to mastermind an England World Cup campaign. 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. As he attempts to chart a steady course through the tournament in South Africa, Capello will be forced to draw on every one of his years of experience.
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. Capello has also enjoyed successful spells at Juventus, Real Madrid and Juventus.
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.
Highly respected by players, a strict disciplinarian and astute tactician, there are obvious parallels between the Three Lions’ current manager and Alf Ramsey. Both managers believed firmly that individual interests should be relinquished for the benefit of 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.
Like Alf Ramsey, Bobby Robson, arguably the England manager remembered with the most affection, managed 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. As an international manager, he led the Three Lions at two World Cups, including Italia ’90 when England enjoyed their most successful season since 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.
