Fabio Capello will be the sixth to manage England at a World Cup, and the Italian’s record as a manager speaks for itself. 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.
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. Since then he has enjoyed success with Real Madrid, Roma and Juventus, collecting an incredible nine league titles in 15 years.
Having taken over from Steve McLaren, Fabio Capello’s arrival was immediately reflected in England’s performances on the pitch. 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. England won all their matches except one, notching up 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. 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 the experience of Steven Gerrard on the pitch and Capello off it, the England side look well-placed to emulate the success of Robson and Ramseu in South Africa.
