Capello named England boss

Italian handed four-and-a-half year contract to manage England

By Chris Harvey   Last updated: 15th December 2007

England manager Italy Fabio Capello

Capello: Appointed as new England manager

BACKROOM BOYS
Franco Baldini: Former Roma sporting director Baldini is likely to be appointed as assistant manager but will occupy a position similar to that of Tord Grip under Sven-Goran Eriksson.
Italo Galbiati: Galbiati is expected to fill a role next to Capello in the Wembley dug-out, operating in a motivational and coaching role.
Massimo Neri: Fitness trainer at Juventus and Real Madrid during Capello's spells and an integral member of the team due to the manager's reliance on physical strength and speed.
Franco Tancredi: Goalkeeping coach and Roma legend. Represented Italy at the 1986 World Cup.

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Fabio Capello has been confirmed as the new England coach by the Football Association.

He will be officially unveiled as Steve McClaren's successor at a press conference on Monday.

The news was revealed 48 hours after Capello agreed in principle to lead England, with the decision being ratified by the FA Board on Thursday.

Final negotiations between the FA and Capello's advisors have now been completed and the former Juventus, Milan and Real Madrid coach has signed a four-and-a-half year contract and will begin work on 7th January.

"I am delighted that Fabio Capello has agreed to become England manager," said FA chief executive Brian Barwick.

"When we set out to recruit the new manager, we said we were committed to appointing a world-class candidate. In Fabio Capello we have that man.

"Fabio is a winner. His record over the last two decades speaks for itself.

Passion

"At every club he has managed Fabio has won the league title and Sir Trevor Brooking and I were left in no doubt of his passion and commitment to bring that success to the England team."

It is thought Capello will become the best paid coach in international football after agreeing a £6.5million-a-year contract.

Capello will also bring four fellow Italians with him for his coaching staff, including his trusted aide Franco Baldini as his assistant. He will be joined by Italo Galbiati, goalkeeping coach Franco Tancredi and fitness coach Massimo Neri.

The 61-year-old has also expressed a desire to have English coaches as part of his set-up, and will decide who these should be at a later date.

There will not be an immediate announcement of who these might be - candidates suggested have included Stuart Pearce and Alan Shearer - as it will be Capello who chooses them.

FA Director of Communcations Adrian Bevington confirmed Capello would consider adding an English coach to his backroom staff at a later date.

Speaking outside FA headquarters within minutes of Capello's appointment, Bevington said: "Sir Trevor Brooking will discuss the possibility of having an English coach with Fabio Capello.

Confident

"He is happy to include an English coach or coaches but it is not something we have to rush into.

"People should not get too hung up on the fact there is no English coach in the set-up," Bevington added.

He confirmed the Italian will be unveiled to the press at FA headquarters in Soho Square on Monday.

"We are very confident Capello is the right man to lead us forward," Bevington continued.

"He is our number one choice. He is the only manager we met with. We are very pleased with the process. There was no reason to wait around when there were such managers available as Fabio Capello.

"We are delighted with the way it has gone and it is a great end to the week."

Comments

Chris Elliott (Manchester United fan) says...

Why should passion be a factor for the england job?? and more to the point why cant a foreign manager be passionate???? Sven had the same problem...people questioning his passion but wether he was passionate or not, he was effective, infact the English F.A voted him the second most successful manager after Sir Alf Ramsey who as you all know Won the wolrd cup... 1 of the people who has added a comment on this page said the game is about passion , but if you are tactically spot on in a match, its very unlikely that a team of 'passionate' players would succeed. As much as it sounds to regular people 6.5 million is not that much in the world of football teams will spend 4 times as much as that in 1 go for a player andf if Cappello did manage to bring a wolrd cup trophy to england well then surely you would see that as money well spent steve mclown was given 2.5 million just to leave the job (money very well spent) i honestly cant see the problem with a foreign manager and Cappello has proven to bring success at club level...who was the last English manager to bring success to a top flight club ?

Posted 18:55 15th December 2007

Stephen Robinson (Manchester United fan) says...

You say that we used to have lots of Englishmen in the international set up, which is true, but what exactly did we achieve by doing so? Nothing. Capello is a great proven manager who is technicly sound and has more than enough experience of handling superstar players. Good luck to him.

Posted 15:58 15th December 2007

Bruce King (Crystal Palace fan) says...

How is the FA board appointed ? It seems to be a group of 'fat cats', happy to take the salary and perks which go with the postion but none of them seem to have played the game at a senior level and are toally detached from reality. The only senior person who I have any respect for is Trevor Booking. About time the entire board was replaced by people who understand the game. I fail to see how any of the current board are qualified to pick an England coach.

Posted 15:06 15th December 2007

Andrew Evans (Manchester United fan) says...

I think Capello will get results but do the FA not listen to ex pro's? The majority of English ex footballers were behind giving Harry Redknapp a chance. He always does well with what is at his disposal, he has a proven track record of delveloping young English players (Cole, Lampard, Defoe. etc.) and his teams play exciting football. He has over achieved with all the sides he has managed (anyone want to bet against Pompey in Europe next season?) and has the passion to motivate players. Every player he has managed has understood that they must play as a team, and every player wants to play for him and gives him their all. I thought that was what we needed? A manager who can get rid of these ego's and remind them that they are playing for their shirt! I really hope it works with Capello but I wish the FA would listen to everyone else and think before they acted.

Posted 14:37 15th December 2007

Christian Hermida (Liverpool fan) says...

Great coach Capello, he will definitely impose tough regime to the England Players which they really next as they are sometimes too laid back with the wages they earn . England has too much quality players and should have not missed out on Euro 2008. I believe there is yet not an English Manager who has proved himself at Club level management, but nevertheless watch out for Stuart Peace a super future candidate, and a person and former player who always wants to win in a tough way, that it how you should play for your country, give it all.

Posted 13:09 15th December 2007

Neil Pringle (Leeds United fan) says...

Harry Rednapp. Harry was the man that should've been appointed. I know Capello has a good track record and he obviously knows what he is doing. However, as Harry says, we've got the players with the ability fitness an coaching are secondary at this level as each players respective clubs deal with that anyway and you cannot change things like that in 3 days worth of training every other month. It's about getting the best out of your players. Harry has proven track record of doing this. I tought that he should've been a candidate when Eriksson got the job, then again when McClaren got the job, but I think his record has even improved since those appointments. If they had taken the time to sit down with him they may have been swayed but they would not allow themselves to do that. But Harry has not managed a top 4 team has he...... He's at a so called unfashionable club...... Brian Barwick's appointment does not reflect any of the opinions of anyone I know. The players I'm sure lay with a sense of national pride, but I think that it takes a true Englishman to inspire that bulldog spirit when your 2-0 down at half time. I hope Capello does well an if we win the worl cup it would be fantastic, but it would be much better if we could have done it with Harry as the boss, and I think I would have more of a sense of national pride.

Posted 11:50 15th December 2007

Ian Wilson (Manchester City fan) says...

Here we go again another hasty decision, who are these people (amatuers) who keep appointing the England managers, and we now know that he is bringing his own staff, just like that lot in the red half of Liverpool, not only are we not nurturing our own home grown players, because of the number of foriegn imports we have that are even playing in reserve teams here. We are not even bringing through young british coaches, because they are also denied coaching roles and much needed experience at club and international level. When Robson (Bobby) and Terry Venables were the England managers, we had some excellent ex England players in the set up and what happens, they got discarded. The old members of the boot room of Liverpool are probably turning in their graves at what as happened at Anfield and now the England set up. The Coaching of top quality players is not rocket science, its fitting the players to a system of play and MOTIVATING them, they don't need a goalkeeper coach, fitness coach or skills coach at international level, they should not be picked if they do not possess the required skills already, you need the system devising and organizing of defending at corners,free kicks and throw ins and the same for attacking from those set pieces and then its MOTIVATION. Bring back Bobby Robson has the figure head and put Pearce, Shearer, Platt and Ince in front of today's pretty boys and see who wilts first.

Posted 11:06 15th December 2007

Adam Barrett (Portsmouth fan) says...

I think capello will do a great job as england manager. But it should have been an englishman.

Posted 10:31 15th December 2007

Paul Wall (Leeds United fan) says...

£6m a year for an unemployed coach, there are lots of choices and choice brings competition, there was competition for this job so why do we pay way over the odds for someone who would be happy to be working again, never mind part time at silly money - of course he's enthusiatic - most people would be! Also his style of football is more depressing than the rubbish we have already been playing. Wrong move - no "root and branch" investigation into previous errors

Posted 09:10 15th December 2007

Phil Cook (Manchester United fan) says...

Much as I respect Capello's record, can the English F.A. staff not find someone for our own country to lead the team? The game is about passion, not all about tactics! We have some of the best players on the planet, yet they don't seem to have the desire. In all honesty, how is an Italian going to bring that out in them? Remember Fergie saying he couldn't coach England as he couldn't support them if we played Scotland? Same rules apply...Stuart Pearce may not be experienced yet, but he certainly has balls nig emought to say what he needs to say to get the players fired up! And they're English balls at that...

Posted 08:40 15th December 2007

Paul Eveleigh (Manchester United fan) says...

The FA have done a good job getting Capello. I think the punters and the press are starting to understand that Sven did a good job with an average group of players. But now the FA and the especially the press must stand back and let this man and his team do their job. He will bring a different style to the England team, I think it is important for all to realise that their are only 3-4 world class players in the England team that have the ability to play different styles, this means doing it as Capello wants it done. I expect it will be a grinding type of football which may not suit England fans who have a misplaced belief that England is a stylish outfit. Lastly, what is the preoccupation with an English coach in the set-up, there is nobody that fits the bill - of being any good.

Posted 04:16 15th December 2007

Paul Murphy (Tottenham Hotspur fan) says...

bonjourno , here we go again..i really hope the fella does well and the FA are right this time ... however , maybe its a bit like the Sven meister , pay him loads because he's willing...lets face it , he's a hired gun and i suspect will fail...bring back Hoddle

Posted 03:58 15th December 2007

Joe Lenton (Newcastle United fan) says...

Firstly, over the moon with Capello, results over ego, has to be a good thing. Secondly though....£6.5m ayear????? Really..?

Posted 02:24 15th December 2007

Daniel Okey (Chelsea fan) says...

Capello has the right credentials, but the problem with England is only partly about the manger. I wish the FA (and the press!) would spend more time and money trying to really get to grips with the underlying problems with English football; namely player development, the club v country atmosphere and the whole set up of the premiership, which we prioritise at the expense of the national team. Fans openly admit they would rather their club won the Champions League than England win a major Championship. This is very, very sad. WHY AREN'T PEOPLE INTERESTED IN THE REAL PROBELMS AFFECTING ENGLAND? Capello might be very good, but we still have weakness in depth, inadequate player development, a demanding season and clubs that rule over country. Its hard to tackle these issues. Its easy to blame the manager and replace them. I bet that one dodgy result or teamsheet and the press will be onto him, just like with all previous managers. I remember when Sven was appointed and all the talk was about long term development of the national game with under-studies and a national football centre like the French have, etc. Where are we 7 years on? No further forward with these things is the answer. Short termism and throwing money at the problem for interesting headlines rules the day. And like in previous cases, we'll fail, blame the manager, offer a huge pay out and move on. How depressing!!

Posted 00:21 15th December 2007

Justin Manghra says...

People always rant that the England manager should be English.... take a long, hard look at our national side, people - who gives a monkeys where the manager is from if he can turn our so-called "superstars" into a World Cup winning squad??? I for one wish Mr Capello all the best and truly hope he can pick an England team capable of the results and performances we all know England are truly capable of. A further note on managers - club chairmen and the FA should really be looking at the players when performances aren't up to scratch. The manager only picks the team, he isn't on the field and, apart from the tactics (and I concede that Steve McClaren didn't have a clue) the managers have very little effect on team performance. The players should stand up and be counted, ESPECIALLY the England squad, because we were pathetic in our European Cup qualifying group. These guys earn three or four times a normal annual salary A WEEK!!! How much more motivation do they need?????

Posted 23:16 14th December 2007

Dave Harris (Liverpool fan) says...

Next our national team will start wearing the Italian kit!! I think the England team should be lead by an englishman! What would happen if it was the world cup final of England .v. Italy, in his mind he would want England to win, but in his heart? I know who I'd want to win if it was the other way round?!? The FA spent most of the interview after the announcement of Steve McClarens departure saying there was no rush, they would find the right man for the job, what is it....less than a month, and theyve given a man the job that in my opinion shouldnt have the job, and for a rumoured 6.5 Million a year salary, and for 4.5 years? how much are the FA going to have to pay out in compensation this time to pay a managers contract off that hasnt done well enough? I'll probably be made to eat my own words, but lets hope so, just like any other englishman, I want to see England win at least one world cup in my lifetime, lets wait and see if this is the winning chapter..............

Posted 22:12 14th December 2007

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