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Fabio Capello

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Fabio Capello
Team information
Current team
 England (manager)
Youth career
1963–1964 SPAL
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1964–1967 SPAL 40 (3)
1967–1969 Roma 62 (11)
1969–1976 Juventus 165 (27)
1976–1980 Milan 69 (4)
Total 332 (45)
International career
1972–1976 Italy 32 (8)
Managerial career
1991–1996 Milan
1996–1997 Real Madrid
1997–1998 Milan
1999–2004 Roma
2004–2006 Juventus
2006–2007 Real Madrid
2007– England
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Fabio Capello (born 18 June 1946) is an Italian football manager and former professional player. He is the current manager of the England national football team, having started the role in January 2008 after the dismissal of Steve McClaren, who was sacked after England failed to qualify for Euro 2008. He is the second foreigner to have managed the England side, the other being McClaren's predecessor, Swedish manager Sven-Göran Eriksson.

Capello has the distinction of winning the domestic league title with every club he has managed throughout his career, with Milan, Real Madrid, Roma, and Juventus. Capello is one of the few coaches to claim championship victories in four major European cities (Milan, Madrid, Rome, and Turin). He has won a major league championship in seven of his 16 seasons as a coach and oversaw one of the most dominant UEFA Champions League victories of all time.[citation needed]

During Capello's second spell at Real Madrid he captured the La Liga title on the last day by topping FC Barcelona on head-to-head results. In spite of his success after years of Madrid underachievement, Real Madrid president Ramón Calderón sacked him in the summer of 2007.

After being appointed England manager on 14 December 2007, Capello announced that the role would be the last of his managerial career. Capello's contract with the Football Association came into effect on 7 January 2008, and will run for two-and-a-half years, with a possible two-year extension. On 24 January 2008, Capello was named president of the League Managers Association,[1] a customary role given to the English national coach.

Playing career

SPAL

File:Fabio Capello Italy.jpg
Capello with Juventus in 1973

A midfielder, Capello first played as a youth for his local club side Pieris which was coached by his father, Guerrino. He was signed by Paolo Mazza, the President of SPAL, for the fee of two million lira despite interest from AC Milan. In his second season in the youth team he helped the club win the Italian Youth Championship and made his first-team debut against Sampdoria on 29th March 1964. He made four appearances for a struggling side that was relegated from Serie A giving him experience of both success and failure in the same season.

After returning to the top division at the first attempt, Capello became a key player in the 1965-66 season, taking penalties and helping them avoiding a swift return to Serie B. He was also called up to the Italian Under-23 side along with teammate Edy Reja. However, injury to his left knee restricted him to just sixteen appearences the following season.

Roma

In 1967, he moved to Roma where he became a key player for the club. In his first season, he helped them to first place after eight matches, including the scoring the winner in a 10-9 victory over Juventus. However, a recurrence of the injury to his left knee kept him out for the rest of the season and Roma eventually finished in tenth place, just 5 points away from relegation. The following season, under new manager Helenio Herrera, a fit Capello scored 6 goals as Roma finished 8th and won his first major trophy, the Coppa Italia.

Juventus and AC Milan

He was then sold to Juventus, where he was a mainstay in the 1970s. Juventus were the dominant Italian team of the decade, and he won the Scudetto three times with the club. Capello ended his career as player with AC Milan in 1980, having won his fourth Scudetto with the club in 1979.[2]

Italian national team

Capello also played thirty two times for Italy; he is particularly remembered for a goal with which Italy beat England 2-0 at Wembley for the first time in its history (14 November 1973), which he himself regarded as the highlight of his playing career.[3]

After several years as a football pundit for Italian TV SPW and a brief spell as caretaker manager of AC Milan in 1987, he became a leading candidate to succeed Arrigo Sacchi as coach of the team, and he was formally appointed as manager of AC Milan in 1991.

Managerial career

Milan – first spell

His first experience was leading Milan in the last six games of the 1986/87 Serie A season, replacing Nils Liedholm and achieving the UEFA Cup qualifications in a play-off with Sampdoria. However, the following season, Arrigo Sacchi became the new Rossoneri manager and Capello stepped aside, but still worked for the society.

Capello made his second and best remembered coaching experience in the early 1990s again with Milan, replacing Sacchi and leading a team including the likes of Marco van Basten, Ruud Gullit, Paolo Maldini, and Franco Baresi to four Serie A titles in five years with a team nicknamed "The Invincibles". Milan were at this time bankrolled by the vast wealth of the Italian media mogul Silvio Berlusconi. Under Capello, Milan remained unbeaten for 58 league games between 19 May 1991 and 21 March 1993, which included an entire season where they were unbeaten in the league. They were finally defeated 1–0 by Parma after a goal from Faustino Asprilla.

With a style that spurned the traditional Italian stereotype of Catenaccio, in 1994 Milan routed the favourites FC Barcelona 4-0 to win the UEFA Champions League, earning them a reputation of one of the great sides of the modern era. Although Milan lost the Serie A title in 1995 - finishing a disappointing fourth - Capello signed off from his six-year stint with the Rossoneri by regaining the league championship the following year. He was replaced by Uruguayan coach Oscar Tabárez who was sacked after only a few games.

Real Madrid – first spell

By now, Capello had earned himself a reputation as one of Europe's leading coaches. He had also become known as a disciplinarian, unafraid of clamping down on his players, even his leading stars, if he felt they were not pulling their weight for the team.[citation needed] He had a single season in charge of Real Madrid, guiding the club to the Spanish league title in 1997. Real managed to edge out their bitter rivals FC Barcelona by just two points. Despite his tenure with Los Merengues lasting only a year, he was credited[citation needed] with bringing in a number of players such as Roberto Carlos, Predrag Mijatović, Davor Šuker, and Clarence Seedorf who helped the club establish their Champions League dominance over the next few years.

Milan – second spell

Capello then returned to Milan for a brief and less successful spell. Milan finished the Serie A 1997-98 season in 10th place, 30 points behind the champions Juventus, by which time Capello had already departed the club.

Roma

After a short break he moved to Roma in 1999, winning the 2001 Scudetto. That was Roma's first major honour in a decade and only the third ever time they had been crowned Champions of Italy. There was also a widespread belief that he had done a secret deal to succeed Alex Ferguson at Manchester United.[4] The final years of his tenure were also marred by accusations that he engineered the departure of several key players to sabotage the club. To this day, Capello is reviled by the vast majority of Roma fans.[5] This is despite the fact that he led the club to their only Scudetto since 1999.

Juventus

In 2004, Capello left debt-ridden Roma to sign with Juventus. Juventus won the 2004–05 and 2005–06 Scudetto under Capello's leadership, but were later stripped of their trophies due to involvement in the Italian match-fixing scandal, although there is no indication that Capello was involved. The scandal engulfed the Turin club, and in 2006 they were relegated to Serie B by the authorities.

In July 2006, with Juventus in the midst of the aforementioned match-fixing scandal, Capello resigned as Juventus manager. Press reports strongly linked him with a move back to Real Madrid; new club president Ramón Calderón had publicly stated his hope that Capello would return for a second stint at the club and on 5 July 2006, the official Real Madrid website announced Capello's appointment.[6]

Capello was criticised by Juventus captain Alessandro Del Piero, whilst leading players Fabio Cannavaro and Emerson also left for Real Madrid, with some believing that Capello had privately persuaded the players to follow him. In the wake of the club's enforced relegation, Juventus were struggling to hang on to their leading players.

Real Madrid – second spell

Capello during his second spell with Madrid.

Capello arrived at a Real Madrid side suffering one of the longest spells without a trophy in their history. He quickly drew the disdain of Real's ardent supporters because of his defensive playing style. In interviews, Capello responded to those critics by saying that the beauty of attacking plays was old. He said that results were much more important than playing beautifully. He also added that "those days are over." His remit was to bring the title back to Madrid, a task that had been too much for five other coaches since 2003. In Spain, he was commonly referred to as "Don Fabio". [citation needed]

At Real Madrid, Capello had several high-profile falling outs. He was criticised for not playing David Beckham because of his contract wranglings and Ronaldo, who struggled for fitness and form. Capello also feuded with his compatriot Antonio Cassano; the two had previously had disputes at Roma. Capello had not played Cassano for over a month at Real Madrid and the young striker reportedly shouted out at him "Have you got no shame? I fought for you in Rome and this is how you repay me."[citation needed] This led to Cassano being suspended by the club.

In March, Real were again eliminated early from the Champions League and were mired in fourth place in the league, six points behind FC Barcelona. On 20 February 2007, Real Madrid were forced to deny rumours that Capello would be leaving after that day's match.[citation needed]

Despite the unrest, Capello recalled Beckham, whose return was pivotal for the team's recovery. A string of successful results in the latter half of the season took Real to the top of the table, while Barça's results became inconsistent. Real Madrid won their 30th league title on the final day of the season by beating RCD Mallorca 3–1 at home. The victory was achieved after Capello substituted an injured Beckham and brought on José Antonio Reyes. Real had been 1–0 down prior to the substitution and Reyes turned the match scoring two goals. Despite winning La Liga, Capello was sacked on 28 June 2007 due to Real's pragmatic style of play at a club with recent memories of the individualistic and free-flowing, but ultimately unsuccessful Galáctico era.[7] While Capello is an admirer of Spanish culture and enjoyed his time in Madrid, he has likened managing Real to living in a goldfish bowl.[citation needed]

England

Appointment

After the dismissal of Steve McClaren following the failure of England to qualify for UEFA Euro 2008, Capello was linked, together with several other top-class managers such as José Mourinho, Marcello Lippi, and Martin O'Neill[8] to the England national team position; he then admitted that he was interested in the job.[9]

After Mourinho ruled himself out as a potential candidate for the position, the media immediately labelled Capello as the new favourite. Alex Ferguson, Arsène Wenger, and Rafael Benítez then voiced their support for Capello and the news that Capello had backed out of long-held TV commitments with Italian state broadcaster RAI further confirmed Capello as the favourite to be England boss. It was initially mentioned that Capello's poor English skills might rule him out of the position, but the Football Association stated that this was not so. He was formally appointed as England manager on 14 December 2007,[10] and commenced his day-to-day role on 7 January 2008, on a four-and-a-half year deal. It is estimated that that his annual pay is £6 million.[11] After being confirmed for the job, he announced it would be his last in football.[12] Capello announced on the day of his unveiling that it was a dream come true to manage the England national team and that he hoped to learn the English language in the following month prior to his first official meeting with the players.[13]

Capello was welcomed by many English fans and the press who hailed his appointment as a triumph, citing in particular his impressive trophy haul and his reputation as a disciplinarian in contrast to the excessive leniency perceived to have existed under his two predecessors.[citation needed] In Italy, news of his appointment was greeted with a sense of pride that one of their countrymen had been selected to coach an elite European team.[14] Equally, his arrival has generated some criticism, notably from FIFA President Sepp Blatter, who said, "I would say it is a little surprising that the motherland of football has ignored a sacrosanct law or belief that the national team manager should be from the same country as the players."[15]

Friendlies

2008

England's first match with Capello as manager was at Wembley against Switzerland on 6 February 2008. Much of the speculation approaching the game had centred on whether Capello would award David Beckham his 100th international cap.[16] Another aspect that generated a lot of interest was Capello's choice of captain. Several regular starters under Steve McClaren admitted they were uncertain of their future selection. On 31 January 2008, it was confirmed that a number of senior players including Sol Campbell and Beckham had not been selected for Capello's debut squad, with the Italian citing 'fitness reasons' for dropping former captain Beckham, who had not played a professional game since 21 November 2007.[17] After recent erratic form, Paul Robinson also missed out on the squad. Debut call-ups were handed to two players: Curtis Davies and Gabriel Agbonlahor, both of Aston Villa. Capello decided to give the captain's armband to Steven Gerrard for his first game in charge, beginning his rotation policy.

Jermaine Jenas scored Capello's first goal as England manager in the 40th minute against Switzerland at Wembley. Shaun Wright-Phillips restored the lead after the 61st minute, shortly after coming on as a substitute. After a slow start, England won the game 2-1, handing Capello his first victory in his first game as England manager.[18] He was warmly welcomed by the England fans before the game commenced.

For his second game in charge, an international friendly against France, Capello did finally award Beckham his landmark 100th cap. He also rotated the captaincy, giving the armband to Rio Ferdinand. England lost the game 1-0 after a Franck Ribéry penalty, marking Capello's first defeat as the national coach.[19] Capello's third game in charge was against the United States on 28 May 2008. He named Chelsea's John Terry as the captain for this match. England comfortably won an unremarkable game 2-0. [20]

On 31 May 2008, Capello named David Beckham as captain for the match on 1 June 2008 against Trinidad and Tobago. It was Beckham's first game as captain of England since the 2006 FIFA World Cup. England comfortably won the game 3-0.[21] On 19 August 2008, Capello announced that John Terry would be named permanent captain for the second time in his career.[22][23] On 20 August 2008, England drew 2-2 at Wembley with the Czech Republic.[24]

England rounded off 2008 by beating Germany 2-1 on 19 November. A John Terry header secured the win for England, in the 83rd minute, inflicting the first defeat Germany had suffered in Berlin in 35 years.[25]

2009

In the spring of 2009, England played two more friendlies, losing 2–0 to European champions Spain and beating Slovakia 4–0.[26]. In the summer of 2009 England played another friendly against Holland, coming back from 2-0 down to secure a 2-2 draw away from home. Slovenia was beaten 2-1 In Wembley in the same year.

World Cup 2010 qualifying

England opened Capello's first competitive campaign with a 2–0 victory over Andorra, in Barcelona, on 6 September 2008.[27] Four days later, on 10 September, England played Croatia, the team that had qualified for the previous competition (UEFA Euro 2008) at their expense. England won 4–1; Arsenal's Theo Walcott was particularly impressive in scoring three goals[28] The next qualification game was at Wembley just over a month later, on 11 October 2008, against Kazakhstan. The game remained goalless at half-time, but England went on to win 5–1.[29] A fourth straight win on 15 October 2008 made this England's best ever start to a World Cup qualifying campaign as they beat Belarus 3–1.

On 1 April 2009, England beat Ukraine 2-1 at Wembley. On 6 June, they travelled to Almaty to beat Kazakhstan 4-0, and four days later, they returned to Wembley to beat Andorra again 6-0, making it seven wins out of seven in this qualification campaign.[30] A notable feature of the campaign has been the goals of Wayne Rooney: eight in seven games (all in the last six). With two in the friendly against Slovakia in March 2009, Rooney has scored ten goals in his last eight England games.

On the 9th of September 2009, Capello successfully guided England to qualification to the 2010 World Cup following a 5-1 win at home to Croatia.[31]

Career statistics

Player

Template:Football player statistics 1 Template:Football player statistics 2 |- |1964-65||rowspan="3"|SPAL||Serie B||4||0|||||||||||||||| |- |1965-66||rowspan="2"|Serie A||20||1|||||||||||||||| |- |1966-67||16||2|||||||||||||||| |- |1967-68||rowspan="3"|Roma||rowspan="3"|Serie A||11||1|||||||||||||||| |- |1968-69||25||6|||||||||||||||| |- |1969-70||26||4|||||||||||||||| |- |1970-71||rowspan="6"|Juventus||rowspan="6"|Serie A||27||5|||||||||||||||| |- |1971-72||29||9|||||||||||||||| |- |1972-73||27||3|||||||||||||||| |- |1973-74||27||4|||||||||||||||| |- |1974-75||28||3|||||||||||||||| |- |1975-76||27||3|||||||||||||||| |- |1976-77||rowspan="4"|Milan||rowspan="4"|Serie A||26||1|||||||||||||||| |- |1977-78||28||3|||||||||||||||| |- |1978-79||8||0|||||||||||||||| |- |1979-80||3||0|||||||||||||||| Template:Football player statistics 3332||45|||||||||||||||| Template:Football player statistics 5332||45|||||||||||||||| |}

Manager

Nat Team From To Record
P W D L Win %
Italy Milan 1991 1996 170 97 57 16 057.06
Spain Real Madrid 1996 1997 42 27 11 4 064.29
Italy Milan 1997 1998 34 11 11 12 032.35
Italy Roma 1999 2004 170 89 52 29 052.35
Italy Juventus 2004 2006 76 53 18 5 069.74
Spain Real Madrid 2006 2007 50 28 12 10 056.00
England England 2007 Present 21 15 2 4 071.43
Total 563 320 163 80 056.84
As of 14 November 2009

Personal life

Capello was born in 1946 in San Canzian d'Isonzo, Northern Italy to Guerrino and Evelina Capello. Both his father, a schoolteacher, and uncle played football , and Capello has spent his entire adult life involved with the sport.[32] He has been married to his wife Laura, who he first met on a bus as a teenager, for over 40 years. He is represented by his son Pierfilippo, who acts as his agent. It is thought that The Football Association welcomed the stable family life that Capello brings to the job, in contrast to the more colourful antics of his predecessors which served as fodder for the media.[citation needed] However, it has been highlighted that Capello has made a number of controversial comments over the years, such as praising Francisco Franco, and that the FA will be hoping he learns to keep his opinions to himself.[32]

In January 2008, Italian police announced that they were launching an investigation into tax irregularities by Capello.[33] However, the probe has been dismissed as routine by Capello's spokesmen who said this was part of a wider investigation into a number of wealthy Italians.[34] The FA revealed that they had known about the upcoming probe when they had appointed Capello, and expected no charges to be brought.[35]

On 31 March 2008, it was announced that Capello is to be probed by an Italian state prosecutor for allegedly withholding information to a court. The prosecutor intends to bring a case against Capello and former Juventus director Antonio Giraudo after they gave evidence in a trial of six men accused of fostering unfair competition through the use of threats or violence as part of Italy's Gea World sports agency.[citation needed]

Art collector

Capello is a self-confessed fine art enthusiast. Over the years, he has acquired a number of works, and his art collection is estimated to be worth £17 million.[36] His favourite artist is reportedly Wassily Kandinsky.[37] Capello is also extremely fond of opera, and likes to spend his evenings listening to classical music.[citation needed]

Honours

Player

Roma

Juventus

Milan

Coach

Milan

Roma

Juventus

Real Madrid

England

Individual

References

  1. ^ "Capello takes over LMA presidency". bbc.co.uk. 2008-01-24. Retrieved 2008-01-24.
  2. ^ Fabio Capello: Player and Coach
  3. ^ Football: 'England is my dream' | Independent, The (London) | Find Articles at BNET.com
  4. ^ BBC SPORT | FOOTBALL | Capello's Man Utd hint
  5. ^ Sky News - Eurovision
  6. ^ "Ramón Calderón and Alfredo Di Stéfano preside the act". realmadrid.com. 2006-07-06. Retrieved 2007-12-13.
  7. ^ "Real Madrid sack manager Capello". BBC Sport. 2007-06-28. Retrieved 2007-06-28.
  8. ^ "O'Neill not interested in England". BBC Sport. 2007-11-23. Retrieved 2009-02-11.
  9. ^ "England role 'fascinates' Capello". BBC Sport. 2007-11-23. Retrieved 2007-12-13.
  10. ^ "Fabio Capello profile". FA.com. 2007-12-16. Retrieved 2007-12-16.
  11. ^ "Capello named new England manager". BBC Sport. 2007-12-14. Retrieved 2007-12-14.
  12. ^ "England challenge excites Capello". BBC Sport. 2007-12-15. Retrieved 2007-12-15.
  13. ^ "Capello unveiled as England coach". BBC Sport. 2007-12-17. Retrieved 2007-12-17.
  14. ^ Fabio Capello call for pride rings hollow - Football News - Telegraph
  15. ^ Capello receives mixed reception on first day as England manager | News | guardian.co.uk Football
  16. ^ Capello ready to leave Beckham out of squad | News | guardian.co.uk Football
  17. ^ BBC SPORT | Football | Internationals | Beckham left out of England squad
  18. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/internationals/7229823.stm
  19. ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/mar/27/sport.sport
  20. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/internationals/7420122.stm
  21. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/internationals/7430548.stm
  22. ^ http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/internationals/capello-names-terry-as-captain-902324.html
  23. ^ http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/08/19/sports/EU-SOC-England-Captain.php
  24. ^ http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/internationals/england-2-czech-republic-2-cole-grabs-late-leveller-but-boos-ring-out-for-lamentable-england-904199.html
  25. ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/nov/20/englandfootballteam-germanyfootballteam
  26. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/7666668.stm
  27. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/internationals/7593908.stm
  28. ^ http://www.latimes.com/sports/printedition/la-spw-soccer11-2008sep11,0,7671309.story
  29. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/7656615.stm
  30. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/8087976.stm
  31. ^ "England 5-1 Croatia". BBC Sport. 2009-09-09. Retrieved 2009-09-09.
  32. ^ a b A touchline philosopher: the real Fabio Capello - International, Football - Independent.co.uk
  33. ^ Capello reassures FA he has nothing to fear from tax evasion investigation | News | guardian.co.uk Football
  34. ^ Fabio Capello under investigation for tax fraud | Football - Times Online
  35. ^ Football: Capello informed FA of tax probe from outset | News | guardian.co.uk Football
  36. ^ Fabio Capello: 10 things you didn't know - Football News - Telegraph
  37. ^ Fabio Capello: A man of letters that spell success: The A to Z guide to a serial winner | Football - Times Online
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