FABIO CAPELLO GIVES HEART AND SOLE
Boss will wear out designer shoes with angry pacing
Stuart Pearce is the new Fabio Capello | England Under-21 boss will be ready to take the top job
England Under-21 boss will be ready to take the top job
IT TOOK about one minute. Less, even. He sprung from his seat as if someone had just insulted his family. And he was off. Arms whirling frantically, fingers pointing accusingly, dramatic anguish etched on his face.
At one point, he was crouched in furious disbelief. An angry Fabio Capello is a serious proposition.
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He may cut an urbane figure, head to toe in designer Italian, expensive spectacles perched on his nose. But boy, can Capello lose it.
And in a Central Stadium crackling with intimidation, he lost it all right. He made Stuart Pearce look laid-back.
Welcome, Fabio, to the frustrations of being the England manager. Even when you win comfortably, it can drive you to distraction.
It wasn't so much England's inexplicably bad start to the game that had frustrated Fabio . . . it was his inability to make himself understood.
A man eloquent in the game's most sophisticated coaching systems unable to get over a simple message to some of the highest-paid players in the world.
After Glen Johnson had set the schoolboy tone with the clumsiest of starts, Capello was into his jig of disgust.
It seemed he wanted more space between the back four and the midfield. The players looked at him as though he was giving a lecture on rocket science.
We may talk of Capello being supremely well-organised, of no stone being left unturned, of every player's role being clearly defined and their brief explained with total clarity. It didn't look that way during half an hour of toil and trouble here in Almaty.
And even when Gareth Barry stooped to head in Steven Gerrard's cross and send England on their way to another comfortable qualification triumph, Capello spun on his heels and gave a long, exaggerated, exasperated shake of the head. No wonder. It was the first time Gerrard and Barry had communicated properly since the first whistle.
And even though Emile Heskey eased any hint of anxiety with his well-taken goal just before half-time, Capello headed to the dressing-room with an expression that suggested he wasn't about to tell a few gags.
Make no mistake, this guy cares. When he landed at Soho Square, the cynical saw a continental coach looking for one final, bumper payday. A jackpot to end an illustrious career.
But the task of ending England's major tournament drought has become an obsession. And anyone who saw him on the touchline last night would know it.
He cut an animated figure in a very animated environment. But without being disrespectful to the hosts - and without appearing arrogant - you sometimes wonder why England have to play in such far-flung places.
Surely, the competition would be better served by teams below the 100-mark in the world rankings having to pre-qualify.
And Kazakhstan are comfortably below that level. They are not even the best Stan in the world.
In fairness, they rolled out a decent welcome - even allowing the England fans to unfurl national flags, something previously taboo in this country.
But an incident on the morning of the game summed up the problems faced when preparing to take on such obscure opposition.
Capello and Franco Baldini were horrified to hear of plans for the Montegro Under-21 team to train on the pitch that was to be used for this qualifier. They made their protest and, eventually, FIFA stepped in.
Everything under Capello smacks of professionalism. Complacency never comes into the equation.
He would have reminded his players that although they put five past the opposition at Wembley - in the Ashley Cole-jeering game - they did not play particularly well.
And even though only one of the Kazakh players is good enough to play outside his home country, Capello would have been well aware that the conditions - uneven pitch, 3,500-mile journey, different time zone, humid evening - were capable of producing an upset.
Throw in the fact that half of this squad have been embroiled in gruelling pursuits of Champions League, Premier League or FA Cup honours and perhaps this was not as big a formality as had been portrayed.
And it certainly didn't seem that way when Sergey Ostapenko almost humiliated Johnson and Robert Green in the opening seconds and then had an effort disallowed by referee Kristinn Jokabsson who, by the way, only landed in Almaty 20 hours before kick-off.
But when an injury break gave him a sneak opportunity, Capello summoned Gerrard, telling him to spread a few home truths - and tactics - around his team-mates. It appeared to do the trick.
Gerrard himself became more influential, Barry appeared to understand his role a touch more and Wayne Rooney perked up and produced an ingenious finish without ever scaling any mountainous heights.
And defeat was never in the equation once England scored and Kazakhstan legs grew weary. But still, Capello stalked the technical area in the manner of a very perplexed man.
That's because he doesn't appear satisfied with triumph alone. He wants this team to develop as a unit. To grow.
That is why he must have been downcast over Theo Walcott's performance. Yes, there was the hat-trick against Croatia in Zagreb but maturity is not arriving with as much haste as we thought.
Matthew Upson did not totally convince as Rio Ferdinand's stand-in, while Johnson can be just plain rash. But a workmanlike win is a win all the same.
And with the formality of Andorra at home beckoning on Wednesday, England are becoming pretty impregnable at the top of their qualifying group.
Capello says his thoughts have not drifted towards the finals in South Africa next summer.
But when he finally sat down at the end of this game - and he sure needed to rest his feet - he would have been satisfied that, under his supervision, this squad has become efficient, ultra-professional, confident even.
What they haven't yet become is potential World Cup winners. Capello knows it.
And that's why he will wear out a lot more shoe leather between now and June next year.
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