FABIO TURNS US INTO AC
Italian blueprint is working wonders
FABIO CAPELLO has likened his triumphant, new England team to his all-conquering AC Milan of the 1990s.
Capello said he sees clear similarities with a Milan side dubbed 'The Invincibles' after they won four Serie A titles in five years and thrashed Barcelona 4-0 in the 1994 European Cup Final.
That's high praise indeed as all-time greats Marco van Basten, Ruud Gullit, Paolo Maldini and Franco Baresi were among the memorable stars of that incredible Milan side.
And as well as plundering silverware at home and abroad, the Italian giants also went almost two years without losing a league match at home: 58 games stretching from May 1991 to March 1993.
Now, after five wins in a row, the England coach reckons the Three Lions share the same drive, determination, courage, belief and togetherness.
Capello said "The spirit of this group is as good as any I have ever managed.
"When I started at AC Milan I found that special spirit there and we achieved great things together.
"And the last season at Real Madrid (2007) I worked very hard for five months and I created the same belief there and we take the title. So I believe it is essential.
"You have to create a group with real character.
"Together you win and together you lose. But only together can you do great things. For without this belief it is impossible to succeed.
"Of course, you must have good players, too. For without good players it is impossible to win when you play important games against some of the best teams in the world.
"I think now England has the spirit AND those very good players.
"We are a very good team and we can play at the same level as the best countries in the world."
Capello is especially proud that he has managed to instil such vitality and dash into an international side given the obvious restrictions on his time to work with his men.
He revealed: "It's very easy when you are at a club and you can train everyday.
"With the national team it is much more difficult because at this level I have just two days to see the players confidence.
"But they have found again the spirit of the shirt and I always look for that because it is so very important.
"You can now see the pride in the players during the national anthem.
"And when you are part of the national team that's vital, I remember this from my days as a player.
"So I am very happy now that I see that same qualities, the same vigour as Milan and Madrid here."
Clearly England still have a way to go match the heady exploits of those European powerhouses.
But Capello is buoyant and brimful of confidence after those five successive wins and just one defeat in his eight games as England boss. Four of those wins were in World Cup qualifiers, three away from home, and they convinced Cape-llo that he has a side capable of competing with any in the world.
Strength
Last Wednesday's 2-1 win in Germany - on a night when he was shorn of the bulk of his first-choice team - he learned he also has the necessary strength in depth needed for his quest to capture the World Cup.
Capello explained: "I was very happy with the qualification games for the World Cup, of course, but especially with this game in Germany. The new players played like old players and this is very important. I am happy about this. Now I know that it is no problem if I have injuries. I see two right-backs, four centre-backs, two left-backs, two left-wingers and three forwards.
"Yes! I have strength in depth and players I can rely on."
He said he has a team packed full of leaders, too, waxing lyrical about what he witnessed in Berlin:
"It is very important to have leaders in your team. The idea of how you want to play means you have to have players like John Terry, Matthew Upson, Michael Carrick and Glen Johnson.
"Carrick came in and he had the spirit of Manchester United and he understood everything.
Respect
"Stewart Downing was fantastic and Shaun Wright-Phillips played like a 'Loco' in Spanish - that's a crazy man!"
Capello has not just worked his magic on England's players, though. The brilliant run of results has lifted the nation, too. Capello admitted he's getting a hero's welcome wherever he goes around the country.
He said: "Yes, I think I am loved by the people. I walk usually with my wife near where we live and I have no problems at all. I feel the respect but please don't call me a national hero.
"It is a very long time before we arrive in South Africa."
The World Cup is his ultimate ambition, though, and he recalled a meeting with Italy's World Cup- winning coach Marcello Lippi.
He said: "When I was taking over with England I spoke once with Marcello not about the job but about the happiness that he won a World Cup and I touched him for luck."
Promise
Capello is clever enough to realise there is still plenty of work to be done before anyone can seriously suggest England can re-capture the world crown after 42 years in the wilderness.
That's why he side-stepped a clumsy attempt to encourage him to re-iterate the word's of Alf Ramsey in 1966, promising England would be world champions that year.
Capello tap-danced, saying: "I never promise anything but I think a lot of things."
Right now there's one thing at the forefront of his mind:
Challenge
"I have achieved most of things that I wanted to with England in my first yea.
"But I have one wish still and that is to play at Wembley like we do away. This is very important. Our biggest test now is our next World Cup qualifying match against Ukraine at home in April.
"But I also want to see how we cope against Slovakia when we meet them at Wembley in a friendly in March. We play away fantastic but when we play at Wembley it's not the same game.
"Playing well at our Wembley home is the last challenge to overcome for my squad."
This article has 6 comments
Right P.Charles, and really funny to see
how all those crticizing Capello's "italian defending boring footb.style" before he started to win,
now are silent. Old stereotyping, boring british,
not all fortunately for Fabio
By elio. Posted December 2 2008 at 5:23 PM.
you can't polish a T*RD, even if the Lord himself was manager, the side is still a team full of English players, and we all know that the English can't play football, funny how the English like to claim to have invented football, along with everything else under the sun, but they turn to the Italians for lessons on how to play?? what if, and its a HUGE what if, England should somehow make it to the final (cough, choke, cough) and they have to play Italy, where would Capellos allegiance lie? lets take a trip down the yellow brick road some more and fantasize that England has actually won the world cup!, it could not be seen as a true English victory in all seriousness, surely.
By P.Charles. Posted November 27 2008 at 3:26 AM.
Congrats to Capello on restructuring England and raising standards of professionality. That the substitute players performed so well in Germany is a tribute to the changed mentality of those competing for places.
I do not agree with all decisions, (who does), but it must be said there is an energy and committment that has not been seen for many years. There is still a need to learn to play more intelligently without the ball. Too much space given away and allowing unnecessary pressure to build for no reason.
Keep encouraging positive players like Walcott, and don't forget SWP, Lennon, who have the ability to stretch the play as well, and avoid narrow lines of congestion in the middle of the park.
Big leadership mistake to single out Gerard and not the other players who were absent. No one has more commitment than Stevie G, and also an insult by giving captaincy positions to two immature, fragile players
Overall, keep it up, but recognise the errors.
By PGilly1. Posted November 23 2008 at 12:45 PM.
A couple of points:
1. Capello INHERITED the famous Milan team. Van Basten, Gullit and Rijkaad etc were already there and winning Eurpoean Cups before he arrive. Sacchi was the man who created and built the famous Milan team of the 80s and 90s.
2. In both his periods at Madrid, Capello lasted no more than a season. His problem was his lack of success in the CL and his bad relations with the players.
OK, so he's a good coach, but don't exaggerate the situation. Anybody with a bit of gumption could have improved on what MaClaren was doing.
By tom. Posted November 23 2008 at 11:51 AM.
Not yet coach, not just yet
By Fred. Posted November 23 2008 at 10:08 AM.
take it easy Don Fab, England are a long way away from the milan team of 90-94 or the current Italian national team. without the Don they would be nothing!
By justin. Posted November 23 2008 at 12:57 AM.