Fabio Capello

Fabio Capello

Personal information
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	England (manager)

Fabio Capello (born 18 June 1946 in Pieris, San Canzian d'Isonzo, Gorizia) is an Italian football manager and former professional player. He is the current head coach of the England national football team, having started the role in January 2008, and is only the second foreigner to have managed the England side. Fabio Capello remains one of the succesful managers in world football.

Fabio 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.

At Real Madrid, he was criticized for not playing world-class players including David Beckham and Ronaldo on a regular basis. After some initial criticism of his tactics and having spent much of the season in second place, he captured the La Liga title on the last day by pipping Barcelona on head to head results. In spite of his success after years of Madrid underachievement, Real Madrid's president, Ramón Calderón, fired him in the summer of 2007.

After being appointed England manager on 14 December 2007, Capello announced 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, a customary role given to the English national coach.

Playing career

Capello, a midfielder, first played for SPAL, making his debut in 1964. Three seasons later he moved to Roma where he became a key player for the club and won his first trophy, the Italian Cup, in 1969. 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. He also played thirty two times for Italy; he is particularly remembered for a goal with which Italy beat England 1-0 at Wembley for the first time in its history which he himself regarded as the highlight of his playing career.

After several years as a football pundit for Italian TV 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 Serie A giants, and he was formally appointed as manager of AC Milan in 1991

Managerial career

Milan - first spell

Capello was AC Milan coach between 1991 and 1996, one of the club's greatest ever eras, later returning to the San Siro for a less sucsessful spell in 1997

Capello made his name as coach in the early 1990s at Milan, 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 AC Milan surrendered 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. 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 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

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

A.S. 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. However, his relationship with fans was soured when he was involved in a feud with popular Roma captain Francesco Totti. There was also a widespread beleif that he had done a secret deal to suceed Alex Ferguson at Manchester United. The final years of his tenure were also marred by accusations that he engineered the departure of several key players to sabotage the club, which led to the team plummeting near the bottom of Serie A and almost being relegated. To this day Capello is reviled by the vast majority of Roma fans. This is despite the fact that he led the club to their only Scudetto since 1983.

Juventus

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Capello in 1973, when he was a football player at Juventus

Capello left debt-ridden Roma to sign with Juventus, where he had played as a midfielder. 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 whatsoever 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.

Capello was criticized by Juventus captain Alessandro del Piero, as 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

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Capello had two seperate spells with the Spanish giants Real Madrid in 1997 and 2007 winning La Liga on both occasions

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 attacked those critics by saying that the beauty of attacking plays are old. He said that results are 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'.

At Real Madrid, Capello had several high-profile falling outs. He was criticized 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". This led to the young Italian being suspended by the club.

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

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 Madrid to the top of the table, while Barcelona'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 Beckham and brought on Jose 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 Madrid's pragmatic style of play at a club with recent memories of the individualistic and free-flowing, but ultimately unsuccessful, 'Galáctico' era. 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

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Capello was appointed as England's twelfth full time manager in 2008

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

After José 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 Rafa Benitez 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, 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 £6million. After being confirmed in the job he announced it would be his last in football. Capello announced on the day of his unveiling that it was a dream come true to manage the England national team and that he hopes to learn the English language in the next month prior to his first official meeting with the players.

Reaction in the media to Capello's appointment was largely positive. He 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. In Italy news of his appointment was greeted with a deal of pride that one of their countrymen had been selected to coach the founders of the game. Equally his arrival has generated some criticism, notably from FIFA President Sepp Blatter "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,"

England's first match with Capello as manager will be at Wembley against Switzerland on February 6, 2008. Another aspect that has caused a lot of interest is Capello's choice of captain. Several regular starters under Steve McClaren have admitted they are uncertain of their future selection. On 31 January 2008, it was confirmed that David Beckham will not be selected in Capello's debut squad, with the Italian citing 'Fitness reasons' for dropping the midfielder. Beckham has not played a professional game since England's last match on 21 November 2007. After recent Erratic form, Paul Robinson also missed out on the squad. As well as that, he handed call ups to two uncapped players: Curtis Davies and Gabriel Agbonlahor both of Aston Villa.

Best Coach EVER!! BIATCH

Management Style

Capello has acquired himself a reputation as one of Europe's leading club managers. He has won the league title with every club he has coached, and added a European Cup to his haul as well. It was unsurprising therefore, having expressed his interest in the job, that he became the The Football Association‘s top candidate to succeed Steve McClaren in 2007. Capello's approach is commonly described as being "conservative" and "disciplined". He tends to field teams with a strong emphasis on a solid defence and a cautious approach to the game.

With regard to his players Capello is unlikely to involve himself with their personal lives, though he demands a total commitment from them towards the job. During his time in management Capello has had a number of disputes with his players, often caused by his tendency towards plain-talking and he has repeatedly shown his disdain for prima donna players, often declining to select them if he is not satisfied with their attitude or performances.

Capello is also well known for his hard-headed practicality. A common example being his having the humility to bring back David Beckham into the Real Madrid first team, after he had previously dropped him - which arguably helped towards Real winning the La Liga title. His pragmatism is also evident in his willingness to adopt a professional approach towards matches, emphasising a strong defence and tight formation rather than free-flowing aesthetic football (despite the fact that it was exciting, attacking football that first won him his reputation when he was at AC Milan in the early Nineties). He does, however, allow his teams to revert to a more attacking style if he feels it is appropriate.

Art Collector

Capello is a self-confessed fine art enthusiast. Over the years he has acquired a number of works. His favourite artist is reportedly Wassily Kandinsky. Capello is also extremely fond of opera, and likes to spend his evenings listening to classical music.

Achievements

Capello has won the Scudetto nine times in his career. On four ocassions as a player, and five as a coach. A further two title wins with Juventus in 2005 and 2006 were later removed from the record books.

Player

• Scudetto: 1971/72, 1972/73, 1974/75 (Juventus); 1978/79 (Milan)
• Runner-up: 1973/74, 1974/75 (Juventus)
• Coppa Italia: 1968/69 (Roma); 1976/77 (Milan)
• Runner-up: 1972/73 (Juventus)
• European Cup Runner-up: 1972/73
• Anglo-Italian League Cup Runner-up: 1969

Coach

Italy:

• Scudetto: 1991/92, 1992/93, 1993/94, 1995/96 (Milan); 2000/01 (Roma), [2004/05, 2005/06 (Juventus) later removed]
• Runner-up: 2001/02, 2003/04 (Roma)
• UEFA Champions League: 1994 (Milan 4–0 Barcelona)
• Runner-up: 1993 (Marseille 1–0 Milan) 1995 (Ajax 1–0 Milan)
• European Super Cup: 1994 (Milan 2–0 Arsenal)
• Supercoppa Italiana: 1992, 1993, 1994 (Milan); 2001 (Roma)
• Runner-up: 2005 (Juventus)
• Coppa Italia Runner-up: 1997/98 (Milan); 2002/03 (Roma)

Spain:

• La Liga: 1996/97; 2006/07 (Real Madrid)

External links

• Fabio Capello management career statistics at Soccerbase
• BBC profile
• Fab choice for England?
• Fabio Capello FA profile