Equipped with the kind of record that speaks for itself and nearly two decades of managerial experience, Fabio Capello is the sixth manager to attempt to lead England to World Cup glory. The Italian as a reputation as one of the best tacticians around and has won domestic titles with every club he’s ever managed. Capello will surely have to call on these years of experience at the highest level as he seeks to plot England’s steady course through the rounds in South Africa.
Capello’s managerial career got off to a flying start at AC Milan, where he led the Rossoneri to the Scudetto four times in five seasons. Since then he has enjoyed success with Real Madrid, Roma and Juventus, collecting an incredible nine league titles in 15 years.
When he took over from Steve McLaren as England manager, Capello brought his years of experience to bear. He stamped his authority by introducing more intensive training and a number of new rules aimed at improving team spirit and making the squad more focused on winning. Nowhere was this new winning mentality more evident than in England’s impressive World Cup qualifying campaign. The Three Lions announced themselves serious tournament contenders by winning all but one of their World Cup qualifying games, scoring 34 goals in the process.
A strict disciplinarian and astute tactician, who is highly respected by his players, there are obvious parallels between Fabio Capello and England’s most successful manager, Alf Ramsey. Like England’s current boss, Ramsey thought the team was more important than the individual and refused to brook the notion of some players enjoying a special status. On one occasion, when some of England’s biggest names failed to return before a 10.30 curfew, he did not hesitate to take action, the players returning to their hotel rooms to find their passports waiting for them on their beds.
Like Ramsey, Bobby Robson made his name at Ipswich. Yet Bobby Robson was a different sort of manager to Ramsey and Capello. He enjoyed success at some of Europe’s top clubs, including Barcelona and Porto, motivating his players with his infectious enthusiasm for the game he loved. During his time as England manager, Robson took England to two World Cups and at Italia ’90 led the Three Lions to their most successful World Cup campaign since 1966.
With the experience of Steven Gerrard on the pitch and Capello off it, the England side look well-placed to emulate the success of Robson and Ramseu in South Africa.
