Fabio Capello (; born 18 June 1946) is an Italian former professional
football manager
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business.
Management includes the activitie ...
and player.
As a player, Capello represented
SPAL 1907,
Roma
Roma or ROMA may refer to:
Places Australia
* Roma, Queensland, a town
** Roma Airport
** Roma Courthouse
** Electoral district of Roma, defunct
** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council
* Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...
,
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...
and
Juventus. He played as a
midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
and won several trophies during his career which lasted over 15 years. He won the
Coppa Italia
The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since.
History
The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...
with Roma in 1969, though he was most successful with Juventus, winning three
Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...
titles in
1972,
1973 and
1975
It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe.
Events
January
* January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
. With Milan, he won the Coppa Italia again in 1977 and also won another Serie A in
1979. Capello also played internationally for Italy during his career, amassing 32 caps and scoring 8 goals.
In his first five seasons as a manager, Capello won four Serie A titles with Milan, where he also won the
1993–94 UEFA Champions League
The 1993–94 UEFA Champions League was the 39th season of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA's premier club football tournament, and the second season with the UEFA Champions League logo (it was adopted in the group stage and semi-finals, the res ...
, defeating
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
4–0 in a memorable
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
. He then spent a year at
Real Madrid, where he won the
La Liga
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Banco Santander, Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaL ...
title at his first attempt, and in 2001 led Roma to their first league title in 18 years. Capello also won two titles at Juventus (which were later stripped after the
''Calciopoli'' scandal), and in 2006 returned to Real Madrid, where he won another
La Liga title. Overall, he has won a major league championship in seven (or nine, counting the two revoked titles with Juventus) of his 16 seasons as a coach. He is regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time.
[The top 50 managers of all time](_blank)
''The Times''
Capello was appointed as manager of the
England national team in December 2007. During his time as manager, he was successful in tournament qualification, guiding the team to the
2010 FIFA World Cup
, image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg
, size = 200px
, caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...
, where they were knocked out in the second round, and
UEFA Euro 2012
The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...
, where they were knocked out in the quarter-finals under new manager
Roy Hodgson. In February 2012, he resigned as manager due to a dispute with
The Football Association, before being appointed coach of the Russia national team in July 2012. On 14 July 2015, he was sacked by the
Russian Football Union and replaced with
Leonid Slutsky. In 2017, he was appointed as the coach of Chinese club
Jiangsu Suning, but was sacked the following year, after which, he subsequently retired from coaching.
Club career
Capello was signed by
Paolo Mazza, the President of
SPAL, for the fee of two million
lire despite interest from
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...
. In his second season in the youth team, he helped the club win the Italian Youth Championship and made his first-team debut in a 3–1 away defeat against
Sampdoria in Serie A on 29 March 1964.
A talented and tactically intelligent
holding midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
, with a good positional sense, he could read the play well and was strong both in the air and in the tackle, in spite of his lack of notable height and unorthodox physique; he usually operated as a
deep-lying playmaker
In association football, a playmaker is a player who controls the flow of the team's play, and is often involved in offensively and defensively playing passing moves which lead to goals, through their vision, technique, ball control, creativi ...
in midfield, however, due to his outstanding technique and vision, which enabled him to orchestrate his team's attacking moves or create chances for teammates, and was an excellent passer of the ball with both feet. Going forward he was also equally effective, and possessed an eye for goal from midfield, due to his powerful and accurate shot, as well as his ability at
penalty kicks
A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...
, but he lacked pace, and was notorious for not being particularly hard-working.
With SPAL, he made four appearances for a struggling side that was relegated from
Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...
.
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 avoid a swift return to
Serie B
The Serie B (), currently named Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had been ...
. He was also called up to the Italian under-23 side alongside teammate
Edoardo Reja despite still being a teenager. However, injury to his left knee restricted him to just 16 appearances the following season.
In 1967, Capello moved to
Roma
Roma or ROMA may refer to:
Places Australia
* Roma, Queensland, a town
** Roma Airport
** Roma Courthouse
** Electoral district of Roma, defunct
** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council
* Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...
where he became a key player for the club. In his first season, he helped them to first place after eight matches, including scoring the winner in a 1–0 victory over
Juventus. A recurrence of the injury to his left knee, however, kept him out for the rest of the season and Roma eventually finished in tenth place, just five points away from relegation. The following season, under new manager
Helenio Herrera, a fit Capello scored six goals as Roma finished eighth and won his first major trophy, the
Coppa Italia
The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since.
History
The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...
. This qualified Roma to play the
Anglo-Italian League Cup, where they played
Swindon Town. Capello played in both legs against Swindon, Roma winning 2–1 at home in the first leg but losing 4–0 in the second leg at the
County Ground. They also reached the semi-finals of the
European Cup Winners' Cup, but were knocked out by Polish side
Górnik Zabrze after losing the deciding coin toss following three draws.
He was then sold to Juventus in 1970. He had a poor start to his time there, as he publicly criticised manager
Armando Picchi on the same day it was revealed that Picchi had been diagnosed with cancer. Capello escaped with a fine from the club after Picchi insisted that he not receive a suspension. Capello became an influential figure under new manager
Čestmír Vycpálek
Čestmír Vycpálek ( Prague, 15 May 1921 – Palermo, 5 May 2002) was a Czech football player and manager who played as a midfielder. He was an uncle of noted football manager Zdeněk Zeman.
Playing career
A good right winger, Vycpálek mov ...
, despite being only 24, and was assigned the
number 10 shirt
Squad numbers are used in association football to identify and distinguish players that are on the field. Numbers very soon became a way to also indicate position, with starting players being assigned numbers 1–11, although in the modern g ...
; he largely decided the team's tactics for the
1971 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Final against
Leeds United. Capello scored at the
Stadio Olimpico di Torino, but Juventus lost the tie on away goals. Juventus went on to win the league title in
1971–72,
1972–73 and
1974–75. They also reached the
1973 European Cup Final, where they were beaten 1–0 by the dominant "
Total Football" approach of
Ajax. They missed out on the chance of winning the double after losing to Milan on penalties in the 1973 Coppa Italia Final. Reaching the semi-finals of the
1974–75 UEFA Cup
The 1974–75 UEFA Cup was won by Borussia Mönchengladbach over Twente
Twente ( nl, Twente , Tweants dialect: ''Tweante'') is a region in the eastern Netherlands. It encompasses the most urbanised and easternmost part of the province of Over ...
, Juventus were surprisingly beaten by Dutch side
Twente
Twente ( nl, Twente , Tweants dialect: ''Tweante'') is a region in the eastern Netherlands. It encompasses the most urbanised and easternmost part of the province of Overijssel. Twente is most likely named after the Tuihanti or Tvihanti, a Ge ...
.
Juventus were concerned with Capello's knee injuries, and so traded him to Milan in exchange for
Romeo Benetti and 100 million lire in 1976. He missed just two league starts in the
1976–77 campaign playing under influential manager
Nils Liedholm. However, he was limited to just eight appearances in the
1978–79 title-winning season. He played just three games in the
1979–80 season before finally accepting that he was unable to continue as a professional footballer.
International career
Capello played 32 times for
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
between 1972 and 1978, scoring 8 goals; he made his international debut on 13 May 1972, in a 2–1 defeat to
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...
.
He is particularly remembered for a goal with which Italy beat
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
1–0 at
Wembley Stadium for the first time in its history (14 November 1973), which he himself regarded as the highlight of his playing career. Capello scored the lone goal for Italy against
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
during the
1974 World Cup
The 1974 FIFA World Cup was the tenth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in West Germany (and West Berlin) between 13 June and 7 July. The tournament marked the first time that ...
, though Italy lost the match 2–1 and failed to qualify for the second round of the competition. He was overlooked for the
1978 World Cup even after having good club form with Milan: the manager at that time,
Enzo Bearzot, preferred other
defensive-minded midfielders such as
Marco Tardelli over the more
attacking minded Capello.
Style of play
Regarded as one of the best Italian players of his generation, Capello was a talented, dynamic, energetic, and tactically intelligent
holding midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
, with a good positional sense and excellent intuition. He could read the play well and was strong both in the air and in the tackle, in spite of his lack of notable height and unorthodox physique; he usually played in the
centre
Center or centre may refer to:
Mathematics
*Center (geometry), the middle of an object
* Center (algebra), used in various contexts
** Center (group theory)
** Center (ring theory)
* Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...
of the pitch, however, where he operated as a
deep-lying playmaker
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundari ...
in midfield, due to his outstanding technique and vision, which enabled him to orchestrate his team's attacking moves or create chances for teammates, and was an excellent passer of the ball with both feet. In spite of his playing role, he was an offensive-minded midfielder: indeed, going forward he was also equally effective as he was creatively and defensively, and possessed an eye for goal from midfield, due to his powerful and accurate shot, as well as his ability at
penalty kicks
A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...
; his offensive movement and ability to make late runs into the area from behind also made him an offensive threat, but at the same time he lacked pace, and was notorious for not being particularly hard-working.
After retirement
After several years as a football pundit for Italian TV SPW and a brief spell as caretaker manager of Milan in 1987, Capello became a leading candidate to succeed
Arrigo Sacchi
Arrigo Sacchi (born 1 April 1946) is an Italian former professional football coach. He has twice managed AC Milan (1987–1991, 1996–1997), with great success. He won the Serie A title in his 1987–88 debut season and then dominated European ...
as coach of the team, and he was formally appointed as manager of Milan in 1991.
Managerial career
Early years
As a guest of the
SFA, Capello began coaching on a three-week visit to
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...
. He worked with
Craig Brown and
Andy Roxburgh
Andrew Roxburgh (born 5 August 1943) is a Scottish former football player and manager currently serving as an administrator. Roxburgh's entire professional playing career was spent in the Scottish Football League. After retiring as a player, he ...
in the early 1980s. Capello coached training sessions with
Clyde at
Shawfield
Shawfield is an industrial/commercial area of the Royal Burgh of Rutherglen in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located to the north of the town centre. It is bordered to the east by the River Clyde, to the north by the Glasgow neighbourhood of Oa ...
in
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...
and took charge of the
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...
youth team training in
Paisley.
Before going into management, Capello spent the early 1980s coaching the
Milan youth teams. Bringing through talent such as
Paolo Maldini and
Alessandro Costacurta, he led the under-19s to numerous youth tournament successes. He completed the last of his coaching badges in 1986. He was promoted to first team coach in 1987, and worked as Nils Liedholm's assistant. His first experience as a head coach was leading Milan in the last six games of the
1986–87 season, replacing Liedholm and achieving
UEFA Cup qualifications in a play-off with Sampdoria. The following season, however,
Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; born 29 September 1936) is an Italian media tycoon and politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy in four governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies f ...
hired
Arrigo Sacchi
Arrigo Sacchi (born 1 April 1946) is an Italian former professional football coach. He has twice managed AC Milan (1987–1991, 1996–1997), with great success. He won the Serie A title in his 1987–88 debut season and then dominated European ...
as the new ''Rossoneri'' manager and Capello stepped aside, but still worked for the club.
A student at
Coverciano, in 1984 he penned a research article entitled "The Zonal Marking System". While at Coverciano, Capello acted as general manager for a variety of sports, including
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
,
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...
,
volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...
and
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...
. After standing aside as manager, Berlusconi sent him on high-level business courses.
First spell at Milan
Capello replaced Sacchi as Milan manager in June 1991, and was a controversial appointment as he was seen as a Berlusconi "yes-man" compared to the demanding (both on the club's finances and on his players) but highly successful Sacchi. Capello largely retained the players and tactical systems put in place by Sacchi, though he replaced ageing
central midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
Carlo Ancelotti with a young
Demetrio Albertini and signed
goalkeeper
In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting ...
Sebastiano Rossi
Sebastiano Rossi (born 20 July 1964) is an Italian retired professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
During a 21-year professional career, he appeared in 346 Serie A games, most notably representing A.C. Milan (12 seasons) with which ...
.
Allowing for more creative freedom from his attackers, Milan won the
Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...
title undefeated in
1991–92.
He spent around £15 million on
winger Gianluigi Lentini, breaking the
world football transfer record
The following is a list of most expensive association football transfers, which details the highest transfer fees ever paid for players, as well as transfers which set new world transfer records. The first recorded record transfer was of Will ...
. He also signed
Fernando De Napoli,
Stefano Eranio,
Jean-Pierre Papin
Jean-Pierre Roger Guillaume Papin (born 5 November 1963) is a French football manager and former professional player who played as a forward. He was named the Ballon d'Or and IFFHS World's Top Goal Scorer of the Year in 1991. Papin was known fo ...
,
Dejan Savićević and
Zvonimir Boban. Already boasting talent such as
Marco van Basten,
Ruud Gullit,
Paolo Maldini and
Frank Rijkaard
Franklin Edmundo Rijkaard (; born 30 September 1962) is a Dutch former footballer and former manager who played as a defensive midfielder. Rijkaard played for Ajax, Real Zaragoza and AC Milan and represented the Netherlands national team side ...
, Capello was one of the first managers to introduce a squad rotation approach. He played Rijkaard and Albertini as deep-lying central midfielders, allowing his wingers more license to attack. Milan dominated the league in the
1992–93 season, defending the Serie A title,
and reached the
1993 UEFA Champions League final
The 1993 UEFA Champions League Final was a football match between French club Marseille and Italian club Milan, played on 26 May 1993 at the Olympiastadion in Munich.
The final, which followed the second-ever UEFA Champions League group sta ...
, losing to 1–0
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...
. Milan remained unbeaten for 58 league games, between 19 May 1991 and 21 March 1993, which included an entire season in the league, a record in Italian football. They were finally defeated 1–0 by
Parma
Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, music, art, prosciutto (ham), cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 inhabitants, Parma is the second m ...
after a goal from
Faustino Asprilla
Faustino Hernán Asprilla Hinestroza (born 10 November 1969) is a Colombian former professional footballer who most notably played for Parma, Newcastle United and the Colombia national team as a forward.
Club career Early years
After starting ...
.
Building for the
1993–94 season, Capello signed
Christian Panucci
Christian Panucci (; born 12 April 1973) is an Italian former footballer and manager. In his playing career he played as a defender. A versatile footballer, he began his career as a right-back, but was also capable of playing on the left; as he ...
,
Brian Laudrup,
Florin Răducioiu
Florin Valeriu Răducioiu (born 17 March 1970) is a Romanian former football striker, who played for Dinamo București, A.C. Milan, Brescia Calcio, West Ham United, RCD Espanyol, VfB Stuttgart and AS Monaco.
He played for Romania at the 1990 FI ...
and
Marcel Desailly. Playing the former
defender Desailly as a holding midfielder allowed the rest of the midfield to push on and attack.
His side lost 3–2 to
São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaW ...
in the
1993 Intercontinental Cup
The 1993 Intercontinental Cup was an association football match played on 12 December 1993 between Milan, runners-up of the 1992–93 UEFA Champions League, and São Paulo, winners of the 1993 Copa Libertadores. The match was played at the Natio ...
, but defended the Serie A title, the club's third consecutive ''
Scudetto'', and won the
1994 Champions League final with a 4–0 victory over
Johan Cruyff
Hendrik Johannes Cruijff (, internationally known as Johan Cruyff; 25 April 1947 – 24 March 2016) was a Dutch professional football player and manager. As a player, he won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1971, 1973 and 1974. Cruyff was a p ...
's
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
"Dream Team".
Due to injuries endured by several of the club's attacking stars, in particular Van Basten, Milan only scored 36 goals in 34 games in the league that season, but finished with the best defence in Italy, conceding just 15 goals. The club's back four at the time, primarily made up by
Mauro Tassotti,
Franco Baresi
Franchino Baresi (; born 8 May 1960) is an Italian football youth team coach and a former player and manager. He mainly played as a sweeper or as a central defender, and spent his entire 20-year career with Serie A club AC Milan, captaining ...
,
Alessandro Costacurta and Paolo Maldini, is regarded as one of the greatest defences of all time; the club's defensive strength under Capello helped Milan's goalkeeper Rossi achieve the
longest streak without conceding a goal in Serie A history during the 1993–94 season: in an 11-match span, from 12 December 1993 to 27 February 1994, Milan's defence went unbeaten for 929 consecutive minutes. The record was broken by Juventus'
Gianluigi Buffon during the
2015–16 season.
With Van Basten and Papin gone, Capello recalled Ruud Gullit from Sampdoria and signed winger
Paolo Di Canio as Milan struggled at the start of the
1994–95 season, losing in the
1994 Intercontinental Cup
The 1994 Intercontinental Cup was an association football match played on 1 December 1994, between Milan, winners of the 1993–94 UEFA Champions League, and Vélez Sársfield, winners of the 1994 Copa Libertadores. The match was played at the N ...
to
Vélez Sársfield. However, they beat
Arsenal in the
1994 European Super Cup, and reached their
third consecutive Champions League final in 1995, where they were defeated by Ajax. They finished the league campaign in fourth place, however, failing to qualify for the Champions League the following season.
Building for the
1995–96 season, Milan signed strikers
George Weah and
Roberto Baggio, as well as winger
Paulo Futre; this created a selection problem as Capello already had several
forwards and wingers in his squad, including Di Canio, Lentini, Savićević, Eranio,
Roberto Donadoni and
Marco Simone. Capello, however, was once again able to implement a squad rotation policy successfully, and even modified Milan's
4–4–2 formation at times, introducing an attacking trident in which the lone
striker Weah was supported by Baggio and Savićević, thus allowing the two playmakers to play alongside each other.
That season, Milan won the league title by an eight-point margin.
First spell at Real Madrid
Capello was unveiled as the new
Real Madrid coach in
1996. A major task was combining the attacking talents of
Davor Šuker,
Predrag Mijatović and
Raúl in a single team, which Capello did by playing a three-man attack, in spite of his reputation for cautious and defensive football. A simple but effective tactic would be the long ball from defender
Fernando Hierro
Fernando Ruiz Hierro (; born 23 March 1968) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a centre-back, sweeper or defensive midfielder. He is the current sporting director of Liga MX club C.D. Guadalajara.
He won five La Liga ...
to a sprinting
Roberto Carlos, who would be supported on the left by Mijatović and Raúl; Roberto Carlos would then have the option of either going to goal or passing to Šuker, Mijatović or Raúl.
He had a single season in charge of Real guiding the club to the
Spanish league title in
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...
. Real managed to edge out their bitter rivals 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 Šuker, Mijatović, Roberto Carlos and
Clarence Seedorf
Clarence Clyde Seedorf (; born 1 April 1976) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player. He is regarded by many to be one of the best midfielders of his generation.
Seedorf is considered one of the most successful players in U ...
who helped the club establish their Champions League dominance over the next few years. Despite his success, he fell out with chairman
Lorenzo Sanz
Lorenzo Sanz Mancebo (9 August 1943 – 21 March 2020) was a Spanish businessman who was the 14th President of Real Madrid and a former owner of Málaga CF.
Early life
He was born in August 1943 in a humble family in Madrid, being the eldest o ...
and was not popular with fans or the Spanish press for "demoting" Raúl to the left-wing.
Second spell at Milan
Despite a belief by the
Lazio
it, Laziale
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demographics1_title2 ...
owner
Sergio Cragnotti that Capello had made a verbal agreement to coach his club, Capello instead returned to Milan for a brief and less successful spell.
Some of the previous squad had departed, and others such as
Franco Baresi
Franchino Baresi (; born 8 May 1960) is an Italian football youth team coach and a former player and manager. He mainly played as a sweeper or as a central defender, and spent his entire 20-year career with Serie A club AC Milan, captaining ...
were coming to the end of their careers. The squad had to be extensively rebuilt, and high quality signings such as
Patrick Kluivert,
Leonardo
Leonardo is a masculine given name, the Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese equivalent of the English, German, and Dutch name, Leonard.
People
Notable people with the name include:
* Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519), Italian Renaissance scientist ...
,
Winston Bogarde
Winston Lloyd Bogarde (born 22 October 1970) is a Dutch retired professional footballer, and was the assistant coach at Ajax. He was known for his physical strength, and played mostly as a central defender although he could occasionally play as ...
,
Christian Ziege,
André Cruz and
Ibrahim Ba did not gel. The team managed to win just 11 games all season, with a particular low occurring in March 1998 when they lost 4–1 to Juventus and Capello was sent off for protesting a decision by the referee. This was followed by a 5–0 defeat to Roma in May.
Milan finished the
1997–98 Serie A season in tenth place, 30 points behind the champions Juventus, by which time Capello had already departed the club. Some of the players suggested that Capello had instituted a more lax training regime than he had in his previous spell. A run in the
Coppa Italia
The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since.
History
The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...
ended when Milan were beaten in the
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
by Lazio 3–2 on aggregate, despite taking a 1–0 lead in the first leg. Capello took credit for Milan's title win the following season claiming, as he had rebuilt the side, that it was "my team".
Roma
Following his dismissal at Milan, Capello took a short break from coaching. He told a reporter that he "sat on a beach and thought about football". He also enjoyed a spell as a
colour commentator for Italian television, participating in coverage of the
1999 Copa América
The 1999 Copa América was a football tournament held in Paraguay, from 29 June to 18 July. It was organized by CONMEBOL, South America's football governing body.
There was no qualifying for the final tournament. Mexico and Japan were invited t ...
. In May 1999, he moved to Roma, the club he had first joined as a player 30 years prior. His arrival was hailed by Roma president
Franco Sensi, who said, "Capello is a winner and I believe in him." Capello was joined by
Franco Baldini
Franco Baldini (born 3 October 1960) is an Italian former professional footballer and former technical director for English club Tottenham Hotspur of the Premier League.
Playing career
Born in Reggello, Baldini most notably played for Bari and ...
, who became the club's sporting director. Capello built his side around
Marco Delvecchio
Marco Delvecchio (; born 7 April 1973) is a retired Italian footballer, who played as a forward. Although he played for several Italian clubs throughout his career, he spent most of it at A.S. Roma, where he is still remembered by the club's fa ...
, sometimes leaving
Vincenzo Montella
Vincenzo Montella (; born 18 June 1974) is an Italian retired footballer and current manager, who played as a striker. He is current manager of Süper Lig club Adana Demirspor.
Montella's nickname during his playing career was "Aeroplanino", i ...
on the bench. Believing his squad lacked a world-class striker, Capello made a move to sign
Ruud van Nistelrooy
Rutgerus Johannes Martinus van Nistelrooij (anglicised to Van Nistelrooy; born 1 July 1976) is a Dutch professional football coach and former player. He is currently the coach of PSV Eindhoven.
A former footballer, Van Nistelrooy is often consi ...
, but the deal was wrecked following a serious injury. His first season saw Roma finish sixth, made particularly disappointing as cross-city rivals Lazio won the title, and they were knocked out of the UEFA Cup by Leeds United.
Capello's breakthrough at the club occurred when he won the
2000–01 Serie A
The 2000–01 Serie A (known as the Serie A TIM for sponsorship reasons) was the 99th season of top-tier Italian football, the 69th in a round-robin tournament. It was contested by 18 teams, for the 13th consecutive season since 1988–89.
Ro ...
title, having signed
Walter Samuel to strengthen his defence, and
Gabriel Batistuta
Gabriel Omar Batistuta (; born 1 February 1969) is an Argentine former professional footballer. During his playing career, Batistuta was nicknamed Batigol () as well as El Ángel Gabriel (; Spanish for ''Angel Gabriel''). Regarded as one of the ...
as a main goalscorer. Although the large fee for Batistuta was initially questioned, the Argentine striker scored a number of vital goals. With Roma, Capello switched from his trademark 4–4–2 to an aggressive
3–4–1–2 formation, which allowed the club's star playmaker and captain
Francesco Totti to function in his preferred role as an attacking midfielder, while
Cafu and
Vincent Candela served as attack-minded
wing-backs on the flanks.
The season began in difficult fashion with Roma struggling for form and an angry fans protest at the club's Trigoria training complex which turned violent when players cars were attacked. Capello resisted calls for his resignation, and the team's results dramatically improved helped by the performances of the Brazilian midfielder
Emerson. The title was sealed with a 3–1 victory over Parma at the
Stadio Olimpico on 17 June, prompting a major
pitch invasion by the Roma supporters. Capello was praised for fielding Montella, a player he had had a bust-up with just days before due to the fact that he often substituted him for tactical reasons in the second half, in the final match of the season; Montella, along with Totti and Batisuta went on to score in the title-deciding victory.
That was Roma's first major honour in a decade and only the third time ever that they had been crowned champions of Italy. Following the title win there was also a widespread belief that he had done a secret deal to succeed
Sir Alex Ferguson at
Manchester United. Ferguson had announced his decision to retire, with Capello a leading candidate to replace him allegedly going so far as to meet with the Manchester United chairman
Martin Edwards. Capello did little to dispel the rumours when he remarked, "I like the spirit of English football and I would like to work in English football", adding that it was an honour to be pursued by the club.
Capello's link with United eventually came to nothing after Ferguson abandoned his decision to retire and signed a new contract, with Martin Edwards claiming that United had been three or four days away from appointing a new manager, believed to be Capello, when Ferguson changed his mind. The
2001–02 season developed into a battle between Roma and Juventus. After a heated encounter between the teams, Capello used an interview to criticise Luciano Moggi from Juventus, particularly their dealings with players
agent
Agent may refer to:
Espionage, investigation, and law
*, spies or intelligence officers
* Law of agency, laws involving a person authorized to act on behalf of another
** Agent of record, a person with a contractual agreement with an insuranc ...
s.
Capello signed a new contract in April 2002, worth £2.37 million a season. One of the highlights of the season was a 5–1 win over rivals Lazio which saw Vincenzo Montella score four goals. The defence of the title, however, was dealt a major blow when the club drew with bottom-placed
Venezia, as Roma finished second in the table behind Juventus by a single point. The following season Roma failed to maintain a serious challenge, and finished in eighth.
Their Champions League ambitions were also ended following a defeat and a draw against Arsenal which saw them finish bottom of their group. Once again, it had been English opposition that had thwarted Roma in Europe. Roma lost the
Coppa Italia final to Milan, with Capello particularly angered by supporters who waved banners calling on him to go. Capello's final year at Roma began well with the team playing much better football. They went on a seven-game winning streak before Christmas, including comfortable victories over Juventus and
Internazionale. This led to speculation linking him with Juventus, despite his past differences with
Luciano Moggi
Luciano Moggi ( born 10 July 1937) is a former Italian association football administrator. He was a club executive for Roma, Lazio, Torino, S.S.C. Napoli, Napoli, and Juventus, leading them to win six leagues (five with Juventus and one with Na ...
. Capello believed he had taken Roma as far as he could, and began to seriously considered a move. In the run-in, the club's form dipped and they ended up finishing 11 points behind champions Milan.
Juventus
In 2004, Capello left debt-ridden Roma to sign with Juventus. His move came as a surprise because he had kept it such a secret, and because he had been engaged in a war of words with Luciano Moggi. One of Capello's first moves was to sign Emerson from Roma, further angering many of his critics who believed he had betrayed Roma. Capello's Juventus reached the quarter-finals of the
2004–05 and
2005–06 Champions Leagues before being eliminated by
Liverpool
Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
and Arsenal respectively. Juventus also won the
2004–05 and
2005–06 ''
Scudetti'' under Capello's leadership, but were later stripped off their trophies due to the team's involvement in the
2006 Serie A scandal.
In July 2006, with Juventus in the midst of the aforementioned 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.
Second spell at Real Madrid
In
2006, Capello arrived in Madrid to a Real 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
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
, 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 criticised for not playing
David Beckham because of his contract wranglings and
Ronaldo
Ronaldo is a Portuguese given name equivalent to the English Ronald. It became a common name in all Portuguese-speaking countries, being also prevalent in Italy and Spanish-speaking countries. People
Notable people known as Ronaldo include:
As ...
, who struggled for fitness and form. Capello also feuded with his compatriot
Antonio Cassano; the two had previously had disputes at Roma.
In March, 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 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
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
Substitution may refer to:
Arts and media
*Chord substitution, in music, swapping one chord for a related one within a chord progression
*Substitution (poetry), a variation in poetic scansion
* "Substitution" (song), a 2009 song by Silversun Pic ...
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, ''
Galácticos
' (Spanish for ''galactics, referring to superstars) are expensive, world-famous football players'' recruited during the "''galácticos''" policy pursued during Florentino Pérez's presidency at Real Madrid, where in his first tenure between 2000 ...
'' era.
England
Capello was formally appointed as manager of the
England national team on 14 December 2007.
He began his day-to-day role on 7 January 2008 on a four-and-a-half-year deal. His annual pay was claimed to be £6 million.
After being confirmed for 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 hoped to learn the English language in the following month prior to his first official meeting with the players.
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. 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 national team. His arrival also generated some criticism, notably from then
FIFA
FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
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."
England's first match with Capello as manager was at
Wembley Stadium against
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
on 6 February 2008. On 31 January 2008, it was confirmed that a number of senior players including
Sol Campbell
Sulzeer Jeremiah Campbell (born 18 September 1974) is an English professional football manager and former player who was most recently the manager of club Southend United. He previously managed Macclesfield Town from November 2018 to August ...
and David Beckham had not been selected for Capello's debut squad. Goalkeeper
Paul Robinson was also dropped after recent erratic form. Debut call-ups were handed to two players:
Curtis Davies and
Gabriel Agbonlahor, both of
Aston Villa.
Jermaine Jenas and
Shaun Wright-Phillips
Shaun Cameron Wright-Phillips (born 25 October 1981) is an English former professional footballer who played as a winger. He played in the Premier League and Football League for Manchester City, Chelsea and Queens Park Rangers, in Major Leagu ...
scored in England's 2–1 win at Wembley. England lost their second match under Capello, an international friendly against
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. England lost the game 1–0 after a
Franck Ribéry penalty.
Capello's third game in charge was against the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
on 28 May 2008. England won the game 2–0 thanks to goals from
John Terry
John George Terry (born 7 December 1980) is an English professional football coach and former player who played as a centre-back. He was previously captain of Chelsea, the England national team and Aston Villa. He was most recently the assi ...
and
Steven Gerrard
Steven George Gerrard (born 30 May 1980) is an English professional football manager and former player, who most recently managed club Aston Villa. Described by pundits and fellow professionals as one of his generation's greatest players, ...
. On 1 June 2008, England beat
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...
3–0. Capello had been rotating the
captaincy around several senior players during his first few matches in charge. On 19 August 2008, he announced that John Terry would be named the permanent captain. On 20 August 2008, England drew 2–2 with the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
after goals from
Wes Brown and
Joe Cole.
World Cup qualification
England opened Capello's first competitive campaign with a 2–0 victory over
Andorra
, image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg
, symbol_type = Coat of arms
, national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none (Latin)"United virtue is stro ...
, in
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
, on 6 September 2008. Four days later, on 10 September, England played
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capi ...
, the team that had qualified for the
previous competition at their expense. England won 4–1 with
Theo Walcott scoring a hat-trick. The next qualification game was at Wembley just over a month later, on 11 October, against
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
. The game remained goalless at half-time, but England went on to win 5–1. A fourth-straight win on 15 October made this England's best ever start to a World Cup qualifying campaign as they beat
Belarus
Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...
3–1. England rounded off 2008 by beating
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
2–1 on 19 November. Goals from Terry and
Matthew Upson
Matthew James Upson (born 18 April 1979) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre back. Upson played for England at full international level including at the 2010 World Cup.
Upson started his career with Bedfordshire ...
secured the victory.
In the spring of 2009, England fell to a 2–0 defeat against reigning
European champions Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, ...
and beating
Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...
4–0. In the summer of 2009, England played another friendly against the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, coming back from 2–0 down to secure a 2–2 draw away from home.
Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...
were beaten 2–1 in Wembley in the same year. England resumed their qualification campaign by beating
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...
2–1, on 1 April 2009, at Wembley. On 6 June, they travelled to
Almaty
Almaty (; kk, Алматы; ), formerly known as Alma-Ata ( kk, Алма-Ата), is the largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of about 2 million. It was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1929 to 1936 as an autonomous republic as part of ...
and beat
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
4–0, and four days later, they returned to Wembley and to beat Andorra again 6–0, making it seven wins out of seven in the qualification campaign. A notable feature of the campaign was the goalscoring form of
Wayne Rooney: eight in seven games.
With two in the friendly against Slovakia in March 2009, Rooney had scored ten goals in eight England games. On 9 September 2009, Capello successfully guided England to qualification to the 2010 World Cup following a 5–1 win at home to Croatia. England's hopes of a 100% record in their 2010 qualifying campaign were ended with a 0–1 defeat in Ukraine in the final away match. However, a 3–0 victory over Belarus confirmed England as the
top scorers in the UEFA zone with 34 goals, 6 ahead of second top scorers Spain. In November 2009, England were beaten 1–0 by
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
in
Qatar
Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...
, Capello's third defeat as England manager.
2010 World Cup
In March 2010, England played a friendly against
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...
and beat the
African champions 3–1. Two months later, in the last home match before the World Cup, they beat
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...
by the same scoreline. In May 2010, England played a friendly against
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
at
UPC-Arena,
Graz
Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popula ...
, and won 2–1. The two goals conceded by Japan were both own goals by
Marcus Tanaka and
Yuji Nakazawa. After constant speculation linking him with the vacant managerial post at
Internazionale, on 2 June 2010 Capello committed himself to the England job until at least after
Euro 2012
The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...
. England's build-up to the World Cup started badly, with John Terry being stripped of the captaincy by Capello after his involvement in a tabloid scandal in February 2010.
Terry's successor as captain,
Rio Ferdinand
Rio Gavin Ferdinand (born 7 November 1978) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre-back, and is now a television pundit for BT Sport. He played 81 times for the England national team between 1997 and 2011, and w ...
, was injured in a training session prior to England's opening match, resulting in his withdrawal from the squad. England drew the first game 1–1 with the United States due to an error by goalkeeper
Robert Green, after which Capello declared the tournament
Adidas Jabulani ball was "impossible to control". This was followed by a poor display against
Algeria
)
, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Algiers
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, relig ...
leading to a 0–0 draw and widespread criticism of both Capello and the England team. On 23 June, Capello led England into the round of 16 of the World Cup after they beat Slovenia 1–0. However, they were beaten in their first knockout match 4–1 by Germany.
With Germany leading 2–1,
Frank Lampard
Frank James Lampard (born 20 June 1978) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Everton. He is widely regarded as one of Chelsea’s greatest ever players, and one of the greatest midfielde ...
scored a 20-yard strike. However, even though the ball clearly bounced a full yard over the German goal-line, all the match officials failed to see it and did not award a goal. As England pressed forward in the second half, they conceded two counter-attack goals. Nevertheless, England's performance led to much criticism from fans, the media, and pundits alike. After England's elimination, Capello was criticized for imposing a strict military regime at England's
Bloemfontein training camp, and not allowing his senior players to have tactical input. His 4–4–2 formation was derided as "outdated" with
Steven Gerrard
Steven George Gerrard (born 30 May 1980) is an English professional football manager and former player, who most recently managed club Aston Villa. Described by pundits and fellow professionals as one of his generation's greatest players, ...
's positioning on the left of midfield also criticized.
Capello's squad selection was questioned, with the selection of an unfit
Ledley King
Ledley Brenton King (born 12 October 1980) is a former player who was a one-club man, spending his entire career at Tottenham Hotspur and playing 323 competitive matches for the club from 1999 to 2012. He is currently a club ambassador for Tot ...
and out of form
Emile Heskey, as well as the surprising omission of Theo Walcott also coming under fire. Capello's indecision over his starting goalkeeper was cited as a reason for Robert Green's error in England's opening match with the U.S. On 2 July 2010,
The Football Association (FA) announced that Capello would remain as the manager of the England national team following speculation over his future following the World Cup.
Euro 2012 qualification
England kicked off their Euro 2012
qualifying campaign with two wins, 4–0 against
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
and 3–1 away against Switzerland, yet could only draw 0–0 against group leaders
Montenegro
)
, image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Podgorica
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, official_languages = ...
at Wembley. Capello made some changes afterwards, with Ferdinand and Gerrard out of the picture. John Terry was reinstated as captain to much criticism. The traditional 4–4–2 was transformed to 4–3–3, with
Darren Bent as
centre forward and Rooney as a
left-sided forward. The result was successful, as England beat
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
2–0 at the
Millennium Stadium on 26 March 2011. England's next game was at Wembley against Switzerland on 4 June 2011, which they recovered from a 0–2 deficit to draw 2–2 with goals from Frank Lampard and
Ashley Young.
After a narrow 1–0 win against Wales at Wembley, Capello claimed that several England players were "mentally fragile" and suggested he intended to reinvent his squad once Euro 2012 qualification had been sealed. On 7 October 2011, England qualified for the European Championships with a 2–2 draw in
Montenegro
)
, image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Podgorica
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, official_languages = ...
.
England completed their campaign with a record of five wins, three draws and no defeats. England completed an unbeaten 2011 with 1–0 friendly victories over Spain and
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...
in November 2011. Capello resigned on 8 February 2012 following the FA's removal of the captaincy from John Terry.
Russia
On 26 July 2012, Capello became manager of the
Russia national team, following the resignation of
Dick Advocaat. His first game in charge was a 1–1 draw with
Ivory Coast. Capello's first competitive game in charge of Russia was the opening match of the
2014 World Cup qualification campaign, a 2–0 victory at home to
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...
. He led Russia into the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification finals, finishing first in
Group F. In January 2014, Capello committed his future to the Russia national team until the end of the
2018 World Cup in Russia.
At the
2014 World Cup, Russia were knocked out at the
group stage, finishing third after a 1–1 draw against Algeria in their final match. During qualifying for
UEFA Euro 2016, Capello had six games as the head coach of Russia with results: two wins, two draws and two losses. On 14 June 2015, Russia lost 1–0 to
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
. Thereafter, on 14 July 2015, Capello was sacked as Russian manager.
Jiangsu Suning and retirement
On 11 June 2017, Capello signed a contract with Chinese club
Jiangsu Suning. The club finished as the 12th (out of 16 teams) in
2017 Chinese Super League. On 28 March 2018, Capello was sacked after only 3 games into the new season. In April, later that year, he officially announced that he had retired from coaching.
Style of management
Considered to be one of the greatest and most successful football managers of all time,
Capello has been described as being a "pragmatic" coach, and is known for his tactical versatility and ability to adapt his formations to tactical systems which best suit his players. Nicknamed ''
Don Fabio'' by the Spanish media during his time with Real Madrid,
while he has drawn praise for his success, tactical awareness, and effectiveness as a manager, as well as for often developing several promising young players, he also drawn criticism at times from both players and pundits for being overly strict and defensive minded as a coach, which has led to many well-publicised disagreements with several of his players.
Capello has described his own coaching philosophy as one of copying and developing. He has also occasionally been criticised by pundits for his perceived arrogance and stubbornness as a manager.
In 2008, when writing for ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...
'', David Lacey likened Capello to
Alf Ramsey
Sir Alfred Ernest Ramsey (22 January 1920 – 28 April 1999) was an English football player and manager. As a player, he represented the England national team and captained the side, but he is best known for his time as England manager f ...
for their shared belief in the importance of a solid defensive base, while also praising him for his ability to identify a problem and deal with it in a quick and successful manner, his ability to command respect in the dressing room and maintain a professional attitude with his players, and his ability to manage press conferences effectively.
In his highly successful first spell with Milan, Capello retained many of the players and the 4–4–2 tactical system put in place by Sacchi,
although his style of management was less demanding and rigorous than Sacchi's, which initially gave his forwards more creative freedom to attack; he also introduced several younger players into the first team.
In subsequent seasons, following injuries to several attacking players, he adopted a more conservative
4–1–4–1 formation, in which the team's strong defensive line, further protected by Desailly, a former
centre back who was converted to a holding midfielder by Capello, provided the foundation for much of the team's success, and also gave the wingers and more creative, offensive-minded midfielders licence to attack.
In the final season of his first spell at the club, Capello often rotated several of the team's attacking players in order to get the best out of each them without offsetting the balance within the team; he also abandoned the club's trademark 4–4–2 formation for a 4–3–2–1 formation at times, featuring an attacking trident that allowed the team's two offensive playmakers, Baggio and Savićević, to play alongside each other, behind the club's main striker Weah.
In his first spell with Real Madrid, Capello once again built a title-winning side based on a strong defence and an efficient playing style, but also fielded three strikers – Šuker, Mijatović, and Raúl – while promoting several other promising young players to the first team. A key component of the team's success was the club's new left-back Roberto Carlos, who excelled at making overlapping attacking runs to beat the opposition's defensive line and get on the end of Hierro's long balls from the back; the role gave him the freedom to either run on goal or look to deliver the ball to one of the team's strikers. He was also criticised in the media, however, for using striker Raúl as a left winger at times.
During the 2000–01 title-winning season with Roma, Capello adopted a 3–4–1–2 formation, which made use of a three-man back-line and attacking wing-backs (Cafu and Candela), while Totti operated as the team's advanced playmaker behind a main striker and a more mobile, creative forward; the offensive trio was supported by two hard-working and aggressive defensive minded midfielders, namely Emerson, and
Damiano Tommasi.
Following the purchase of talented youngster Cassano the next season, Capello switched to a
3–5–2 formation.
At Juventus, Capello rejected the club's board members' requests to field a three-man front line and once again reverted to his preferred 4–4–2 formation. Capello won consecutive league titles, and put together a balanced and efficient side which was built upon a strong and highly organised back-line, which was further supported by two dynamic, defensive-minded
box-to-box midfielders in the
centre
Center or centre may refer to:
Mathematics
*Center (geometry), the middle of an object
* Center (algebra), used in various contexts
** Center (group theory)
** Center (ring theory)
* Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...
, such as
Manuele Blasi
Manuele Blasi (; born 17 August 1980) is an Italian former professional footballer who played a midfielder and now works as a coach.
Club career
Primarily a central midfielder, Blasi made his Serie A debut for A.S. Roma in a match against Piace ...
,
Stephen Appiah
Stephen Leroy Appiah ( ; born 24 December 1980) is a Ghanaian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Appiah was a member of the Ghana national team, which he has represented at the youth, Olympic, and senior levels. He capt ...
,
Alessio Tacchinardi, Emerson, and later
Patrick Vieira
Patrick Vieira (born 23 June 1976) is a French professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Crystal Palace. He is widely considered as one of the greatest midfielders of his generation. Vieira began his career at ...
, who both alternated defensive and playmaking duties in midfield; the team's attacking wingers,
Pavel Nedvěd and
Mauro Camoranesi, were required both to drop back defensively and also assist the strikers from an offensive standpoint. Capello usually partnered the team's main striker
David Trezeguet alongside the emerging
Zlatan Ibrahimović up-front, with the latter playing in a more
creative role, while the team's captain,
Alessandro Del Piero
Alessandro Del Piero (; born 9 November 1974) is an Italian former professional footballer who mainly played as a deep-lying forward, although he was capable of playing in several offensive positions. Since 2015, he has worked as a pundit fo ...
, was used mostly as a substitute. Capello also introduced several younger players into the squad, such as the Romanian striker
Adrian Mutu, and left-back
Giorgio Chiellini
Giorgio Chiellini (; born 14 August 1984) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Major League Soccer club Los Angeles FC. Considered one of the best defenders of his generation, Chiellini is known for his strengt ...
; the latter's performances later prompted Capello to bench
Jonathan Zebina and shift left-back
Gianluca Zambrotta to right-back, in order to accommodate the youngster into the first team.
In his second spell with Real Madrid, Capello implemented a
4–2–3–1 formation, which made use of two defensive-minded
full-backs, two defensive midfielders, and two wingers who also often tracked back; however, as a result, the club's main striker, Ruud van Nistelrooy, was often isolated, while the team's efficient playing style was described as being boring in the media, and Capello was frequently derided for his overly defensive tactics. Despite the criticism he endured, Capello made several bold decisions which allowed several talented players to co-exist, benching Ronaldo, and reinstating David Beckham into the starting line-up, as well as Brazilian forward
Robinho, Spanish midfielder
Guti, and centre-back
Iván Helguera
Iván Helguera Bujía (; born 28 March 1975) is a Spanish former professional footballer.
Playing as either a central defender or defensive midfielder, with both good defensive and offensive skills, he represented five clubs during his professi ...
, who were initially out of favour with the manager at the start of the season. He was also able to get the best out of new signings Ruud van Nistelrooy, Emerson,
Mahamadou Diarra
Mahamadou Diarra (born 18 May 1981) is a Malian former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He served as captain for the Mali national team.
Club career OFI Crete
Diarra started his professional career at Greek club ...
, and
Fabio Cannavaro, despite their poor form at the beginning of the season. He was consequently was able to create an organised, determined, and unified team environment through his disciplined and pragmatic approach; he ultimately led the club to an eight match unbeaten streak to come back from behind and claim the Liga title, although he was sacked at the end of the season.
Personal life
Capello was born in
San Canzian d'Isonzo near Gorizia, in north-eastern Italy, in what was then the
Allied-occupied Zone A of the
Julian March. His parents were Guerrino and Evelina Capello. Capello is a devout Catholic who prays twice a day, and he has expressed admiration for
Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereig ...
.
His father, a schoolteacher, played football, and his uncle
Mario Tortul was also a football player; for
Triestina
Unione Sportiva Triestina Calcio 1918, commonly referred to as Triestina, is an Italian football club based in Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Originally founded in 1918, the club has been re-established several times in its history. As of the ...
,
Padova, Sampdoria and the Italy national team during the 1960s. Capello has spent his entire adult life working in football.
He has been married to his wife Laura, whom he first met on a bus as a teenager, for over 40 years. He is represented by his son Pier Filippo, who acts as his agent. In January 2008,
Italian police announced that they were launching an investigation into tax irregularities by Capello. The probe, however, has been dismissed as routine by Capello's spokesmen, who said this was part of a wider investigation into a number of wealthy Italians. The FA revealed that they had known about the upcoming probe when they had appointed Capello, and expected no charges to be brought.
Capello is a
fine art
In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwor ...
enthusiast. His
art collection is estimated to be worth £10 million. His favourite artist is reportedly
Wassily Kandinsky.
Capello is also known for his right–wing political views, despite having previously been a self–described "socialist" in the 1960s, and subsequently a long–time supporter of the
Christian Democrats
__NOTOC__
Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social tea ...
; he was later a long–time supporter of Silvio Berlusconi and his centre–right party
Forza Italia. He attracted controversy when he expressed admiration for Spanish dictator
Francisco Franco in 2006 and the "legacy of order" he believed him to have left in Spain. He later distanced himself from these comments, however, stating that he did not intend to praise dictatorships. In 2002 he also admitted to having voted for the Northern Italian right–wing separatist political party
La Lega once in the past, as well as the
Italian Socialist Party
The Italian Socialist Party (, PSI) was a socialist and later social-democratic political party in Italy, whose history stretched for longer than a century, making it one of the longest-living parties of the country.
Founded in Genoa in 189 ...
and the
Republicans in his youth. He has rejected the label of a "conservative," however, noting that he supported the trade unions, stating: "I have great respect for all they have done to alleviate the exploitation of workers."
Career statistics
Player
Club
International
Manager
Honours
As a player
;SPAL
*
Serie B
The Serie B (), currently named Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had been ...
promotion:
1964–65
;Roma
*
Coppa Italia
The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since.
History
The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...
:
1968–69
;Juventus
*
Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...
:
1971–72,
1972–73,
1974–75
;Milan
*
Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...
:
1978–79
*
Coppa Italia
The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since.
History
The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...
:
1976–77
As a coach
;Milan
*
Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...
:
1991–92,
1992–93,
1993–94,
1995–96
*
Supercoppa Italiana:
1992,
1993,
1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nels ...
*
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
:
1993–94
*
European Super Cup:
1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nels ...
;Real Madrid
*
La Liga
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Banco Santander, Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaL ...
:
1996–97,
2006–07
;Roma
*
Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...
:
2000–01
*
Supercoppa Italiana:
2001
;Juventus
*
Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...
:
2004–05 (Revoked),
2005–06 (Revoked)
Individual
*
Panchina d'Oro Panchina d'Oro ( en, Golden Bench) is a yearly award given to the best Italian association football coaches of the Serie A. The Golden Bench is also awarded to the best men's Serie C and women's Serie A coaches as well as the best coaches in men' ...
: 1991–92, 1993–94, 1997, 2000–01
*
Serie A Coach of the Year: 2005
*
BBC Sports Personality of the Year Coach Award
The BBC Sports Personality of the Year Coach Award is an award given annually as part of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremony each December. The award is given to the coach who was considered to have made the most substantive contribut ...
: 2009
*
Marca Leyenda
''Marca'' Leyenda (''Marca'' legend) is an award given by the Spanish sports newspaper '' Marca'' to the best sport professionals in history. Since its inception in 1997 over 80 people have received this award.
List of winners
References
{{Refl ...
: 2011
*
Gran Galà del Calcio Critics' Award: 2011
*
European Coach of the Year—Sepp Herberger Award: 1994
*
European Coach of the Season: 1993–94
*
Italian Football Hall of Fame: 2013
*
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
20th Greatest Manager of All Time: 2013
*
France Football
''France Football'' is a French weekly magazine containing football news from all over the world. It is considered to be one of the most reputable sports publications in Europe, mostly because of its photographic reports, in-depth and exclusi ...
21st Greatest Manager of All Time: 2019
*
World Soccer 24th Greatest Manager of All Time: 2013
*AIAC Football Leader Career Award: 2016
*A.C. Milan Hall of Fame
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
*
External links
*
*
BBC profile*
Official England website profileOfficial FIGC profileJuventus statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Capello, Fabio
1946 births
Living people
People from San Canzian d'Isonzo
People from the Province of Gorizia
Italian Roman Catholics
Footballers from Friuli Venezia Giulia
Italian footballers
Association football midfielders
S.P.A.L. players
A.S. Roma players
Juventus F.C. players
A.C. Milan players
Serie B players
Serie A players
Italy international footballers
1974 FIFA World Cup players
Italian football managers
A.C. Milan managers
Real Madrid CF managers
A.S. Roma managers
Juventus F.C. managers
England national football team managers
Russia national football team managers
Jiangsu F.C. managers
Serie A managers
La Liga managers
Chinese Super League managers
UEFA Champions League winning managers
2010 FIFA World Cup managers
2014 FIFA World Cup managers
Italian expatriate football managers
Italian expatriate sportspeople in Spain
Italian expatriate sportspeople in England
Italian expatriate sportspeople in Russia
Italian expatriate sportspeople in China
Expatriate football managers in Spain
Expatriate football managers in England
Expatriate football managers in Russia
Expatriate football managers in China
Italian people of Hungarian descent