- Fabio Capello
332||45|||||||||||||||
Managerial career
Milan - first spell
His first experience was leading
AC Milan in the last six games of the 1986/87Serie A season, replacingNils Liedholm and achieving theUEFA Cup qualifications in a play-off withSampdoria . However, the following seasonArrigo Sacchi became the new "Rossoneri" manager and Capello step aside, but still working for the society.Capello made his second and best remembered coach experience in the early 1990s again with Milan, replacing Sacchi and leading a team including the likes of
Marco van Basten ,Ruud Gullit ,Paolo Maldini andFranco Baresi to fourSerie 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 mogulSilvio 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 fromFaustino Asprilla .With a style that spurned the traditional Italian stereotype of "
catenaccio ", in 1994 Milan routed the favouritesFC Barcelona 4-0 to win theUEFA Champions League , earning them a reputation of one of the great sides of the modern era. Although AC Milan surrendered theSerie 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 byUruguayan coachOscar 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 rivalsFC Barcelona by just two points. Despite his tenure withLos Merengues lasting only a year, he was credited with bringing in a number of players such as Roberto Carlos,Predrag Mijatović ,Davor Šuker andClarence Seedorf who helped the club establish their Champions League dominance over the next few years.Milan - second spell
Capello 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 championsJuventus , 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 captainFrancesco Totti . There was also a widespread belief that he had done a secret deal to succeedAlex Ferguson atManchester United . [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/low/football/1188965.stm BBC SPORT | FOOTBALL | Capello's Man Utd hint ] ] The final years of his tenure were also marred by accusations that he engineered the departure of several key players to sabotage the club. To this day Capello is reviled by the vast majority of Roma fans. [ [http://skynews8.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/12/dont-mention-f.html Sky News - Eurovision ] ] This is despite the fact that he led the club to their onlyScudetto since 1983.Juventus
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 presidentRamón 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. [cite news | date=2006-07-06 | url=http://www.realmadrid.com/articulo/rma32221.htm | title=Ramón Calderón and Alfredo Di Stéfano preside the act | work=realmadrid.com | accessdate=2007-12-13]Capello was criticized by Juventus captain
Alessandro del Piero , asFabio 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
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 toMadrid , 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 playingDavid Beckham because of his contract wranglings andRonaldo , who struggled for fitness and form. Capello also feuded with his compatriotAntonio 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 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 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 onJose Antonio Reyes . Real had been 1–0 down prior to thesubstitution and Reyes turned the match scoring two goals. Despite winningLa 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.cite news | date=2007-06-28 | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/6248514.stm | title=Real Madrid sack manager Capello | publisher=BBC Sport | accessdate=2007-06-28] While Capello is an admirer ofSpanish culture and enjoyed his time inMadrid , he has likened managing Real to living in a goldfish bowl.England
Appointment
After the dismissal of
Steve McClaren following the failure of England to qualify forEuro 2008 , Capello was linked, together with several other top-class managers such asJosé Mourinho andMarcello Lippi , to the England national team position; he then admitted that he was interested in the job. [cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/internationals/7109777.stm | publisher=BBC Sport | title=England role 'fascinates' Capello | date=2007-11-23 | accessdate=2007-12-13]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 andRafa Benitez then voiced their support for Capello and the news that Capello had backed out of long-held TV commitments with Italian state broadcasterRAI 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,cite web|url=http://www.thefa.com/England/SeniorTeam/Archive/default.htm?i=2702&pf=m&t=n&t=pf|title=Fabio Capello profile|publisher=FA.com|date=2007-12-16|accessdate=2007-12-16] 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.cite news | date=2007-12-14 | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/7137847.stm | title=Capello named new England manager | publisher=BBC Sport | accessdate=2007-12-14] After being confirmed in the job he announced it would be his last in football. [cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/7145816.stm| publisher=BBC Sport | title=England challenge excites Capello | date=2007-12-15 | accessdate=2007-12-15] 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 theEnglish language in the following month prior to his first official meeting with the players. [cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/7146952.stm| publisher=BBC Sport | title=Capello unveiled as England coach | date=2007-12-17 | accessdate=2007-12-17]Reaction from 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 sense of pride that one of his countrymen had been selected to coach the founders of the game. [ [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2007/12/23/sfnpad123.xml Fabio Capello call for pride rings hollow - Football News - Telegraph ] ] Equally his arrival has generated some criticism, notably fromFIFA PresidentSepp 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," [ [http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,,2236676,00.html Capello receives mixed reception on first day as England manager | News | guardian.co.uk Football ] ]Early friendlies
England's first match with Capello as manager was at Wembley against Switzerland on 6 February 2008. Much of the speculation approaching the game had centred on whether Capello would award
David Beckham his 100thinternational cap . [ [http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,,2248003,00.html Capello ready to leave Beckham out of squad | News | guardian.co.uk Football ] ] Another aspect that generated a lot of interest was Capello's choice of captain. Several regular starters underSteve McClaren admitted they were uncertain of their future selection. On 31 January 2008, it was confirmed that a number of senior players including Beckham, had not been selected for Capello's debut squad, with the Italian citing 'fitness reasons' for dropping former captain Beckham, who had not played a professional game since 21 November 2007. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/7218296.stm BBC SPORT | Football | Internationals | Beckham left out of England squad ] ] After recent erratic form, Paul Robinson also missed out on the squad. Debut call-ups were handed to two players,Curtis Davies andGabriel Agbonlahor , both ofAston Villa . Capello decided to give the captain's armband toSteven Gerrard for his first game in charge, beginning his rotation policy.Jermaine Jenas scored Capello's first goal as England manager, in the 40th minute against Switzerland at Wembley.Shaun Wright-Phillips restored the lead after the 61st minute, shortly after coming on as a substitute. After a slow start, England won the game 2-1, handing Capello his first victory in his first game as England manager. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/internationals/7229823.stm] He was warmly welcomed by the England fans before the game commenced.For his second game in charge, an international friendly against France, Capello did finally award Beckham his landmark 100th cap. He also rotated the captaincy, giving the armband to
Rio Ferdinand . England lost the game 1-0 to aFranck Ribery penalty, marking Capello's first defeat as the national coach. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/mar/27/sport.sport] Capello's third game in charge was against the USA on 28 May, 2008. He named Chelsea'sJohn Terry as the captain for this match. England comfortably won an unremarkable game 2-0. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/internationals/7420122.stm]On 31 May, 2008, Capello named
David Beckham as captain for the match on 1 June, 2008 against Trinidad and Tobago. It was Beckham's first game as captain of England since the2006 FIFA World Cup . England comfortably won the game 3-0. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/internationals/7430548.stm]On 19 August, 2008, Capello announced that
John Terry would be named permanent captain for the second time in his career. [http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/internationals/capello-names-terry-as-captain-902324.html] [http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/08/19/sports/EU-SOC-England-Captain.php] On 20 August, 2008, England drew 2-2 at Wembley with the Czech Republic. [http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/internationals/england-2-czech-republic-2-cole-grabs-late-leveller-but-boos-ring-out-for-lamentable-england-904199.html]World Cup 2010 qualifying
England opened their campaign with a 2–0 victory over Andorra in Barcelona on 6 September. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/internationals/7593908.stm] On 10 September 2008, England played against Croatia for the first time since they had eliminated England from the
Euro 2008 qualifying competition. They won 4–1 with a hat-trick from Arsenal playerTheo Walcott and a goal fromWayne Rooney . [http://www.latimes.com/sports/printedition/la-spw-soccer11-2008sep11,0,7671309.story] England played their next qualification game at Wembley on 11 October 2008 against Kazakhstan. After a stuttering first half performance, England went on to win 5–1, with two goals fromWayne Rooney . [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/7656615.stm]Management style
Capello has acquired 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 theThe Football Association ‘s top candidate to succeedSteve 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. [ [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/article3042876.ece Fabio Capello: A man of letters that spell success: The A to Z guide to a serial winner | Football - Times Online ] ] 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 theReal Madrid first team, after he had previously dropped him - which arguably helped towards Real winning theLa 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 atAC Milan in the early Nineties). He does, however, allow his teams to revert to a more attacking style if he feels it is appropriate. His favourite formation over the years has been the 4-4-2 formation, but with England he has often used a 4-5-1 formation.Managerial stats
Private life
Capello was born in 1946 in
San Canzian d'Isonzo ,Northern Italy . Both his father and uncle were footballers, and Capello has himself spent his entire adult life involved with the sport. [ [http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/internationals/a-touchline-philosopher-the-real-fabio-capello-764813.html A touchline philosopher: the real Fabio Capello - International, Football - Independent.co.uk ] ] He has been married to his wife Laura, who he first met on a bus as a teenager, for over forty years. He is represented by his son Pierfillipo, who acts as his agent. It is thought thatthe Football Association welcomed the stable family life that Capello brings to the job, in contrast to the more colourful antics of his predecessors which served as fodder for the media. However, it has been highlighted that Capello has made a number of controversial comments over the years, such as praisingFrancisco Franco , and that the FA will be hoping he learns to keep his opinions to himself. [ [http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/internationals/a-touchline-philosopher-the-real-fabio-capello-764813.html A touchline philosopher: the real Fabio Capello - International, Football - Independent.co.uk ] ]In January 2008,
Italian police announced that they were launching an investigation into tax irregularities by Capello. [ [http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,,2241625,00.html Capello reassures FA he has nothing to fear from tax evasion investigation | News | guardian.co.uk Football ] ] However the probe has been dismissed as routine by Capello's spokesmen who said this was part of a wider investigation into a number of wealthy Italians. [ [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/article3196373.ece Fabio Capello under investigation for tax fraud | Football - Times Online ] ] The FA revealed that they had known about the upcoming probe when they had appointed Capello, and expected no charges to be brought. [ [http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,,2242061,00.html Football: Capello informed FA of tax probe from outset | News | guardian.co.uk Football ] ]On 31st March 2008 it was announced that Fabio Capello is to be probed by an Italian state prosecutor for allegedly withholding information to a court. The prosecutor intends to bring a case against Capello and former Juventus director Antonio Giraudo after they gave evidence in a trial of six men accused of fostering unfair competition through the use of threats or violence as part of Italy's Gea World sports agency [cite news | url=http://fourfourtwo.com/news/england/6521/default.aspx| publisher=FourFourTwo | title= Capello probed for court conspiracy | date=2008-03-31 | accessdate=2008-03-31] .
Art collector
Capello is a self-confessed
fine art enthusiast. Over the years he has acquired a number of works, and hisart collection is estimated to be worth £17 million. [ [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2007/12/13/ufnfacts113.xml Fabio Capello: 10 things you didn't know - Football News - Telegraph ] ] His favourite artist is reportedlyWassily Kandinsky . [ [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/article3042876.ece Fabio Capello: A man of letters that spell success: The A to Z guide to a serial winner | Football - Times Online ] ] Capello is also extremely fond ofopera , and likes to spend his evenings listening toclassical music .Achievements
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: 1969Coach
Italy:
*Scudetto:
**Winner: 1991/92, 1992/93, 1993/94, 1995/96, 2000/01, (2004/05, 2005/06 later removed due to Calciopoli)
**Runner-up: 2001/02, 2003/04
*UEFA Champions League :
**Winner: 1993/94
**Runner-up: 1992/93, 1994/95
*European Super Cup :
**Winner: 1994
*Supercoppa Italiana :
**Winner: 1992, 1993, 1994, 2001
**Runner-up: 2005
*Coppa Italia
**Runner-up: 1997/98, 2002/03Spain:
*La Liga :
**Winner: 1996/97, 2006/07Individual
*
Serie A Coach of the Year : 2005References
External links
*soccerbase (manager)|1718|Fabio Capello
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/internationals/7138833.stm BBC profile]
* [http://www.thefa.com/England/SeniorTeam/Archive/default.htm?i=2702&pf=m&t=n&t=pf Fabio Capello FA profile]
* [http://www.sponsoredbyyou.co.uk/England Fabio Capello Official Interviews at SBY.Tv]Navboxes
list1=
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.