Capello promises to drag best out of England

LONDON: Fabio Capello embarked on the task of restoring England's football fortunes on Monday with a pledge to drag the best out of the country's under-performing stars.

The Italian, who has a reputation as a strict disciplinarian, also issued a warning that no one could take a place in his team for granted.

"Places in the national team have to be earned through behavior, play and attitude," he said, while declining to offer any real clues as to his thinking on issues such as whether John Terry continues as captain or whether David Beckham gets to complete a century of caps.

Capello, who vowed that he would be able to communicate with Wayne Rooney and company in English by the time he formally takes up the post next month, is confident he can revive a squad still smarting from its failure to qualify for Euro 2008.

"I believe English footballers have born into them this great will to win and love of their country," he told his first press conference since being named as the successor to Steve McClaren, who was sacked last month after a loss to Croatia confirmed that England would not be going to next year's finals.

"It is just a question of getting it out of them and I greatly hope to be the man to do that.

"I want to try to understand what has happened (in the past) by talking to the players. Wearing the national shirt should be a matter of pride and I want to see them performing as they do for their clubs."

Asked why he felt he could succeed where his predecessors failed, Capello replied: "I hope it will be different. If I accepted the task it is because I believe I can do well."

The former Milan, Real Madrid, Roma and Juventus coach will not face a competitive international match until the autumn of next year, when England begins its bid to reach the 2010 World Cup from a group that again includes Croatia.

By then, Capello plans to have established the nucleus of his side, and he made it clear that he will not shirk from making changes if he believes they will produce a more effective outfit.

"The four matches we will play from now to June will allow me to understand many things," the 61-year-old said. "I will be able to try a few things and more importantly to form a group."

Capello's comments about the importance of behavior could be bad news for Terry, whose regular clashes with match officials and tendency to find himself in embarrassing positions in nightclubs have led some to question his suitability for the post.

Beckham knows at least that Capello, who famously dropped then recalled him at Real Madrid, is a fan.

"Beckham is the kind of person who when he sets himself something he achieves it, so you never know," he said of the 32-year-old's ambition to play on for his country until the 2010 World Cup.

"With Beckham the only thing you would wish for is that he would be younger."

FA Chief Executive Brian Barwick voiced confidence that Capello's strong personality would ensure he succeeds.

"He is tactically astute with a prove pedigree, a winner with a capital W," Barwick added. "We know we owe the fans and we believe that Fabio Capello is the man to restore our pride."

Although Capello clearly understood most of the questions fired at him by an audience of nearly 200 reporters, he was able to make only a short statement in hesitant English before switching to his native tongue.

"I'm very proud and honored to be the England manager," he said. "I have wanted this job for a long time. At this moment by English is not so well (sic), so I prefer to answer in Italian."

He added: "It is a job everyone wants and as everyone knows that there are great expectations, and I am going to work to achieve them."

Capello revealed that he had spent Sunday watching the Arsenal v Chelsea and Liverpool v Manchester United matches on television.

Asked if the frantic nature of those encounters had made him aware of the difficulty of getting players schooled in that style to adapt to the international game, Capello responded with a smile.

"Good question," he said. "This is something I am going to have to work on."

AFP

(China Daily 12/19/2007 page23)