Is Capello the right man for the England job?

Yes

8 of 15

by Chris Skoyles

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If there's one criticism levied at top-flight English footballers, it's that the passion and honor of representing their country has all but been replaced by that oft-reviled yet always desired concept of money and fame.

For too long, the mindset amongst many players seemed to be that, as long as fans would continue to flock to international games, they could quite easily turn up and put on something of a show before returning to their mansions without worrying too much about the results.

After all, given their reputations as the biggest stars in the domestic leagues, these soccer superstars could rest assured that their spot in the national side was safe, allowing them to concentrate instead on hanging out with their Wives and Girlfriends (often abbreviated into the somewhat horrible term 'WAGS') on the front pages of glossy magazines and crashing Porsches and parties with abandon.

Fabio Capello, the England squad's latest manager, looks set to put a stop to all that.

In the build up to his first game in charge, a friendly against Switzerland, most of the media attention surrounding the match focused not on the players, but on Capello.

Stating clearly that a good reputation in the domestics would count for little when choosing his squad, Capello's team were picked purely on talent, fitness and other such factors, with former England captain, David Beckham, missing out on his hundredth cap and team regulars such as Sol Campbell, Garry Neville, Phil Neville also left out.

More over, much light was shed on Capello's revered disciplinarian style of management. The team's other-halves were banned from the hotel, players were ordered to eat together, leave the table together and head off to bed at the same time.

They were referred to only by their surnames and, in turn, addressed Capello as 'Boss', and more over, they were made to give it their all for their spot on the team.

This hard-headed approach to the game has garnered positive results for Capello, reaping rewards with Milan, Juventus, Roma and Real Madrid and earning him a reputation as one of the most successful managers in the sport.

Now, England fans, despondent after former coach Steve McClaren failed to get the squad into the Euro 2008 finals, are hoping that Capello can continue his reign of success with their national side, and the way things are looking, it's likely that he just might.

Indeed, the general consensus is that not only is Fabio Capello the right man to lead the England national team to success, but the Italian may just be the best thing to happen to English football for a long, long time.

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