Capello stays in charge of England - Hindustan Times
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Capello stays in charge of England

AFP | By, London
Jul 03, 2010 10:32 AM IST

Fabio Capello is to remain in his post as England manager despite the team's World Cup flop, the Football Association said. Capello's position had been called into question after England were knocked out of the World Cup at the last 16 stage by Germany in an embarrassing 4-1 defeat.

Fabio Capello is to remain in his post as England manager despite the team's World Cup flop, the Football Association said on Friday.

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Capello's position had been called into question after England were knocked out of the World Cup at the last 16 stage by arch-rivals Germany in an embarrassing 4-1 defeat.

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But the FA, dismissing talk they might sack the 64-year-old Italian, said Capello would stay as national team manager and that he remains the best man for the job.

Immediately after England's World Cup exit, Capello said he'd been told by the FA they would need two weeks to decide if they wanted him to stay on.

Capello's contract runs until after the 2012 European Championships and sacking him would have cost the FA millions of pounds after they removed, shortly before the World Cup, a 'break' clause from the deal.

"I am more determined than ever to succeed with the England team," said Capello.

"Sir Dave Richards (Club England Board chairman) has called me to tell me everyone at the FA wants me to continue. I explained it is very important we use the disappointment as a motivation in the future.

"I can assure the fans I am now fully focused on our European qualifying fixtures, starting with the friendly against Hungary in August.

"We will look to introduce new players to give the team new energy and I will use all my experience to take England forward.

"I am extremely proud to be the England manager, it means so much to me and I am determined to succeed."

The FA said in a statement that they were convinced Capello was the best man for the job.

"The Football Association confirmed on Saturday that Fabio Capello will continue as England Team Manager.

"This followed a meeting of the Club England Board (Sir Dave Richards, Alex Horne, Sir Trevor Brooking and Adrian Bevington) and formal approval by The FA main Board."

Sir Dave Richards said: "We are all still extremely disappointed at our performance in South Africa, and we believed it was important that we took some time to reflect on everything in a calm and considered manner back in England.

"After fully discussing our performance we remain convinced that Fabio is the best man for the job.

"He went into the World Cup with a reputation as one of world football's finest managers and we are confident Fabio will benefit from his first international tournament experience and this will undoubtedly make us all stronger for the Euro 2012 campaign."


The appointment of Roy Hodgson as Liverpool manager on Thursday robbed the FA of a leading English candidate for the post coveted by, among others, Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp.

Capello was appointed after the failure of England to qualify for the European Championships.

He was much praised for introducing a disciplined regime to a squad where 'player-power' was felt to have got out of control under previous boss Steve McClaren and England qualified convincingly for the finals in South Africa.

But they were held to draws by the United States and Algeria before scraping a 1-0 win over Slovenia.

Former captain John Terry launched a thinly veiled and public attack on Capello's methods.

The manager also faced criticism for not informing the squad of his team until a couple of hours before kick-off.

Capello was also accused of tactical inflexibility after rigidly adhering to a 4-4-2 formation and not playing the likes of striker Wayne Rooney and midfielder Steven Gerrard in their best positions.

But although England were well-beaten by Germany, the result might have been different had not midfielder Frank Lampard seen a goal, with Capello's men 2-1 down, that came off the crossbar disallowed even though replays showed the ball had crossed the line.

Former Italy international Capello has an enviable track record as a manager. He won four Italian titles with AC Milan, as well as leading them to European Cup glory in 1994, and also guided Roma and Juventus to the Scudetto.

And in Spain, he saw Real Madrid to the Primera Liga in 2007.

England's Euro 2012 qualifying programme starts at home to Bulgaria on September 3.

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