5 times the England manager shocked the fans with his World Cup squad selection

#2: Fabio Capello gambles on Ledley King – World Cup 2010

Fabio Capello unsuccessfully gambled on the fitness of Ledley King for the 2010 World Cup

Tottenham centre-back Ledley King was a surprise inclusion in England’s 2010 World Cup squad, and it had nothing to do with a lack of talent, as he was perhaps the most naturally gifted defender of his generation, a group that included John Terry and Rio Ferdinand.

Instead, his inclusion was surprising due to his issues with chronic knee problems, issues that kept him out of the majority of training sessions and usually limited him to playing one game per week while undertaking light fitness work alone.

This clearly didn’t lend itself well to the rigours of an international tournament, which usually required teams to play multiple games over a short space of time.

But, England manager Fabio Capello – faced with somewhat of a crisis at centre-back after Rio Ferdinand was forced out with a knee injury – felt that he was a risk worth taking.

As it turned out, he certainly wasn’t. King played just 45 minutes at the tournament, in England’s opening game against the United States, before withdrawing due to a groin injury.

It hardly came as a shock when he was then ruled out for the rest of the tournament, and England’s defensive deficiencies were cruelly exposed in the second round in a 4-1 loss to Germany.

Despite King’s talent, in reality, Capello probably would’ve been better off trying to settle John Terry into a defensive partnership with another member of the squad, rather than roll the dice on the Spurs man’s fitness.