Fabio Capello - lost in translation

Last week, Fabio Capello resigned from the England manager’s job after he felt his authority was damaged when the FA removed John Terry as captain without consulting him.

Whilst you have to admire Capello for sticking to his beliefs and moral values as a manager, on the face of things he has left England in the mire. Leaving a team five months before a major competition – that they had a very slim chance of winning but a chance nonetheless- usually leaves the team in chaos and causes fans across the country to panic.

But while most England fans were surprised or shocked to see Capello leave the England job five months before a major tournament, were any of them disappointed to see him leave? No, not really.

The Three Point Plan:

The stern faced Italian was brought into the England setup – with no expense spared – to address the massive egos of the ‘golden generation’, to bring some much needed tactical nous that had otherwise been neglected under previous regimes and above all install a winning mentality into the England psyche. Did he do any of those things? No, not really.

While he certainly brought the fear of God into the players, he never connected with them and they ended up dividing up into club factions. Unity could have been achieved under Capello but instead the egos of the players still reared up with Rooney’s infamous rant at the fans after booing the team and reports of squabbles and bickering in the dressing room made an already boring and isolated training camp, unbearable.

As an Italian coach you would expect England to be as tactically shrewd as Wellington at Waterloo but instead we ended up with a stubborn man in a suit caught in German headlights. Whilst Capello’s beloved trusted servant – the 4-4-2 – worked against ‘lesser’ sides, the greater flexibility of the sides in the higher echelons of the game proved too much for the out of date formation. But instead of changing it, Capello refused to let it go and stuck with it through thick and thin, much to England fans’ chagrin.

And as far as installing a winning mentality, anyone who watched the 4-1 result against Germany knows that went down the sink.

Destroyed Aura:

Afterwards, no matter what Capello did, he had lost the respect and admiration of the fans who had so steadfastly believed that he was the man to once and for all fulfill England’s supposed long untapped potential.

Not even qualifying for the European Championships without losing a game and defeating the current European and World champions Spain in a friendly could bring any sort of collective optimism for the upcoming tournament in June.

Was it wrong to judge Capello on one tournament – which admittedly he got wrong in both his tactics off and on the field? All of us make mistakes at some stage in our lives and the best of us usually learn from them. There was evidence to suggest Capello was learning. Bringing in fresh blood like Jones and Wilshire and experienced heads previously thought of as not good enough for the international stage like Parker and Young. He even gave up his beloved 4-4-2. Now we’ll never know.

Stats do Lie:

England Under Capello

Games Played	42
Win Percentage	66.7%
Goals	89
Ave goals per game	2.1
Overall pass completion	83%
Clean sheets	16
Goals conceded	35
Ave goals per game conceded	0.83

Although one result is ultimately going to define Capello’s reign, statistically he was one of England’s best managers. Let’s not forget that four years ago we were contemplating a major tournament without England for the first time in 14 years thanks to Steve ‘wally with the brolly’ McLaren. Statistically he has a better win percentage than Sven, Hoddle, Venables, Taylor – no surprise – and most stunning of all, the immortal Sir Alf Ramsey.

But of course the stats don’t tell the whole story. Capello managed fewer games then almost all of the above. Most of these wins came against minnows like Andorra and Kazakhstan. And he only took charge in one tournament – taking only one win with him. If stats told the whole truth then Swansea’s Leon Britton would be the best passer in the world – ahead of Xavi, Iniesta and Fabregas, they are not the be all and end all.

Legacy:

So when fans look back into the history books to decide what the Italian headmaster’s legacy as England coach will be, they will inevitably be drawn to the loss to Germany in South Africa but also to one other crucial factor, Capello’s heart.

Unlike Keegan and Venables – arguably ‘inferior managers’ – fans knew that they deeply cared about their job and would give their all for Queen and country. With Capello, the cold demeanour, withdrawn interviews – even with limited English – and that massive salary, fans never got the satisfaction of knowing for certain, the Italian’s heart and soul was in England.

Reports after his resignation suggested the Italian had fallen out of love with England in general and whose heart was being drawn back home to Italy. Whether Capello’s heartstrings were affecting his job we may never know but the Italian is certainly never going to win any popularity contests with the fans.

Capello was a solid England manager. He was brought in to get results without trying to gain any favours from the players or plaudits for his style of football from the fans. Unfortunately one game ruined his chances of ever regaining the praise that swept around him in the ‘glory days’ of World Cup qualification- who still thinks he was a worthy winner of the Coach of the Year and the Sports Personality of the Year awards in 2009.

In contrast to what most football fans should normally feel when a manager leaves right before a crucial period of games, the vast majority of the country is looking forward to a fresh approach, new ideas and a possible new batch of players that can spark a renaissance in England’s fortunes. But if it doesn’t happen, will the solid if distant approach from Capello be remembered as something we were too quick to dismiss?