Fabio Capello warned England's players he will introduce a
tough new regime as their manager and no one will have an automatic
place in his team. The 61-year-old Italian did not mince his words
at his inaugural press conference on Tuesday, telling his
under-achieving stars they must wear the England shirt with pride
and meet his own high standards of 'behaviour and
attitude'.
Capello, who declared he will be fluent in English in time for the
friendly against Switzerland al Wembley on February 6, said it was
now his dream to guide England to a World Cup final with Italy in
South Africa in 2010. 'I would enjoy nothing more,' he said. 'There
is not enough faith in the national squad and what it can achieve,'
said the all-conquering former AC Milan and Real Madrid manager.
'But a spot in the England squad needs to be deserved through
behaviour and attitude.'
Capello spoke for the most part in Italian only making an initial
statement in English but his message to his players was not lost
in translation. On a day when it emerged that John Terry could be
sidelined for as long as three months after a rash challenge from
Arsenal's Emmanuel Eboue left him with three broken bones in his
foot, Capello declined the opportunity to endorse Terry's England
captaincy. 'I have just arrived,' he said. 'There are many things I
have to think about, but I've got over a month to make a
decision.'
That will make Terry nervous when he has been the subject of
salacious tabloid headlines that may not impress a harsh
disciplinarian like Capello. The fact that the Chelsea skipper will
almost certainly miss the Italian's first game in charge will only
fuel that anxiety. Capello may instead go for Steven Gerrard as
skipper, or he could even be tempted to make David Beckham, 32,
captain for what would be his 100th England cap.
While Capello will ask his staff to carefully assess Beckham's
fitness, given that he is training with Arsenal during the winter
close-season for Major League Soccer, the new England manager was
gushing in praise for his former Real Madrid player. 'He was a
great player at Madrid and a great asset,' said Capello. 'He is a
very important player for England. We had a contrasting
relationship at Real but he showed he is a great man and a great
player.'
While insisting he still wanted an English coach to join his staff,
Capello defended his decision to bring in four Italian assistants.
'The staff with me worked with me in Roma, Turin and Madrid and
along with them I aim to create a staff including English coaches,'
he said. 'When I manage, you need to be surrounded by people who
understand my methods.'
In English, he said: 'I am very proud and honoured to be the
England manager. It's a job that everybody wants and everybody
knows there are great expectations and I will work to achieve these
with the FA.'
Reverting to Italian, he added: 'I am convinced this is a great
team and can go right to the top. I'm going to try to understand
what's happened by talking to the players. Wearing the England
shirt should be a matter of pride. I want to see all players play
for England like they do for their clubs.'
In what, it is understood, will be England's new red away kit for
his first game.