How the genius of Fabio Capello took England from the depths of despair to the World Cup

Simon Johnson
10 Sep 2009

The jeers that greeted the start of this World Cup qualifying campaign turned to cheers as England booked their place in South Africa with two games to spare at Wembley last night.
There is one factor behind the turnaround — Fabio Capello.

Since Sven-Goran Eriksson's appointment in 2001, the merits of employing a foreign coach has provoked great debate up and down the country but Capello has silenced the doubters with his assured style, tactical knowledge and discipline.

Eriksson did guide England to three major tournaments but he didn't exert the same control as the Italian has managed over the multi-millionaires that populate the dressing room.

When the former AC Milan and Real Madrid boss first took over he introduced a strict set of rules.

Gone was the WAGs culture of the previous eras, as was wearing flip-flops around the camp as well as having ketchup and chips at the dining table.
Instead, professionalism and a show of unity took its place. The players were ordered to wear suits and ties to games and sit together as a squad at meal times. It meant the end of cliques and club loyalties.

Team spirit has improved as a result and there is little evidence of individual team rivalries present in the past.

Chelsea and Manchester United still fight for the major honours, yet there is no closer duo than captain John Terry and Wayne Rooney these days.
There were several occasions where England had to show they had the battling qualities to make South Africa.

For example, most fans forget how tough the first half of the 4-1 win over Croatia in Zagreb was because of the devastating attacking display that followed after the break, but they had to hold firm among under some stiff pressure in a hostile atmosphere in the opening exchanges.

Similarly, they kept their cool when Belarus equalised in Minsk and snatched victory against Ukraine late on just when it looked like Andriy Shevchenko had silenced the critics by securing a point for his side.

However, good results aren't built on character alone and the 63-year-old made some telling selections over the past 12 months.

He recalled David Beckham from exile after Steve McClaren had excluded him for the Euro 2008 qualifying bid but there was no place for Michael Owen, even though he is England's fourth-highest goalscorer.

Current form and not past achievements were the priority and Beckham's loan move from LA Galaxy to AC Milan showed how even he has to adhere to Capello's high standards — and the midfielder will be expected to organise a similar move next year if he wants to get on the plane to South Africa.

The fact England have booked their place in the World Cup with two games to spare also owes much to the coach's ability to get a settled formation in place and finding the right players to make it work.

Of course there have been injuries on the way to disrupt things on occasion, yet the fact England kept on winning despite missing David James, Rio Ferdinand and Steven Gerrard shows how well Capello has used his squad.

It didn't start well as the boos from the large travelling support demonstrated when the scoreline was still goalless at half-time against minnows Andorra in the opening game. But he sent on Emile Heskey and Joe Cole to change the match and the former became his frontman of choice for the rest of the qualifying campaign, largely because of the beneficial effect it had on Rooney.

The Manchester United striker has thrived under Capello, scoring nine goals and revelling in the freedom the coach has given him as a central striker. There are no longer questions over whether Frank Lampard and Gerrard can play together as he has given the Chelsea midfielder a disciplined role alongside Gareth Barry and allowed the latter to push forward on the left side of the pitch.

It has given England much more balance and then there was the bold decision to pick Theo Walcott against Croatia ahead of Beckham — a selection that paid off in a big way. Walcott's stunning hat-trick in Zagreb not only gave England three points but also provided a catalyst for the rest of the campaign.

The images of failure to reach Euro 2008 have finally been extinguished and if Capello can inspire his players to develop in the next nine months as much as he has in the past 12, then just maybe we will see the golden generation' finally lift the gold trophy we all dream of.