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Fabio Capello was made England manager yesterday, a move that should give England fans a renewed sense of hope following the disappointing failure to qualify for Euro 2008. The former Real Madrid manager has signed a four-and-a-half year deal, with an option to terminate after the 2010 World Cup.

“I am delighted that Fabio Capello has agreed to become England Manager. When we set out to recruit the new manager, we said we were committed to appointing a world-class candidate. In Fabio Capello we have that man.

Brian Barwick, FA Chief Executive

Capello had been touted as firm favourite since Mourino ruled himself out last week. The FA were keen to stress however that Capello was their number one choice, and the appointment was unanimously agreed by the FA Board on Thursday. The appointment comes only three weeks after Steve McClaren’s reign came to an end with the defeat at Wembley to Croatia. The new manager begins work on Monday 7 January with his first game scheduled for 6 February, a home friendly against Euro 2008 hosts Switzerland.

Capello has an impressive CV. The Italian started his playing career with SPAL before moving to Roma, Juventus and AC Milan. He was part of the Italian national side for four years, gaining 32 caps and scoring 8 goals. In 1991 he became coach at AC Milan, with whom he won Serie A four years out of five, culminating in the UEFA Champions League victory over Barcelona in 1994. He later coached Roma and Juventus, winning the league with both, before returning to Real Madrid where he again won the Spanish league title. Although he has never coached at international level, Capello has worked with the top players in Europe, as well as being a former international player himself, and so is well qualified to lead England forward.

The FA announced they would scour the world for contenders, and take as long as they deemed necessary to find the right man, given the next competitive game is not until September 2008. Yet, England were without a manager for just three weeks, a move that has been rightly called into question. However, the FA singled out their man and went for him, a decisive trait they lacked when searching for Sven-Goran Eriksson’s replacement. In Capello, the FA have found an extremely capable manager. Put simply, the FA deserves praise, despite their previous failings, and England fans should look forward to the future.

To read more about this and other Footballing stories – go to TalkFootball.co.uk

Image: Flixya.com

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 16th, 2007 at 6:47 pm and is filed under Current Affairs, Lifestyle. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.