Fabio Capello
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Fabio Capello (; born 18 June 1946) is an Italian former professional
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...
and player. As a player, Capello represented
SPAL 1907 Società Polisportiva Ars et Labor, commonly known as S.P.A.L. (), is a professional football club based in Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. The team plays in Serie B, the second tier of the Italian football league system. Founded in 1907, sinc ...
,
Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...
,
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
and Juventus. He played as a
midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
and won several trophies during his career which lasted over 15 years. He won the
Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...
with Roma in 1969, though he was most successful with Juventus, winning three
Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...
titles in 1972, 1973 and 1975. With Milan, he won the Coppa Italia again in 1977 and also won another Serie A in 1979. Capello also played internationally for Italy during his career, amassing 32 caps and scoring 8 goals. In his first five seasons as a manager, Capello won four Serie A titles with Milan, where he also won the 1993–94 UEFA Champions League, defeating
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
4–0 in a memorable
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
. He then spent a year at
Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
, where he won the
La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...
title at his first attempt, and in 2001 led Roma to their first league title in 18 years. Capello also won two titles at Juventus (which were later stripped after the ''Calciopoli'' scandal), and in 2006 returned to Real Madrid, where he won another La Liga title. Overall, he has won a major league championship in seven (or nine, counting the two revoked titles with Juventus) of his 16 seasons as a coach. He is regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time.The top 50 managers of all time
''The Times''
Capello was appointed as manager of the England national team in December 2007. During his time as manager, he was successful in tournament qualification, guiding the team to the
2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...
, where they were knocked out in the second round, and
UEFA Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th UEFA European Championship, European Championship for List of men's national association football teams#UEFA (Europe), men's ...
, where they were knocked out in the quarter-finals under new manager Roy Hodgson. In February 2012, he resigned as manager due to a dispute with
The Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the ...
, before being appointed coach of the Russia national team in July 2012. On 14 July 2015, he was sacked by the Russian Football Union and replaced with Leonid Slutsky. In 2017, he was appointed as the coach of Chinese club
Jiangsu Suning Jiangsu Football Club (), later known as Jiangsu Sainty F.C. (2000–2016) and Jiangsu Suning F.C. (2016–2021), was a professional football club that participated in the Chinese Super League since 2009 until its dissolution in 2021. The tea ...
, but was sacked the following year, after which, he subsequently retired from coaching.


Club career

Capello was signed by Paolo Mazza, the President of
SPAL Società Polisportiva Ars et Labor, commonly known as S.P.A.L. (), is a professional football club based in Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. The team plays in Serie B, the second tier of the Italian football league system. Founded in 1907, sinc ...
, for the fee of two million lire despite interest from
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
. In his second season in the youth team, he helped the club win the Italian Youth Championship and made his first-team debut in a 3–1 away defeat against
Sampdoria Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa. The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s, ...
in Serie A on 29 March 1964. A talented and tactically intelligent
holding midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
, with a good positional sense, he could read the play well and was strong both in the air and in the tackle, in spite of his lack of notable height and unorthodox physique; he usually operated as a deep-lying playmaker in midfield, however, due to his outstanding technique and vision, which enabled him to orchestrate his team's attacking moves or create chances for teammates, and was an excellent passer of the ball with both feet. Going forward he was also equally effective, and possessed an eye for goal from midfield, due to his powerful and accurate shot, as well as his ability at penalty kicks, but he lacked pace, and was notorious for not being particularly hard-working. With SPAL, he made four appearances for a struggling side that was relegated from
Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...
. After returning to the top division at the first attempt, Capello became a key player in the 1965–66 season, taking penalties and helping them avoid a swift return to
Serie B The Serie B (), currently named Serie Balkrishna Industries, BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 ...
. He was also called up to the Italian under-23 side alongside teammate
Edoardo Reja Edoardo Reja (born 10 October 1945) is an Italian professional football coach and former player who last manages the Albania national football team. After a career as a midfielder spent mostly with SPAL and Palermo, he began working as a mana ...
despite still being a teenager. However, injury to his left knee restricted him to just 16 appearances the following season. In 1967, Capello moved to
Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...
where he became a key player for the club. In his first season, he helped them to first place after eight matches, including scoring the winner in a 1–0 victory over Juventus. A recurrence of the injury to his left knee, however, kept him out for the rest of the season and Roma eventually finished in tenth place, just five points away from relegation. The following season, under new manager
Helenio Herrera Helenio Herrera Gavilán (; 10 April 1910 – 9 November 1997) was an Argentine, naturalized French, football player and manager. He is best remembered for his success with the Inter Milan team known as ''Grande Inter'' in the 1960s. During h ...
, a fit Capello scored six goals as Roma finished eighth and won his first major trophy, the
Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...
. This qualified Roma to play the
Anglo-Italian League Cup The Anglo-Italian League Cup ( it, Coppa di Lega Italo-Inglese, also known as the Anglo-Italian League Cup Winners' Cup) was a short-lived football competition between teams from England and Italy – an English cup-winning team (League Cup or FA C ...
, where they played
Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...
. Capello played in both legs against Swindon, Roma winning 2–1 at home in the first leg but losing 4–0 in the second leg at the County Ground. They also reached the semi-finals of the
European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...
, but were knocked out by Polish side
Górnik Zabrze Górnik Zabrze Spółka Akcyjna, commonly referred to as Górnik Zabrze S.A. or simply Górnik Zabrze (), is a Polish football club from Zabrze. Górnik is one of the most successful Polish football clubs in history, winning the second-most Po ...
after losing the deciding coin toss following three draws. He was then sold to Juventus in 1970. He had a poor start to his time there, as he publicly criticised manager
Armando Picchi Armando Picchi (; 20 June 1935 – 27 May 1971) was an Italian football player and coach. Regularly positioned as a libero, he captained the Internazionale side known as "La Grande Inter". Club career Early career Born in Livorno, Picchi star ...
on the same day it was revealed that Picchi had been diagnosed with cancer. Capello escaped with a fine from the club after Picchi insisted that he not receive a suspension. Capello became an influential figure under new manager Čestmír Vycpálek, despite being only 24, and was assigned the number 10 shirt; he largely decided the team's tactics for the 1971 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Final against
Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...
. Capello scored at the
Stadio Olimpico di Torino The Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino ( en, Grande Torino Olympic Stadium) is a multi-purpose stadium located in Turin, Italy. It is the home ground of Serie A club Torino Football Club. The stadium is located in Piazzale Grande Torino, in the dist ...
, but Juventus lost the tie on away goals. Juventus went on to win the league title in 1971–72, 1972–73 and 1974–75. They also reached the 1973 European Cup Final, where they were beaten 1–0 by the dominant " Total Football" approach of
Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Gree ...
. They missed out on the chance of winning the double after losing to Milan on penalties in the 1973 Coppa Italia Final. Reaching the semi-finals of the 1974–75 UEFA Cup, Juventus were surprisingly beaten by Dutch side
Twente Twente ( nl, Twente , Tweants dialect: ''Tweante'') is a region in the eastern Netherlands. It encompasses the most urbanised and easternmost part of the province of Overijssel. Twente is most likely named after the Tuihanti or Tvihanti, a Ge ...
. Juventus were concerned with Capello's knee injuries, and so traded him to Milan in exchange for
Romeo Benetti Romeo Benetti (; born 20 October 1945) is an Italian professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. A tenacious player, Benetti played for several Italian clubs throughout his career, winning titles with A.C. Milan, Juventus and ...
and 100 million lire in 1976. He missed just two league starts in the 1976–77 campaign playing under influential manager
Nils Liedholm Nils Erik Liedholm (; 8 October 1922 – 5 November 2007) was a Swedish football midfielder and coach. ''Il Barone'' (The Baron), as he is affectionately known in Italy, was renowned for being part of the Swedish "Gre-No-Li" trio of strikers al ...
. However, he was limited to just eight appearances in the 1978–79 title-winning season. He played just three games in the 1979–80 season before finally accepting that he was unable to continue as a professional footballer.


International career

Capello played 32 times for
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
between 1972 and 1978, scoring 8 goals; he made his international debut on 13 May 1972, in a 2–1 defeat to
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
. He is particularly remembered for a goal with which Italy beat
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
1–0 at
Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...
for the first time in its history (14 November 1973), which he himself regarded as the highlight of his playing career. Capello scored the lone goal for Italy against
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
during the 1974 World Cup, though Italy lost the match 2–1 and failed to qualify for the second round of the competition. He was overlooked for the
1978 World Cup The 1978 FIFA World Cup was the 11th edition of the FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial international football world championship tournament among the men's senior national teams. It was held in Argentina between 1 and 25 June. The Cup was won by ...
even after having good club form with Milan: the manager at that time,
Enzo Bearzot Enzo Bearzot (; 26 September 1927 – 21 December 2010) was an Italian professional football player and manager. A defender and midfielder, he led the Italy national team to victory in the 1982 FIFA World Cup. Nicknamed ''Vecio'' (standard I ...
, preferred other defensive-minded midfielders such as
Marco Tardelli Marco Tardelli (; born 24 September 1954) is an Italian former football player and manager. At club level, he played as a midfielder for several Italian clubs; he began his career with Pisa, and later played for Como, Juventus, and Internaziona ...
over the more attacking minded Capello.


Style of play

Regarded as one of the best Italian players of his generation, Capello was a talented, dynamic, energetic, and tactically intelligent
holding midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
, with a good positional sense and excellent intuition. He could read the play well and was strong both in the air and in the tackle, in spite of his lack of notable height and unorthodox physique; he usually played in the
centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics * Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentri ...
of the pitch, however, where he operated as a
deep-lying playmaker A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...
in midfield, due to his outstanding technique and vision, which enabled him to orchestrate his team's attacking moves or create chances for teammates, and was an excellent passer of the ball with both feet. In spite of his playing role, he was an offensive-minded midfielder: indeed, going forward he was also equally effective as he was creatively and defensively, and possessed an eye for goal from midfield, due to his powerful and accurate shot, as well as his ability at penalty kicks; his offensive movement and ability to make late runs into the area from behind also made him an offensive threat, but at the same time he lacked pace, and was notorious for not being particularly hard-working.


After retirement

After several years as a football pundit for Italian TV SPW and a brief spell as caretaker manager of Milan in 1987, Capello became a leading candidate to succeed
Arrigo Sacchi Arrigo Sacchi (born 1 April 1946) is an Italian former professional football coach. He has twice managed AC Milan (1987–1991, 1996–1997), with great success. He won the Serie A title in his 1987–88 debut season and then dominated European ...
as coach of the team, and he was formally appointed as manager of Milan in 1991.


Managerial career


Early years

As a guest of the SFA, Capello began coaching on a three-week visit to
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
. He worked with Craig Brown and
Andy Roxburgh Andrew Roxburgh (born 5 August 1943) is a Scottish former football player and manager currently serving as an administrator. Roxburgh's entire professional playing career was spent in the Scottish Football League. After retiring as a player, h ...
in the early 1980s. Capello coached training sessions with
Clyde Clyde may refer to: People * Clyde (given name) * Clyde (surname) Places For townships see also Clyde Township Australia * Clyde, New South Wales * Clyde, Victoria * Clyde River, New South Wales Canada * Clyde, Alberta * Clyde, Ontario, a tow ...
at
Shawfield Shawfield is an industrial/commercial area of the Royal Burgh of Rutherglen in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located to the north of the town centre. It is bordered to the east by the River Clyde, to the north by the Glasgow neighbourhood of Oa ...
in
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
and took charge of the
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
youth team training in Paisley. Before going into management, Capello spent the early 1980s coaching the Milan youth teams. Bringing through talent such as
Paolo Maldini Paolo Cesare Maldini (; born 26 June 1968) is an Italian former professional footballer who played primarily as a left back and centre back for AC Milan and the Italy national team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest defenders of a ...
and
Alessandro Costacurta Alessandro Costacurta (born 24 April 1966) is an Italian football pundit, manager and a former professional defender, who usually played as a centre back. Throughout his club career, Costacurta spent over twenty years with AC Milan between 19 ...
, he led the under-19s to numerous youth tournament successes. He completed the last of his coaching badges in 1986. He was promoted to first team coach in 1987, and worked as Nils Liedholm's assistant. His first experience as a head coach was leading Milan in the last six games of the 1986–87 season, replacing Liedholm and achieving
UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...
qualifications in a play-off with Sampdoria. The following season, however,
Silvio Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; born 29 September 1936) is an Italian media tycoon and politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy in four governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies ...
hired
Arrigo Sacchi Arrigo Sacchi (born 1 April 1946) is an Italian former professional football coach. He has twice managed AC Milan (1987–1991, 1996–1997), with great success. He won the Serie A title in his 1987–88 debut season and then dominated European ...
as the new ''Rossoneri'' manager and Capello stepped aside, but still worked for the club. A student at Coverciano, in 1984 he penned a research article entitled "The Zonal Marking System". While at Coverciano, Capello acted as general manager for a variety of sports, including
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
,
ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...
,
volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...
and
rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
. After standing aside as manager, Berlusconi sent him on high-level business courses.


First spell at Milan

Capello replaced Sacchi as Milan manager in June 1991, and was a controversial appointment as he was seen as a Berlusconi "yes-man" compared to the demanding (both on the club's finances and on his players) but highly successful Sacchi. Capello largely retained the players and tactical systems put in place by Sacchi, though he replaced ageing
central midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
Carlo Ancelotti Carlo Ancelotti , (born 10 June 1959) is an Italian professional football manager and former player who is the manager of La Liga club Real Madrid. Regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time, Ancelotti is the most decorated manager ...
with a young
Demetrio Albertini Demetrio Albertini (; born 23 August 1971) is the sporting director of Parma and a former professional Italian football midfielder and vice-president of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC). He is widely considered one of the legends of the A ...
and signed
goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...
Sebastiano Rossi Sebastiano Rossi (born 20 July 1964) is an Italian retired professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. During a 21-year professional career, he appeared in 346 Serie A games, most notably representing A.C. Milan (12 seasons) with which ...
. Allowing for more creative freedom from his attackers, Milan won the
Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...
title undefeated in 1991–92. He spent around £15 million on winger
Gianluigi Lentini Gianluigi Lentini (; born 27 March 1969) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a winger, usually on the left flank. He was once the world's most expensive footballer, when he moved from Torino to Silvio Berlusconi's Milan ...
, breaking the
world football transfer record The following is a list of most expensive association football transfers, which details the highest transfer fees ever paid for players, as well as transfers which set new world transfer records. The first recorded record transfer was of Willie ...
. He also signed Fernando De Napoli,
Stefano Eranio Stefano Eranio (; born 29 December 1966) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Throughout his career, Eranio played mainly as a right winger; he is mostly remembered for having played for Italian clubs A.C. Mila ...
,
Jean-Pierre Papin Jean-Pierre Roger Guillaume Papin (born 5 November 1963) is a French football manager and former professional player who played as a forward. He was named the Ballon d'Or and IFFHS World's Top Goal Scorer of the Year in 1991. Papin was known for ...
,
Dejan Savićević Dejan Savićević ( cyrl, Дејан Савићевић, ; born 15 September 1966) is a Montenegrin former footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Since 2004, he has been the president of the Montenegrin Football Association (FSCG), cu ...
and
Zvonimir Boban Zvonimir "Zvone" Boban (; born 8 October 1968) is a Croatian former footballer who currently works at UEFA as the Chief of Football. Boban played as a midfielder and was usually deployed as an attacking midfielder. He played most of his professi ...
. Already boasting talent such as Marco van Basten,
Ruud Gullit Ruud Gullit (; born Rudi Dil; 1 September 1962) is a Dutch footballer and subsequent manager who played professionally in the 1980s and 1990s as a defender, midfielder or forward. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all ...
,
Paolo Maldini Paolo Cesare Maldini (; born 26 June 1968) is an Italian former professional footballer who played primarily as a left back and centre back for AC Milan and the Italy national team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest defenders of a ...
and
Frank Rijkaard Franklin Edmundo Rijkaard (; born 30 September 1962) is a Dutch former footballer and former manager who played as a defensive midfielder. Rijkaard played for Ajax, Real Zaragoza and AC Milan and represented the Netherlands national team side ...
, Capello was one of the first managers to introduce a squad rotation approach. He played Rijkaard and Albertini as deep-lying central midfielders, allowing his wingers more license to attack. Milan dominated the league in the 1992–93 season, defending the Serie A title, and reached the 1993 UEFA Champions League final, losing to 1–0
Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
. Milan remained unbeaten for 58 league games, between 19 May 1991 and 21 March 1993, which included an entire season in the league, a record in Italian football. They were finally defeated 1–0 by
Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...
after a goal from
Faustino Asprilla Faustino Hernán Asprilla Hinestroza (born 10 November 1969) is a Colombian former professional footballer who most notably played for Parma, Newcastle United and the Colombia national team as a forward. Club career Early years After starting ...
. Building for the 1993–94 season, Capello signed Christian Panucci,
Brian Laudrup Brian Laudrup (, born 22 February 1969) is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a winger, forward or as a midfielder, and was regarded as one of the most talented players of his generation. He currently works as a football co ...
,
Florin Răducioiu Florin Valeriu Răducioiu (born 17 March 1970) is a Romanian former football striker, who played for Dinamo București, A.C. Milan, Brescia Calcio, West Ham United, RCD Espanyol, VfB Stuttgart and AS Monaco. He played for Romania at the 1990 FI ...
and
Marcel Desailly Marcel Desailly (born Odenke Abbey; 7 September 1968) is a French former professional footballer, widely considered to be among the greatest centre-backs and defensive midfielders to ever play football. During a successful career at club level, l ...
. Playing the former defender Desailly as a holding midfielder allowed the rest of the midfield to push on and attack. His side lost 3–2 to
São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...
in the 1993 Intercontinental Cup, but defended the Serie A title, the club's third consecutive '' Scudetto'', and won the 1994 Champions League final with a 4–0 victory over
Johan Cruyff Hendrik Johannes Cruijff (, internationally known as Johan Cruyff; 25 April 1947 – 24 March 2016) was a Dutch professional football player and manager. As a player, he won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1971, 1973 and 1974. Cruyff was a ...
's
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
"Dream Team". Due to injuries endured by several of the club's attacking stars, in particular Van Basten, Milan only scored 36 goals in 34 games in the league that season, but finished with the best defence in Italy, conceding just 15 goals. The club's back four at the time, primarily made up by
Mauro Tassotti Mauro Tassotti (; born in Rome, 19 January 1960) is an Italian manager and former footballer who played predominantly as a right-back. He currently serves as an assistant coach at Genoa. After making his Serie A debut with Lazio, he went on to ...
,
Franco Baresi Franchino Baresi (; born 8 May 1960) is an Italian football youth team coach and a former player and manager. He mainly played as a sweeper or as a central defender, and spent his entire 20-year career with Serie A club AC Milan, captaining t ...
,
Alessandro Costacurta Alessandro Costacurta (born 24 April 1966) is an Italian football pundit, manager and a former professional defender, who usually played as a centre back. Throughout his club career, Costacurta spent over twenty years with AC Milan between 19 ...
and Paolo Maldini, is regarded as one of the greatest defences of all time; the club's defensive strength under Capello helped Milan's goalkeeper Rossi achieve the longest streak without conceding a goal in Serie A history during the 1993–94 season: in an 11-match span, from 12 December 1993 to 27 February 1994, Milan's defence went unbeaten for 929 consecutive minutes. The record was broken by Juventus'
Gianluigi Buffon Gianluigi Buffon (; born 28 January 1978) is an Italian professional footballer who captains and plays as a goalkeeper for the club Parma. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time. He is one of the few recorded pl ...
during the 2015–16 season. With Van Basten and Papin gone, Capello recalled Ruud Gullit from Sampdoria and signed winger
Paolo Di Canio Paolo Di Canio (born 9 July 1968) is an Italian former professional footballer and manager. During his playing career he made over 500 league appearances and scored over one hundred goals as a forward. He primarily played as a deep-lying forward ...
as Milan struggled at the start of the 1994–95 season, losing in the 1994 Intercontinental Cup to Vélez Sársfield. However, they beat Arsenal in the 1994 European Super Cup, and reached their third consecutive Champions League final in 1995, where they were defeated by Ajax. They finished the league campaign in fourth place, however, failing to qualify for the Champions League the following season. Building for the 1995–96 season, Milan signed strikers
George Weah George Tawlon Manneh Oppong Ousman Weah (; born 1 October 1966) is a Liberian politician and former professional footballer who is the incumbent president of Liberia, in office since 2018. Prior to his election to the presidency, Weah served a ...
and Roberto Baggio, as well as winger
Paulo Futre Paulo Jorge dos Santos Futre (; born 28 February 1966) is a Portuguese former footballer who played mostly as a left winger. He is one of the greatest natural talents of the Portugal. After starting playing for Sporting, he moved to Porto – ...
; this created a selection problem as Capello already had several forwards and wingers in his squad, including Di Canio, Lentini, Savićević, Eranio,
Roberto Donadoni Roberto Donadoni (; born 9 September 1963) is an Italian football manager and former midfielder. Donadoni was capable of playing on either flank, or in the centre. He began his career with Atalanta, and he later became a pillar of the powerhous ...
and
Marco Simone Marco Simone (; born 7 January 1969) is an Italian professional football manager and former player. As a player, he was a striker and winger. He most prominently played for Milan, with whom he won four Serie A championships and two UEFA Cham ...
. Capello, however, was once again able to implement a squad rotation policy successfully, and even modified Milan's 4–4–2 formation at times, introducing an attacking trident in which the lone striker Weah was supported by Baggio and Savićević, thus allowing the two playmakers to play alongside each other. That season, Milan won the league title by an eight-point margin.


First spell at Real Madrid

Capello was unveiled as the new
Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
coach in 1996. A major task was combining the attacking talents of
Davor Šuker Davor Šuker (; born 1 January 1968) is a Croatian football administrator and former footballer who played as a striker. He served as president of the Croatian Football Federation from 2012 to 2021. He began his footballing career in his hometo ...
,
Predrag Mijatović Predrag "Peđa" Mijatović ( sr-Cyrl, Предраг Мијатовић, ; born 19 January 1969) is a Montenegrin retired professional footballer who played as a striker. At club level, Mijatović played for six clubs: Budućnost, Partizan, Va ...
and
Raúl Raul, Raúl and Raül are the Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Galician, Asturian, Basque, Aragonese, and Catalan forms of the Anglo-Germanic given name Ralph or Rudolph. They are cognates of the French Raoul. Raul, Raúl or Raül may re ...
in a single team, which Capello did by playing a three-man attack, in spite of his reputation for cautious and defensive football. A simple but effective tactic would be the long ball from defender
Fernando Hierro Fernando Ruiz Hierro (; born 23 March 1968) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a centre-back, sweeper or defensive midfielder. He is the current sporting director of Liga MX club C.D. Guadalajara. He won five L ...
to a sprinting
Roberto Carlos Roberto Carlos da Silva Rocha (born 10 April 1973), commonly known as Roberto Carlos, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who now works as a football ambassador. He started his career in Brazil as a forward but spent most of his car ...
, who would be supported on the left by Mijatović and Raúl; Roberto Carlos would then have the option of either going to goal or passing to Šuker, Mijatović or Raúl. He had a single season in charge of Real guiding the club to the Spanish league title in 1997. Real managed to edge out their bitter rivals Barcelona by just two points. Despite his tenure with ''Los Merengues'' lasting only a year, he was credited with bringing in a number of players such as Šuker, Mijatović, Roberto Carlos and
Clarence Seedorf Clarence Clyde Seedorf (; born 1 April 1976) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player. He is regarded by many to be one of the best midfielders of his generation. Seedorf is considered one of the most successful players in UE ...
who helped the club establish their Champions League dominance over the next few years. Despite his success, he fell out with chairman
Lorenzo Sanz Lorenzo Sanz Mancebo (9 August 1943 – 21 March 2020) was a Spanish businessman who was the 14th President of Real Madrid and a former owner of Málaga CF. Early life He was born in August 1943 in a humble family in Madrid, being the eldest ...
and was not popular with fans or the Spanish press for "demoting" Raúl to the left-wing.


Second spell at Milan

Despite a belief by the
Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...
owner
Sergio Cragnotti Sergio Cragnotti (; born 9 January 1940, in Rome, Italy) is an Italian entrepreneur and author. One of the most high-profile and wealthy business figures in Italy in recent times, Cragnotti is best known for having been President of S.S. Lazio. ...
that Capello had made a verbal agreement to coach his club, Capello instead returned to Milan for a brief and less successful spell. Some of the previous squad had departed, and others such as
Franco Baresi Franchino Baresi (; born 8 May 1960) is an Italian football youth team coach and a former player and manager. He mainly played as a sweeper or as a central defender, and spent his entire 20-year career with Serie A club AC Milan, captaining t ...
were coming to the end of their careers. The squad had to be extensively rebuilt, and high quality signings such as
Patrick Kluivert Patrick Stephan Kluivert (; born 1 July 1976) is a Dutch former football player, coach and sporting director. He played as a striker, most notably for AFC Ajax, FC Barcelona and the Netherlands national team. He was part of Ajax's Golden Gen ...
,
Leonardo Leonardo is a masculine given name, the Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese equivalent of the English, German, and Dutch name, Leonard Leonard or ''Leo'' is a common English masculine given name and a surname. The given name and surname originate ...
,
Winston Bogarde Winston Lloyd Bogarde (born 22 October 1970) is a Dutch retired professional footballer, and was the assistant coach at Ajax. He was known for his physical strength, and played mostly as a central defender although he could occasionally play as ...
,
Christian Ziege Christian Ziege (; born 1 February 1972) is a German football manager and former player. He most recently coached FC Pinzgau. A defender, he started his playing career at FC Bayern Munich, where he won two Bundesliga titles and a UEFA Cup be ...
,
André Cruz André Alves da Cruz (born 20 September 1968) is a Brazilian retired footballer who played as a central defender. He played for several clubs in Brazil and Europe, and also represented the Brazil national team, taking part in the 1989 and 199 ...
and
Ibrahim Ba Ibrahim "Ibou" Ba (born 12 January 1973) is a French former professional footballer who played as a right midfielder. Starting off his career with Le Havre in France in the early 1990s, he went on to represent clubs in Italy, England, Turkey, a ...
did not gel. The team managed to win just 11 games all season, with a particular low occurring in March 1998 when they lost 4–1 to Juventus and Capello was sent off for protesting a decision by the referee. This was followed by a 5–0 defeat to Roma in May. Milan finished the 1997–98 Serie A season in tenth place, 30 points behind the champions Juventus, by which time Capello had already departed the club. Some of the players suggested that Capello had instituted a more lax training regime than he had in his previous spell. A run in the
Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...
ended when Milan were beaten in the
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
by Lazio 3–2 on aggregate, despite taking a 1–0 lead in the first leg. Capello took credit for Milan's title win the following season claiming, as he had rebuilt the side, that it was "my team".


Roma

Following his dismissal at Milan, Capello took a short break from coaching. He told a reporter that he "sat on a beach and thought about football". He also enjoyed a spell as a colour commentator for Italian television, participating in coverage of the 1999 Copa América. In May 1999, he moved to Roma, the club he had first joined as a player 30 years prior. His arrival was hailed by Roma president
Franco Sensi Francesco Sensi, Cavaliere del lavoro (29 July 1926 – 17 August 2008) was an Italian oil tycoon. He was born in Rome, where he lived throughout his entire life, though he also served time as mayor of Visso, the city where his family came from ...
, who said, "Capello is a winner and I believe in him." Capello was joined by Franco Baldini, who became the club's sporting director. Capello built his side around
Marco Delvecchio Marco Delvecchio (; born 7 April 1973) is a retired Italian footballer, who played as a forward. Although he played for several Italian clubs throughout his career, he spent most of it at A.S. Roma, where he is still remembered by the club's f ...
, sometimes leaving
Vincenzo Montella Vincenzo Montella (; born 18 June 1974) is an Italian retired footballer and current manager, who played as a striker. He is current manager of Süper Lig club Adana Demirspor. Montella's nickname during his playing career was "Aeroplanino", i ...
on the bench. Believing his squad lacked a world-class striker, Capello made a move to sign
Ruud van Nistelrooy Rutgerus Johannes Martinus van Nistelrooij (anglicised to Van Nistelrooy; born 1 July 1976) is a Dutch professional football coach and former player. He is currently the coach of PSV Eindhoven. A former footballer, Van Nistelrooy is often consi ...
, but the deal was wrecked following a serious injury. His first season saw Roma finish sixth, made particularly disappointing as cross-city rivals Lazio won the title, and they were knocked out of the UEFA Cup by Leeds United. Capello's breakthrough at the club occurred when he won the 2000–01 Serie A title, having signed
Walter Samuel Walter Adrián Samuel (; born Walter Adrián Luján; 23 March 1978) is an Argentine former professional footballer. Samuel has been regarded as one of the best centre-backs of his generation, and as one of football's toughest defenders, with ...
to strengthen his defence, and
Gabriel Batistuta Gabriel Omar Batistuta (; born 1 February 1969) is an Argentine former professional Association football, footballer. During his playing career, Batistuta was nicknamed Batigol () as well as El Ángel Gabriel (; Spanish for ''Archangel Gabriel, ...
as a main goalscorer. Although the large fee for Batistuta was initially questioned, the Argentine striker scored a number of vital goals. With Roma, Capello switched from his trademark 4–4–2 to an aggressive 3–4–1–2 formation, which allowed the club's star playmaker and captain
Francesco Totti Francesco Totti (; born 27 September 1976) is an Italian former professional footballer who played solely for Roma and the Italy national team. He is often referred to as ''Er Bimbo de Oro'' (The Golden Boy), ''L'Ottavo Re di Roma'' (The Eig ...
to function in his preferred role as an attacking midfielder, while
Cafu Marcos Evangelista de Morais (born 7 June 1970), known as Cafu (), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a right-back. Known for his pace and energetic attacking runs along the right flank, he is regarded as one of the gr ...
and
Vincent Candela Vincent Philippe Antoine Candela (born 24 October 1973) is a French former professional footballer. With the French national team, Candela won the 1998 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2000. Early life Candela was born in Bédarieux, Hérault. Cl ...
served as attack-minded wing-backs on the flanks. The season began in difficult fashion with Roma struggling for form and an angry fans protest at the club's Trigoria training complex which turned violent when players cars were attacked. Capello resisted calls for his resignation, and the team's results dramatically improved helped by the performances of the Brazilian midfielder Emerson. The title was sealed with a 3–1 victory over Parma at the
Stadio Olimpico The Stadio Olimpico (English: ''Olympic Stadium'') is the largest sports facility in Rome, Italy, seating over 70,000 spectators. It is located within the Foro Italico sports complex, north of the city. The structure is owned by the Italian Na ...
on 17 June, prompting a major
pitch invasion A pitch invasion (known in North America as field storming or rushing the field) occurs when a person or a crowd of people spectating a sporting event run onto the competition area, usually to celebrate or protest an incident, or sometimes as ...
by the Roma supporters. Capello was praised for fielding Montella, a player he had had a bust-up with just days before due to the fact that he often substituted him for tactical reasons in the second half, in the final match of the season; Montella, along with Totti and Batisuta went on to score in the title-deciding victory. That was Roma's first major honour in a decade and only the third time ever that they had been crowned champions of Italy. Following the title win there was also a widespread belief that he had done a secret deal to succeed
Sir Alex Ferguson Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish former football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football managers of all tim ...
at Manchester United. Ferguson had announced his decision to retire, with Capello a leading candidate to replace him allegedly going so far as to meet with the Manchester United chairman
Martin Edwards Charles Martin Edwards (born 24 July 1945) is the former chairman of Manchester United, a position he held from 1980 until 2002. He now holds the position of honorary life president at the club and Director of Inview Technology Ltd. Biography ...
. Capello did little to dispel the rumours when he remarked, "I like the spirit of English football and I would like to work in English football", adding that it was an honour to be pursued by the club. Capello's link with United eventually came to nothing after Ferguson abandoned his decision to retire and signed a new contract, with Martin Edwards claiming that United had been three or four days away from appointing a new manager, believed to be Capello, when Ferguson changed his mind. The 2001–02 season developed into a battle between Roma and Juventus. After a heated encounter between the teams, Capello used an interview to criticise Luciano Moggi from Juventus, particularly their dealings with players
agent Agent may refer to: Espionage, investigation, and law *, spies or intelligence officers * Law of agency, laws involving a person authorized to act on behalf of another ** Agent of record, a person with a contractual agreement with an insuranc ...
s. Capello signed a new contract in April 2002, worth £2.37 million a season. One of the highlights of the season was a 5–1 win over rivals Lazio which saw Vincenzo Montella score four goals. The defence of the title, however, was dealt a major blow when the club drew with bottom-placed
Venezia Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The islan ...
, as Roma finished second in the table behind Juventus by a single point. The following season Roma failed to maintain a serious challenge, and finished in eighth. Their Champions League ambitions were also ended following a defeat and a draw against Arsenal which saw them finish bottom of their group. Once again, it had been English opposition that had thwarted Roma in Europe. Roma lost the Coppa Italia final to Milan, with Capello particularly angered by supporters who waved banners calling on him to go. Capello's final year at Roma began well with the team playing much better football. They went on a seven-game winning streak before Christmas, including comfortable victories over Juventus and
Internazionale Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is t ...
. This led to speculation linking him with Juventus, despite his past differences with
Luciano Moggi Luciano Moggi ( born 10 July 1937) is a former Italian association football administrator. He was a club executive for A.S. Roma, Roma, S.S. Lazio, Lazio, Torino F.C., Torino, S.S.C. Napoli, Napoli, and Juventus, leading them to win six leagues ...
. Capello believed he had taken Roma as far as he could, and began to seriously considered a move. In the run-in, the club's form dipped and they ended up finishing 11 points behind champions Milan.


Juventus

In 2004, Capello left debt-ridden Roma to sign with Juventus. His move came as a surprise because he had kept it such a secret, and because he had been engaged in a war of words with Luciano Moggi. One of Capello's first moves was to sign Emerson from Roma, further angering many of his critics who believed he had betrayed Roma. Capello's Juventus reached the quarter-finals of the 2004–05 and 2005–06 Champions Leagues before being eliminated by
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
and Arsenal respectively. Juventus also won the 2004–05 Serie A, 2004–05 and 2005–06 Serie A, 2005–06 ''Scudetto, Scudetti'' under Capello's leadership, but were later stripped off their trophies due to the team's involvement in the 2006 Serie A scandal. In July 2006, with Juventus in the midst of the aforementioned scandal, Capello resigned as Juventus manager. Press reports strongly linked him with a move back to Real Madrid; new club president Ramón Calderón had publicly stated his hope that Capello would return for a second stint at the club and on 5 July 2006, the official Real Madrid website announced Capello's appointment.


Second spell at Real Madrid

In 2006–07 Real Madrid CF season, 2006, Capello arrived in Madrid to a Real side suffering one of the longest spells without a trophy in their history. He quickly drew the disdain of Real's ardent supporters because of his defensive playing style. In interviews, Capello responded to those critics by saying that the beauty of attacking plays was old. He said that results were much more important than playing beautifully. He also added that "those days are over". His remit was to bring the title back to Madrid, a task that had been too much for five other coaches since 2003. In Spain, he was commonly referred to as ''"Don Fabio"''. At Real Madrid, Capello had several high-profile falling outs. He was criticised for not playing David Beckham because of his contract wranglings and Ronaldo (Brazilian footballer), Ronaldo, who struggled for fitness and form. Capello also feuded with his compatriot Antonio Cassano; the two had previously had disputes at Roma. In March, Real were again eliminated early from the 2006–07 UEFA Champions League, Champions League and were mired in fourth place in the league, six points behind Barcelona. On 20 February 2007, Real Madrid were forced to deny rumours that Capello would be leaving after that day's match. Despite the unrest, Capello recalled Beckham, whose return was pivotal for the team's recovery. A string of successful results in the latter half of the season took Real to the top of the table, while Barça's results became inconsistent. Real Madrid won their 30th league title on the final day of the season by beating RCD Mallorca, Mallorca 3–1 at home. The victory was achieved after Capello substituted an injured Beckham and brought on José Antonio Reyes. Real had been 1–0 down prior to the substitution (sport), substitution and Reyes turned the match scoring two goals. Despite winning La Liga, Capello was sacked on 28 June 2007 due to Real's pragmatic style of play at a club with recent memories of the individualistic and free-flowing, but ultimately unsuccessful, ''Galácticos'' era.


England

Capello was formally appointed as manager of the England national team on 14 December 2007. He began his day-to-day role on 7 January 2008 on a four-and-a-half-year deal. His annual pay was claimed to be £6 million. After being confirmed for the job, he announced it would be his last in football. Capello announced on the day of his unveiling that it was a dream come true to manage the England national team and that he hoped to learn the English language in the following month prior to his first official meeting with the players. Capello was welcomed by many English fans and the press who hailed his appointment as a triumph, citing in particular his impressive trophy haul and his reputation as a disciplinarian in contrast to the excessive leniency perceived to have existed under his two predecessors. In Italy, news of his appointment was greeted with a sense of pride that one of their countrymen had been selected to coach an elite European national team. His arrival also generated some criticism, notably from then FIFA President Sepp Blatter, who said, "I would say it is a little surprising that the motherland of football has ignored a sacrosanct law or belief that the national team manager should be from the same country as the players." England's first match with Capello as manager was at Wembley Stadium against Switzerland national football team, Switzerland on 6 February 2008. On 31 January 2008, it was confirmed that a number of senior players including Sol Campbell and David Beckham had not been selected for Capello's debut squad. Goalkeeper Paul Robinson (footballer, born 1979), Paul Robinson was also dropped after recent erratic form. Debut call-ups were handed to two players: Curtis Davies and Gabriel Agbonlahor, both of Aston Villa F.C., Aston Villa. Jermaine Jenas and Shaun Wright-Phillips scored in England's 2–1 win at Wembley. England lost their second match under Capello, an international friendly against France national football team, France. England lost the game 1–0 after a Franck Ribéry penalty. Capello's third game in charge was against the United States men's national soccer team, United States on 28 May 2008. England won the game 2–0 thanks to goals from John Terry and Steven Gerrard. On 1 June 2008, England beat Trinidad and Tobago national football team, Trinidad and Tobago 3–0. Capello had been rotating the captain (association football), captaincy around several senior players during his first few matches in charge. On 19 August 2008, he announced that John Terry would be named the permanent captain. On 20 August 2008, England drew 2–2 with the Czech Republic national football team, Czech Republic after goals from Wes Brown and Joe Cole.


World Cup qualification

England opened Capello's first competitive campaign with a 2–0 victory over Andorra national football team, Andorra, in Barcelona, on 6 September 2008. Four days later, on 10 September, England played Croatia national football team, Croatia, the team that had qualified for the UEFA Euro 2008, previous competition at their expense. England won 4–1 with Theo Walcott scoring a hat-trick. The next qualification game was at Wembley just over a month later, on 11 October, against Kazakhstan national football team, Kazakhstan. The game remained goalless at half-time, but England went on to win 5–1. A fourth-straight win on 15 October made this England's best ever start to a World Cup qualifying campaign as they beat Belarus national football team, Belarus 3–1. England rounded off 2008 by beating Germany national football team, Germany 2–1 on 19 November. Goals from Terry and Matthew Upson secured the victory. In the spring of 2009, England fell to a 2–0 defeat against reigning UEFA Euro 2008 Final, European champions Spain national football team, Spain and beating Slovakia national football team, Slovakia 4–0. In the summer of 2009, England played another friendly against the Netherlands national football team, Netherlands, coming back from 2–0 down to secure a 2–2 draw away from home. Slovenia national football team, Slovenia were beaten 2–1 in Wembley in the same year. England resumed their qualification campaign by beating Ukraine national football team, Ukraine 2–1, on 1 April 2009, at Wembley. On 6 June, they travelled to Almaty and beat Kazakhstan national football team, Kazakhstan 4–0, and four days later, they returned to Wembley and to beat Andorra again 6–0, making it seven wins out of seven in the qualification campaign. A notable feature of the campaign was the goalscoring form of Wayne Rooney: eight in seven games. With two in the friendly against Slovakia in March 2009, Rooney had scored ten goals in eight England games. On 9 September 2009, Capello successfully guided England to qualification to the 2010 World Cup following a 5–1 win at home to Croatia. England's hopes of a 100% record in their 2010 qualifying campaign were ended with a 0–1 defeat in Ukraine in the final away match. However, a 3–0 victory over Belarus confirmed England as the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)#Qualification, top scorers in the UEFA zone with 34 goals, 6 ahead of second top scorers Spain. In November 2009, England were beaten 1–0 by Brazil national football team, Brazil in Qatar, Capello's third defeat as England manager.


2010 World Cup

In March 2010, England played a friendly against Egypt national football team, Egypt and beat the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations Final, African champions 3–1. Two months later, in the last home match before the World Cup, they beat Mexico national football team, Mexico by the same scoreline. In May 2010, England played a friendly against Japan national football team, Japan at UPC-Arena, Graz, and won 2–1. The two goals conceded by Japan were both own goals by Marcus Tulio Tanaka, Marcus Tanaka and Yuji Nakazawa. After constant speculation linking him with the vacant managerial post at
Internazionale Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is t ...
, on 2 June 2010 Capello committed himself to the England job until at least after UEFA Euro 2012, Euro 2012. England's build-up to the World Cup started badly, with John Terry being stripped of the captaincy by Capello after his involvement in a tabloid scandal in February 2010. Terry's successor as captain, Rio Ferdinand, was injured in a training session prior to England's opening match, resulting in his withdrawal from the squad. England drew the first game 1–1 with the United States due to an error by goalkeeper Robert Green, after which Capello declared the tournament Adidas Jabulani ball was "impossible to control". This was followed by a poor display against Algeria national football team, Algeria leading to a 0–0 draw and widespread criticism of both Capello and the England team. On 23 June, Capello led England into the round of 16 of the World Cup after they beat Slovenia 1–0. However, they were beaten in their first knockout match 4–1 by Germany. With Germany leading 2–1, Frank Lampard scored a 20-yard strike. However, even though the ball clearly bounced a full yard over the German goal-line, all the match officials failed to see it and did not award a goal. As England pressed forward in the second half, they conceded two counter-attack goals. Nevertheless, England's performance led to much criticism from fans, the media, and pundits alike. After England's elimination, Capello was criticized for imposing a strict military regime at England's Bloemfontein training camp, and not allowing his senior players to have tactical input. His 4–4–2 formation was derided as "outdated" with Steven Gerrard's positioning on the left of midfield also criticized. Capello's squad selection was questioned, with the selection of an unfit Ledley King and out of form Emile Heskey, as well as the surprising omission of Theo Walcott also coming under fire. Capello's indecision over his starting goalkeeper was cited as a reason for Robert Green's error in England's opening match with the U.S. On 2 July 2010,
The Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the ...
(FA) announced that Capello would remain as the manager of the England national team following speculation over his future following the World Cup.


Euro 2012 qualification

England kicked off their Euro 2012 UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying, qualifying campaign with two wins, 4–0 against Bulgaria national football team, Bulgaria and 3–1 away against Switzerland, yet could only draw 0–0 against group leaders Montenegro national football team, Montenegro at Wembley. Capello made some changes afterwards, with Ferdinand and Gerrard out of the picture. John Terry was reinstated as captain to much criticism. The traditional 4–4–2 was transformed to 4–3–3, with Darren Bent as Forward (association football)#Centre-forward, centre forward and Rooney as a Forward (association football)#Winger, left-sided forward. The result was successful, as England beat Wales national football team, Wales 2–0 at the Millennium Stadium on 26 March 2011. England's next game was at Wembley against Switzerland on 4 June 2011, which they recovered from a 0–2 deficit to draw 2–2 with goals from Frank Lampard and Ashley Young. After a narrow 1–0 win against Wales at Wembley, Capello claimed that several England players were "mentally fragile" and suggested he intended to reinvent his squad once Euro 2012 qualification had been sealed. On 7 October 2011, England qualified for the European Championships with a 2–2 draw in Montenegro. England completed their campaign with a record of five wins, three draws and no defeats. England completed an unbeaten 2011 with 1–0 friendly victories over Spain and Sweden national football team, Sweden in November 2011. Capello resigned on 8 February 2012 following the FA's removal of the captaincy from John Terry.


Russia

On 26 July 2012, Capello became manager of the Russia national football team, Russia national team, following the resignation of Dick Advocaat. His first game in charge was a 1–1 draw with Ivory Coast national football team, Ivory Coast. Capello's first competitive game in charge of Russia was the opening match of the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)#Group F, 2014 World Cup qualification campaign, a 2–0 victory at home to Northern Ireland national football team, Northern Ireland. He led Russia into the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification finals, finishing first in 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group F, Group F. In January 2014, Capello committed his future to the Russia national team until the end of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, 2018 World Cup in Russia. At the 2014 FIFA World Cup, 2014 World Cup, Russia were knocked out at the 2014 FIFA World Cup Group H, group stage, finishing third after a 1–1 draw against Algeria in their final match. During qualifying for UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying Group G, UEFA Euro 2016, Capello had six games as the head coach of Russia with results: two wins, two draws and two losses. On 14 June 2015, Russia lost 1–0 to Austria national football team, Austria. Thereafter, on 14 July 2015, Capello was sacked as Russian manager.


Jiangsu Suning and retirement

On 11 June 2017, Capello signed a contract with Chinese club
Jiangsu Suning Jiangsu Football Club (), later known as Jiangsu Sainty F.C. (2000–2016) and Jiangsu Suning F.C. (2016–2021), was a professional football club that participated in the Chinese Super League since 2009 until its dissolution in 2021. The tea ...
. The club finished as the 12th (out of 16 teams) in 2017 Chinese Super League. On 28 March 2018, Capello was sacked after only 3 games into the new season. In April, later that year, he officially announced that he had retired from coaching.


Style of management

Considered to be one of the greatest and most successful football managers of all time, Capello has been described as being a "pragmatic" coach, and is known for his tactical versatility and ability to adapt his formations to tactical systems which best suit his players. Nicknamed ''Don (honorific), Don Fabio'' by the Spanish media during his time with Real Madrid, while he has drawn praise for his success, tactical awareness, and effectiveness as a manager, as well as for often developing several promising young players, he also drawn criticism at times from both players and pundits for being overly strict and defensive minded as a coach, which has led to many well-publicised disagreements with several of his players. Capello has described his own coaching philosophy as one of copying and developing. He has also occasionally been criticised by pundits for his perceived arrogance and stubbornness as a manager. In 2008, when writing for ''The Guardian'', David Lacey likened Capello to Alf Ramsey for their shared belief in the importance of a solid defensive base, while also praising him for his ability to identify a problem and deal with it in a quick and successful manner, his ability to command respect in the dressing room and maintain a professional attitude with his players, and his ability to manage press conferences effectively. In his highly successful first spell with Milan, Capello retained many of the players and the 4–4–2 tactical system put in place by Sacchi, although his style of management was less demanding and rigorous than Sacchi's, which initially gave his forwards more creative freedom to attack; he also introduced several younger players into the first team. In subsequent seasons, following injuries to several attacking players, he adopted a more conservative 4–1–4–1 formation, in which the team's strong defensive line, further protected by Desailly, a former centre back who was converted to a holding midfielder by Capello, provided the foundation for much of the team's success, and also gave the wingers and more creative, offensive-minded midfielders licence to attack. In the final season of his first spell at the club, Capello often rotated several of the team's attacking players in order to get the best out of each them without offsetting the balance within the team; he also abandoned the club's trademark 4–4–2 formation for a 4–3–2–1 formation at times, featuring an attacking trident that allowed the team's two offensive playmakers, Baggio and Savićević, to play alongside each other, behind the club's main striker Weah. In his first spell with Real Madrid, Capello once again built a title-winning side based on a strong defence and an efficient playing style, but also fielded three strikers – Šuker, Mijatović, and Raúl – while promoting several other promising young players to the first team. A key component of the team's success was the club's new left-back Roberto Carlos, who excelled at making overlapping attacking runs to beat the opposition's defensive line and get on the end of Hierro's long balls from the back; the role gave him the freedom to either run on goal or look to deliver the ball to one of the team's strikers. He was also criticised in the media, however, for using striker Raúl as a left winger at times. During the 2000–01 title-winning season with Roma, Capello adopted a 3–4–1–2 formation, which made use of a three-man back-line and attacking wing-backs (Cafu and Candela), while Totti operated as the team's advanced playmaker behind a main striker and a more mobile, creative forward; the offensive trio was supported by two hard-working and aggressive defensive minded midfielders, namely Emerson, and Damiano Tommasi. Following the purchase of talented youngster Cassano the next season, Capello switched to a Formation (association football)#3–5–2, 3–5–2 formation. At Juventus, Capello rejected the club's board members' requests to field a three-man front line and once again reverted to his preferred 4–4–2 formation. Capello won consecutive league titles, and put together a balanced and efficient side which was built upon a strong and highly organised back-line, which was further supported by two dynamic, defensive-minded box-to-box midfielders in the
centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics * Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentri ...
, such as Manuele Blasi, Stephen Appiah, Alessio Tacchinardi, Emerson, and later Patrick Vieira, who both alternated defensive and playmaking duties in midfield; the team's attacking wingers, Pavel Nedvěd and Mauro Camoranesi, were required both to drop back defensively and also assist the strikers from an offensive standpoint. Capello usually partnered the team's main striker David Trezeguet alongside the emerging Zlatan Ibrahimović up-front, with the latter playing in a more second striker, creative role, while the team's captain, Alessandro Del Piero, was used mostly as a substitute. Capello also introduced several younger players into the squad, such as the Romanian striker Adrian Mutu, and left-back Giorgio Chiellini; the latter's performances later prompted Capello to bench Jonathan Zebina and shift left-back Gianluca Zambrotta to right-back, in order to accommodate the youngster into the first team. In his second spell with Real Madrid, Capello implemented a Formation (association football)#4–2–3–1, 4–2–3–1 formation, which made use of two defensive-minded Defender (association football)#Full-back, full-backs, two defensive midfielders, and two wingers who also often tracked back; however, as a result, the club's main striker, Ruud van Nistelrooy, was often isolated, while the team's efficient playing style was described as being boring in the media, and Capello was frequently derided for his overly defensive tactics. Despite the criticism he endured, Capello made several bold decisions which allowed several talented players to co-exist, benching Ronaldo, and reinstating David Beckham into the starting line-up, as well as Brazilian forward Robinho, Spanish midfielder Guti, and centre-back Iván Helguera, who were initially out of favour with the manager at the start of the season. He was also able to get the best out of new signings Ruud van Nistelrooy, Emerson, Mahamadou Diarra, and Fabio Cannavaro, despite their poor form at the beginning of the season. He was consequently was able to create an organised, determined, and unified team environment through his disciplined and pragmatic approach; he ultimately led the club to an eight match unbeaten streak to come back from behind and claim the Liga title, although he was sacked at the end of the season.


Personal life

Capello was born in San Canzian d'Isonzo near Gorizia, in north-eastern Italy, in what was then the Morgan Line, Allied-occupied Zone A of the Julian March. His parents were Guerrino and Evelina Capello. Capello is a devout Catholic who prays twice a day, and he has expressed admiration for Pope Benedict XVI. His father, a schoolteacher, played football, and his uncle Mario Tortul was also a football player; for Unione Triestina 2012 S.S.D., Triestina, Padova Calcio, Padova, Sampdoria and the Italy national team during the 1960s. Capello has spent his entire adult life working in football. He has been married to his wife Laura, whom he first met on a bus as a teenager, for over 40 years. He is represented by his son Pier Filippo, who acts as his agent. In January 2008, Italian police announced that they were launching an investigation into tax irregularities by Capello. The probe, however, has been dismissed as routine by Capello's spokesmen, who said this was part of a wider investigation into a number of wealthy Italians. The FA revealed that they had known about the upcoming probe when they had appointed Capello, and expected no charges to be brought. Capello is a fine art enthusiast. His art collection is estimated to be worth £10 million. His favourite artist is reportedly Wassily Kandinsky. Capello is also known for his right–wing political views, despite having previously been a self–described "socialist" in the 1960s, and subsequently a long–time supporter of the Christian Democracy (Italy), Christian Democrats; he was later a long–time supporter of Silvio Berlusconi and his centre–right party Forza Italia. He attracted controversy when he expressed admiration for Spanish dictator Francisco Franco in 2006 and the "legacy of order" he believed him to have left in Spain. He later distanced himself from these comments, however, stating that he did not intend to praise dictatorships. In 2002 he also admitted to having voted for the Northern Italian right–wing separatist political party Lega (political party), La Lega once in the past, as well as the Italian Socialist Party and the Italian Republican Party, Republicans in his youth. He has rejected the label of a "conservative," however, noting that he supported the trade unions, stating: "I have great respect for all they have done to alleviate the exploitation of workers."


Career statistics


Player


Club


International


Manager


Honours


As a player

;SPAL *
Serie B The Serie B (), currently named Serie Balkrishna Industries, BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 ...
promotion: 1964–65 Serie B, 1964–65 ;Roma *
Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...
: 1968–69 Coppa Italia, 1968–69 ;Juventus *
Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...
: 1971–72, 1972–73, 1974–75 ;Milan *
Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...
: 1978–79 *
Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...
: 1976–77 Coppa Italia, 1976–77


As a coach

;Milan *
Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...
: 1991–92, 1992–93 Serie A, 1992–93, 1993–94 Serie A, 1993–94, 1995–96 Serie A, 1995–96 *Supercoppa Italiana: 1992 Supercoppa Italiana, 1992, 1993 Supercoppa Italiana, 1993, 1994 Supercoppa Italiana, 1994 *UEFA Champions League: 1994 UEFA Champions League Final, 1993–94 *UEFA Super Cup, European Super Cup: 1994 European Super Cup, 1994 ;Real Madrid *La Liga: 1996–97 La Liga, 1996–97, 2006–07 La Liga, 2006–07 ;Roma *
Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...
: 2000–01 Serie A, 2000–01 *Supercoppa Italiana: 2001 Supercoppa Italiana, 2001 ;Juventus *
Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...
: 2004–05 Serie A, 2004–05 (Revoked), 2005–06 Serie A, 2005–06 (Revoked)


Individual

*Albo Panchina d'Oro, Panchina d'Oro: 1991–92, 1993–94, 1997, 2000–01 *Serie A Coach of the Year: 2005 *BBC Sports Personality of the Year Coach Award: 2009 *Marca Leyenda: 2011 *Gran Galà del Calcio Critics' Award: 2011 *European Coach of the Year (association football), European Coach of the Year—Sepp Herberger Award: 1994 *European Coach of the Season (association football), European Coach of the Season: 1993–94 *Italian Football Hall of Fame: 2013 *ESPN 20th Greatest Manager of All Time: 2013 *France Football 21st Greatest Manager of All Time: 2019 *World Soccer (magazine)#Greatest Managers of All Time, World Soccer 24th Greatest Manager of All Time: 2013 *AIAC Football Leader Career Award: 2016 *A.C. Milan Hall of Fame


Notes


References


Bibliography

* *


External links

* *
BBC profile
*
Official England website profile

Official FIGC profile

Juventus statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Capello, Fabio 1946 births Living people People from San Canzian d'Isonzo People from the Province of Gorizia Italian Roman Catholics Footballers from Friuli Venezia Giulia Italian footballers Association football midfielders S.P.A.L. players A.S. Roma players Juventus F.C. players A.C. Milan players Serie B players Serie A players Italy international footballers 1974 FIFA World Cup players Italian football managers A.C. Milan managers Real Madrid CF managers A.S. Roma managers Juventus F.C. managers England national football team managers Russia national football team managers Jiangsu F.C. managers Serie A managers La Liga managers Chinese Super League managers UEFA Champions League winning managers 2010 FIFA World Cup managers 2014 FIFA World Cup managers Italian expatriate football managers Italian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Italian expatriate sportspeople in England Italian expatriate sportspeople in Russia Italian expatriate sportspeople in China Expatriate football managers in Spain Expatriate football managers in England Expatriate football managers in Russia Expatriate football managers in China Italian people of Hungarian descent