Southgate is no match for Capello as a manager but I'd rather have him than a past it has been
Id argue that the biggest change in modern football has been to the full back position, who are now expected to not only defend, but have the pace and stamina to get up and down the line and add the overlap in attacking play, contributing to assists and attacking play. The two players often used as an example of where this trend started? Cafu and Roberto Carlos.
Roberto Carlos was a centre forward, then a wide forward until 1996, when Fabio Capello bought him. He changed him and asked him to play what we now would see as a standard left back role, but at the time was revolutionary. He retired still widely acknowledged as the greatest LB ever.
Cafu was a defensive midfielder who had been bought by Real Zaragoza, was sold after one disappointing season back to another Brazilian team, who then sold him without playing a match to another. Capello turned him into a right back version of Carlos, and retired the undisputed best player of the position ever.
The past it has been who's tactical legacy is used by every single team in the world as a standard to this day. Go watch 2000 era Roma with Candela and Cafu roaming the byline.... it will look familiar because its modern football, but at the time? No one was playing like that!!
Durhamfootman wrote:whereas Capello was supposedly pretty tactically astute, but the players didn't like him, they hated his methods, they were afraid for their careers most of the time and so never felt able to play at their best, he wouldn't learn English and nobody was allowed to talk to him or bother him in any way..... whilst salting away a fortune in filthy lucre
Capello is arguably the best manager of all time. I am inclined to think if Capello couldnt bring success to England, no one could have at the time. Looking at that side for 2010 for instance, jsut comparing it to Spain and Germany and thinking we were on the same planet of quality is frankly ridiculous. We were nowhere near. It does irk me (Can you tell) that English press and fans speak about Capello so dimly. He has nowt to prove to England fans, he walked the walk, talked the talk..... England will be a minor blemish on a glittering career.
The players didn't like him, but then again, that was their problem. Plenty of players didnt like Capello; the same people who call him a difficult and socially inept n*bhead usually follow it by saying if it werent for him, they'd have been nobodies, and that he got the best out of them. I mean just look at how many of the recent Ballon D'or all time greatest XI are players that peaked under him, or were given a chance buy him. His imprint is all over this all time list. Check his career span for Ballon D'or winners or runners up too... the list is outsounding. Everywhere he went, he made players better, but not only better, all time greatest better.
Yet, we get some reject like Ben Foster, who couldnt get a game at United, and during the period he talks about also got dropped by the mega side of Birmingham, now troving around low budget laddy radio studios making videos that are widely shared, laughing about how nasty a guy Capello is and openly mocking him??? Great Ben. Maybe if you had acted a bit more of an adult and accepted the criticism you might have learned something - a few months with Capello and Buffon ended up 2nd in the Ballon D'or voting, a world cup winner, and a candidate for player of the tournament. You ended up at West Brom bouncing between divisions. Well done to you.
In fact, the players criticism verged on ridiculousness. And the press couldnt make their minds up; Capello was stuck in 1956 with his methods, but at the same time he was a nasty man for not allowing his team to eat unhealthy crap for breakfast. A dinosaur for insisting on modern preparations and standards for professional sportspeople? Isnt this, er......, actually ahead of the time if this wasnt standard? Can you imagine Messi tucking into a full English before a WC game? And the other grievance was Terry, who seemed to forget he shagged his team mates wife and kept moaning at the press that he wasnt captain because he was the born leader.... a born leader who a few months later decided to racial abuse his centre back partners (and de facto international captain) brother. Hurray for teamwork John, way to prove a point. Heskey actually came out after he retired and said Capello was strict, but it was the players being the ar*eholes. Im inclined to believe him.
I mean, is there a more difficult and outrageous footballer in the world than Zlatan? The only manager he talks warmly about is Capello; says he personally loved the no bull, direct approach. Acknowledges it made him as a player. Totti was notoriously difficult as a youth coming through, he had loads of high profile bust ups with him...says the same. Maldini.... same.
Ruud Gullit once got dragged off a bus by him, and still talks about him with respect. In fact, Gullit had the same opinion as me...if Capello cant make you win, no one will.
Are you really telling me Capello had a better squad? 