Capello weaves English steel into Italian tailoring
Frank Lampard has benefited from Fabio Capello's team-led approach
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England cruised to a 6-0 victory over minnows Andorra at Wembley to maintain their 100 per cent record in World Cup qualifying. |  |
Thursday, 11, Jun 2009 01:19
We used to envy Italian teams who could grind out wins and keep clean sheets irrespective of points for artistic flair. Now England has become that team.
'Tailored by England' boasted the advertising hoardings around Wembley last night, as the merchandise men pushed England replica shirts. With two professionally executed wins in the space of five days, a more accurate slogan would be 'Tailored by Italy'.
Seven wins from seven qualifiers: After last night's 6-0 win against Andorra, England head coach Fabio Capello can boast an immaculate record in qualifying, and now stands only a win away from South Africa and the 2010 World Cup.
When the FA turned to Capello last year after sacking Steve McClaren they would have had Italy's World Cup success in their minds.
A team without the outrageous flair of Spain or the attacking riches of Brazil won the biggest prize of all through organisation and discipline. All individuals were subjected to a rigorous team ethic, and style and spectacle took a back seat to the biggest goal of all; winning.
Those who follow Italian football will know of the importance of winning to the fans. Unlike the patient followers of Arsenal, few points are given for style. Highly organised groups of hardcore fans known as 'Ultras' are capable of calling meetings with the head coach and captain if results are not going their way. In this climate, Capello forged a mentality that he has now successfully transplanted to a hitherto rudderless England side. In the space of one year, he has turned a collection of individuals into a team.
No WAGs
'Team' is the buzzword around Camp England these days. Immediately after the win against Andorra yesterday, the scorer of two goals Wayne Rooney was quick to acknowledge the impact of the new coach and his philosophy of playing and thinking as a unit. "The manager has got us playing as a team," he noted before the striker emphasised just what had changed since Capello's arrival. "We're playing more as a team now and we're winning games."
The previous setup of allowing the WAGs round the camp came at the expense of forming a single unit of players. However shared leisure time is often considered just as important in forming bonds in a successful team. Frank Lampard was quick to observe how Capello's new discipline had affected England. "We've found ourselves as a group," he grinned after adding his name to the scoresheet yesterday, while his manager eerily echoed his words in a separate post-match interview. In response to being asked what he has learnt about the players from qualifiers, the Italian was quick to respond. "I think we have created a group," he said.
Ruthless is a word often associated with Capello, although this does not mean he is tactless. However unlike previous England managers, there are no favourites, and little room for sentiment. David Beckham started his 100th game last night, yet this failed to garner the usual attention as the LA Galaxy midfielder quietly filled a role for the team in central midfield. It is unlikely the Italian will give in to emotion and use Beckham in the finals in South Africa regardless of form. The mantra is simple. If you are performing well in your role, then you will play.
In the quest for a winning mentality Capello is not afraid to show irritation or temper outbursts. Basic English is easily compensated for through huge gestures from the touchline, accompanied by rage if he sees a player drifting into bad habits. Yet far from upsetting previously cosseted England players, it seems to have awoken a desire to please this hard taskmaster.
Earlier this week England captain John Terry recounted the Italian tailor's flair for inventive dressing downs. During a training session using video footage of the England squad during matches, Capello made it clear how despite good attacking efforts, the team needed to improve in the penalty area. "The one thing he stresses to us is that, at certain times, we've got in really good wide positions... and then he freezes the frame and there are only two people in the box," said Terry.
"He wants people busting their guts to get in the box to get on the end of things, then turn around and run 50 yards regaining our shape." The England captain added: "It's a lot of work, but we enjoy doing that work."
England expects
And the workrate was there for all to see yesterday as Rooney, Jermain Defoe and Glen Johnson showed the team had listened. Johnson was deservedly named man of the match after surging into the area from right-back at every opportunity. Four of his crosses set up goals, with Rooney and Defoe getting on the end of them as instructed. And when Beckham struck a long-range free kick that was spilled by Andorra veteran goalkeeper Koldo Alvarez, Defoe showed all his goal-poacher's instincts - yet Johnson was right behind if he failed.
Ball retention, breaking teams with swift passing, clinical finishing. The attributes displayed by England last night will undoubtedly be placed in context considering the non-attacking part-time opposition. Capello will not care. He deals in results through mentality, and he demanded nothing less than a winning attitude against a side whose ambitions stopped at damage limitation. Under previous management, there was a time when such a fixture would be described as a potential 'banana skin'. This mindset of fear through expectation has finally been banished - by a man who ignores everything but his own exacting standards.
A parade of stars from the 1966 World Cup at half time reminded the crowd that four decades separate England from that solitary victory. As years passed, self-belief eroded from the national side. Yet with Capello tailoring both mentality and tactics, a new confidence is rising. As the successful American football coach Vince Lombardi once said: "Winning isn't everything, but the will to win is everything."
By Marcus Dubois