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Posts Tagged ‘Fabio Capello’

The England legend spills the beans on Newcastle, peas and why Small Talk’s questions are a joke

Hello Alan. How are you? Good.

Fine thanks. Say, who do you think will win the World Cup this summer? Think and hope are two different things. I hope England can win it obviously. If they keep Wayne Rooney fit they’ll have a very good chance but I think my favourites for the tournament will be Spain.

Should Fabio Capello take David Beckham? I would take him for his experience, I think he has something to offer. Certainly not in the starting 11 to begin with, but for experience, for someone who can go on and help England win a game, or save a game, I would take him.

Which strikers should go? It depends whether he takes four or five strikers. Wayne will go, I think Defoe will go, I think Heskey will go. The other spot, or the other two spots, are open to debate. There’s plenty to choose from. Carlton Cole, Crouch, Agbonlahor …

Yes, yes, but which of them should he choose? [A bit miffed at being pressed] Probably Crouch and Agbonlahor.

Why Agbonlahor? Because he’s had a fantastic season. He’s got lightning pace. He’s scored goals and looks a threat.

We must talk about Newcastle, Alan. They’re top of the Championship this season – is that because they are a much better team than last year or because they’re in a much worse league? They’re in a worse league, there’s no doubt about that. There’s a huge difference between the Premier League and the Championship. But having said that, Chris Hughton deserves a lot of credit for the way he’s settled things down and got them playing some decent stuff. He’s got them to the top of the league, and it looks as if they’ll have enough to go up. Once, or if, that happens, that poses a different question.

The question that poses is: will they be good enough to stay there? So will they? Now you know why so many teams go up from the Championship and then struggle and go straight back down because of the vast difference in the leagues. It depends how much they spend. If they spend pretty big they’ll be able to stay up, yeah,

What did you learn from your experience of managing Newcastle? I learned that’s a very, very tough job, but I also learned that I really enjoyed it despite what happened at the end of it. I loved the everyday questions that were posed of you, the adrenaline rush, and obviously the games. I really, really enjoyed it, despite what happened.

So you’re looking to get back into management? If the right one comes along then I’d be interested.

What do you mean by the right one? I don’t know what the right one is. I don’t think you can be too picky or choosy. Certainly I can’t be.

Tell us this, Alan, who is the football pundit you most admire, apart from yourself? He won’t thank for me saying it, but I suppose I’ll have to say Alan. He’s been there for so many years. He’s well respected, and he does talk a lot of sense. Not that I’d tell him that anyway.

Who are you talking about? Alan Green? Alan Hansen.

Oh right. Did he give you any tips when you were a novice pundit? [Miffed again] No, he didn’t.

Are there any pundits you don’t like? There were plenty who I didn’t like when I was playing. Now I think I have a decent relationship with all of them.

Have any current players come up to you to complain about something you’ve said on Match of the Day? No, they haven’t.

What’s the last piece of music you bought? Lionel Richie, when I went to his concert at the Newcastle Arena about six months ago. Fantastic.

Who’s your favourite TV detective? I don’t watch a lot of TV, to be honest. With three kids I have my hands full.

What about when you were a youngster? What was your favourite cartoon? [Nonplussed] Cartoons!?

Cartoons. I didn’t watch cartoons, I was too busy playing football.

Apart from a football, did you have a favourite toy when you were a child? [Triumphantly] Yes, a goalpost.

Apart from football paraphernalia, did you have a favourite toy when you were a child? No, like I told you I was too busy playing football.

Now that you have retired, can you catch up on playing with the toys that you didn’t play with when you were a youngster? Have you, for instance, discovered the joys of action men or maybe Lego? [With mounting anger] No, I don’t play with toys. And I’m not into the PSPs or anything like that. Whenever I have any spare time I have a game of golf.

Assuming you have time to eat, what is your favourite vegetable? Goodness me. What type of questions are these? [Exasperated] I should say peas, should I?

There’s no right or wrong answer, Alan, that’s the beauty of it. OK, peas.

Not Brussel sprouts? [Annoyed] Peas.

Just a big bowl of peas? [Palpably hoping chat will conclude very soon] With a bit of mash, sausage and gravy.

What about fruit? An apple.

That’s quite emphatic. You wouldn’t have any time for an orange or a banana? [Firmly] You asked for my favourite fruit, I said an apple.

That is accurate. By the way, what superpowers would you like to have? [Impatiently] What do you mean?

The ability to fly? X-ray vision? Elbows of pure iron? I’d probably be invisible, so I could go and listen to some of Fergie’s team talks.

What’s the silliest thing you’ve ever done when drunk? I don’t get drunk.

What’s the weirdest thing a fan has ever asked you? To sign her chest.

Was there an Alan Shearer tattoo on it? No, because I never saw, because I refused to sign it.

So there might have been? I don’t know.

We can’t rule it out, Alan. Now, on an unrelated matter, have you ever seen a ghost? No.

Do you believe in the existence of ghosts? No.

Do you believe in life beyond earth? [Impatiently] I don’t know what I believe in. I try not to think about it. I don’t want to think about it.

Alan, can you tell us a joke? Yeah, your questions.

Bye Alan, it’s been bliss. Bye.

Alan Shearer was speaking on behalf of Castrol Football, an official sponsor of the 2010 Fifa World Cup

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Fabio Capello believes his England players are capable of creating history at this summer’s World Cup finals in South Africa.

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• Midfielder’s comeback from knee injury again put on hold
• United say match does not fit into Hargreaves’ fitness plan

Owen Hargreaves, Manchester United’s injury-plagued midfielder, has suffered another setback after being pulled out of his comeback match in a move that significantly damages his already slender and rapidly diminishing hopes of a late call-up to England’s World Cup squad.

Nineteen months since he was last seen on the pitch at Old Trafford, Hargreaves was due to play in a reserve game against Manchester City at Altrincham tonight, and had been encouraged by noises emanating from the Football Association that Fabio Capello still regards him as a possible contender to be involved in South Africa this summer, provided he can prove his match fitness in the meantime.

The 29-year-old has not played since September 2008 because of a knee problem that the world-renowned specialist Richard Steadman described as the worst he had seen from 35 years of working in the medical profession. Hargreaves has been suffering from chronic patellar tendinitis and needed operations on both knees, having made only 25 starts since signing from Bayern Munich for £18m, despite having the problem at the time of the transfer.

Sir Alex Ferguson, the United manager, said last Friday that Hargreaves had been training with the first team and was “pencilled in” to play for the reserves, but the club confirmed after last night’s 4-0 defeat of Milan that the player would not be included in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s squad. United say his withdrawal is because the match does not fit into the player’s fitness programme.

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Fabio Capello insisted he is still happy dealing with the most important challenge of his life, despite the latest scandal to hit the England team.

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Fabio Capello insisted he is still happy dealing with the most important challenge of his life, despite the latest scandal to hit the England team.

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Why the bugging affair should be the least of the FA’s worries in the lead-up to the World Cup

Behind closed doors, you can’t imagine. Behind closed doors, is where it happens. That’s where the truth is. That’s where the life is.

Not my words, or indeed those of covertly bugged England general Fabio Capello, but the words of music’s Peter Andre – a man who scarcely even regarded the conception of his children as a something on which it might be seemly to close the doors, preferring to invite TV cameras to document every minute of his tediously “insane” life.

That Peter’s adventures are marginally more predictable than a fake-tanned episode of Mr Benn doesn’t matter to those who continue to watch in their droves. The desire to be let in on something – however illusory – is insatiable for some sections of the public, many of whom then cheerfully blamed the media for Peter’s divorce in the same way as they will blame them for gossiping away the World Cup. Indeed, for some, this ovine voyeurism has become such a normal part of culture that it hardly seems odd that the England camp was apparently bugged by a “member of the public” – shall we call them a citizen journalist? – in the run-up to last week’s Egypt game. Yes, I’m afraid the great “how to go out in the quarter-finals” battle plan may now be dangerously compromised, and Jerry’s probably going to steal all our tactics. But try to keep calm and carry on.

The last football spy drama I can recall was that tale three years ago about a Cessna making flights over Manchester United’s Carrington training ground. “It remained unclear who authorised the filming,” panted the Mirror back then, “and whether the material is destined for this country or abroad. The covert clips of players such as Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo working on tactics, formation, free-kicks and penalties during the astonishing spying mission could be invaluable to rival clubs.” Could be. But almost certainly weren’t.

This time, the spy stuff is rather less lofty, with reports suggesting that though the six-hour recording may feature discussions about “World Cup tactics”, it’s more notable – and presumably more sellable – for chitchat about win bonuses and some joking about sex scandals. Inevitably, it has been speculatively talked up as “dynamite”, but I bet it’s dynamite only in the sense that anything a footballer or manager says is deemed explosively interesting, despite all evidence to the contrary (yet again we must draw a parallel with Peter Andre).

Quite rightly, the FA’s lawyers have pointed out that the recording constitutes a total breach of privacy, but in the internet age the fear will be that despite newspapers’ refusal to publish, the transcript or portions of it will be posted online. There’s a reasonable chance that within a fortnight we’ll be faced with a John Terry-type situation, where feverish internet chatter effectively rendered the player’ssuper-injunction defunct even before it was lifted.

Doubtless, then, the FA is already considering its media strategy if the tape’s contents become public. Might I suggest an official line of “Get over it”?

Unfortunately, because the FA is such a serially useless governing body, no one at the top has ever been in a strong enough position to affect an air of amused sang froid about these regular teacup storms. As long as it wasn’t you in the schtuck, it probably felt rather a relief to “firefight” the latest rumours about Sven’s love life instead of defending your staggeringly incompetent mismanagement of, say, the Wembley Stadium project.

But sooner or later someone in public life is going to have to offer the “Get over it” response to an overexcited media and its consumers. The policy of attempting to appease people who wish only for heads to roll seems increasingly pointless.

Frankly, if whatever is on the tape needs putting into perspective, people should recall the time the England set-up willingly invited a fly on to their wall. They should recall Graham Taylor, several fathoms out of his depth, turning to his nodding dog Phil Neal and hazarding: “We’ll put Wrighty on, shall we?” Watching the pair gibberingly agree that it was “made for Wrighty”, they should recall the horrifying realisation that Taylor had been several times less competent even than he had looked. Quite an achievement.

That, my ducks, is a real exposé. Never mind what off-guard jokes were made at the England camp, and never mind even if the answer to the question “what’s my motivation?” is “two million quid and half a point on the image rights”. No matter what happened at Capello’s headquarters last week, nothing, but nothing, could ever be as sensationally damning.

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Fabio Capello says he wants England to reach “the semi-finals – minimum” at this summer’s World Cup. Is this a realistic target?

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Fabio Capello insisted he is still happy dealing with the most important challenge of his life, despite the latest scandal to hit the England team.

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England manager Fabio Capello has set his team a minimum target of reaching the World Cup semi-finals in South Africa this year.

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England manager Fabio Capello has set his team a minimum target of reaching the World Cup semi-finals in South Africa this year.

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