Against Slovenia, Fabio Capello Won More Than a Match: He Won Back his Respect, his Reputation
It was perhaps the most important victory of Fabio Capello’s managerial career; he didn’t just guide England to a 1-0 win against Slovenia - which saw them going through to the next round - he won back his reputation of an astute football manager. He brought himself back from the verge of ridicule, and saved an immortal part of himself.
Ridicule, and tons of it, is what was awaiting England had they failed to beat Slovenia and in turn gotten knocked out of the World Cup. There’s no denying the fact that if Capello’s men had somehow failed the not-so-difficult task of beating the smallest country in the World Cup at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium last night, their manager would have been crucified by the Fleet Street crew, viciously although unnecessary criticised, and mercilessly caricatured. Postman Pat, as most of the English players call him, would have had his effigy hung outside some pub in London, which has become somewhat of an English tradition now, and who knows, a demonstration outside his favourite restaurant in London, the Cipriani, might’ve been on the cards. The English critics would have had their daggers out, saying he was too old, too naïve and the World Cup brutally exposed his limitations and made his methods look outdated and outmoded.
His outstanding achievements in Italy and Spain with Milan, Real Madrid and Juventus would have been made to look like mere flukes; after all, in football you’re only as good as your performance at your last job. Sorry as that may seem, that’s how things work in World Football, at least in England. Being dumped out of the World Cup at the first hurdle, and that too with such a breed of talented superstars, would not have reflected too well on an otherwise sparkling CV in every sense of the word.
And although he may have lived to fight another day, he will still face the wrath back in England should England fail to qualify for the next round or even falter at the quarterfinal stage, as semis are the least the English fans would be expecting of the steely eyed Italian. The debate about should England employ a foreign manager had resurfaced, but Capello has dispelled the concerns by answering his critics in the right manner. His team selection on the night might have been conservative on the outset, when he decided to play Milner on the right midfield and partnered Defoe with Wayne Rooney, but Milner had an outstanding game, he was England’s man of the match and it was his cross that Defoe headed in to settle the tie. And both of them contributed far more than just that goal.
Defoe was razor sharp in the game while Milner was formidable. John Terry, who had been under the public microscope for his remarks about the team, was the centre rock of the English defence on which the basis of this hard-earned victory was built.
Although this goes to the credit of the more than just the manager, Capello preserved the confidence of the English squad and boosted their moral enough to coax a solid performance.
England still need to conjure a terrier like approach if they are to get past a highly talented German side in the next round, but there are smiles in the camp again and the cloud of gloom has been lifted. The players kept faith in their manager’s methods and the manager repaid their faith. Capello himself made room for some relaxations in his strict disciplinary methods in South Africa after admitting in the post-match press meet that he allowed the players to have beers the night before the match, the kind of gesture Terry and Co begged him for. However, the fact that he yielded at a moment of his own choosing speaks volumes about his shrewdness. He knew what was needed and when it was needed. After all, he is Fabio Capello.
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