England manager Fabio Capello to retire in two years
It seems there’s at least one advocate of the UK government’s plan to increase the state pension age to 66: England manager Fabio Capello.
The 64-year-old Italian has announced that he’ll call time on his managerial career after Euro 2012 – providing England seal qualification for the championships.
Capello was appointed England manager in December 2007, following Steve McClaren’s failure to secure qualification for Euro 2008. He successfully led the national team to the 2010 World Cup, but a series of underwhelming performances in South Africa, along with a 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Germany in the last 16, resulted in Capello’s position coming under severe scrutiny.
Despite the calls for the manager’s head, the FA opted to stick by the former Real Madrid, Juventus and AC Milan coach, and so far it seems to have been a shrewd decision. England currently sit top of Group G with two wins from two matches, having scored seven goals and conceded just one.
But just a day after England beat Switzerland 3-1 in Basle, Capello has revealed that he’ll step down as manager after the European Championships.
"We have to qualify first of course but after that I will be too old," said the Italian. "I want to enjoy my life as a pensioner."
Capello’s retirement will bring an end to a 50-year career in football. After starting his player career as a youngster with SPAL 1907, the midfielder would eventually go on to play for AS Roma, Juventus and AC Milan. Between 1972 and 1976 he played for the Italian national side and won 32 caps.
A hugely successful career in management beckoned, and Capello went on to take charge of some of the most revered clubs in European football.
He won the Serie A title four times with Milan and led the Rossoneri to Champions League glory in 1994. Capello also led Roma to their first league title for 18 years in 2001. After that, he would take charge of Juventus, but the two Serie A titles that he won while with the Old Lady were eventually revoked after the Calciopoli scandal.
And with Real Madrid, Capello first won the Primera Liga in his first spell in charge at the Bernabeu in 1997, before returning 10 years later to repeat the feat.
His pedigree was the reason the English FA were so keen to appoint the Italian back in 2007, and the reason why they offered him £6 million-a-year to transform the fortunes of the England national team.
A lesser manager would have buckled under the pressure following the fierce criticism this summer. But for Capello, it was simply another few weeks in the office.
Previously written off and doubted at most of the major European clubs he managed, the Italian would always depart having had the last laugh.
And Capello would enjoy nothing more than bowing out of management in two years, leaving the critics eating their words for the final time.
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