Fabio Capello’s latest blunder, Beckham forced into retirement
England impressed with a 2-1 victory over Hungary last night. But the good news was overshadowed by Fabio Capello apparently retiring David Beckham from the England side without having informed the player beforehand.
David Beckham is one of the best football players ever to set foot on a pitch. It is true that he is getting on a bit and maybe as rightly stated by Capello, the 35-year old is too old to play for England anymore. It was a shocking turn of events because Beckham had been taken to South Africa as part of Capello’s coaching squad and looked like he was very much a part of the team. Will this be the end of the great Beckham or will he return to play another round?
David Beckham has had an amazing career in football. It has made him a very wealthy man and he is World famous. Fabio Capello on the other hand has not had such a good spell as Coach of the English side. A lot of players and the media are saying that the Italian cannot properly communicate with his players and that leads to performance related issues on the pitch.
Capello took over the coaching job from Steve McLaren and looked impressive as he rebuilt the England team after their poor showing at Euro 2008. He is a totalitarian in training and casts aside pretty football for results. He started out coaching at Milan when his playing days as an Italian international were over and he has a reputation for getting things done for his employers and winning matches. He is also not known for getting close to any of his players and keeping all of them at a distance.
These tactics of his and his communication difficulties have led to England’s worst showing at a World Cup and many say that 2010 in South Africa was the team’s worst tournament ever. He showed the same lack of subtlety and communication problems when he effectively retired David Beckham yesterday. In a pre-recorded interview that was played before the game against Hungary, Capello stated that he thought that Beckham was too old and it was time for him to move aside and let a younger generation of players take over.
The problem with this announcement was the fact that Beckham was not told about the decision beforehand and he like the rest of England’s fans found out during that interview. In a statement by David’s agent, the bewilderment of the decision was brought to light because Beckham said that he is prepared to boot up and play for England again if he is called into the side.
This comedy of errors and miscommunication issues of the coach and his team have led some people in the industry to question the effectiveness of having an Italian coach for an English side. Is there no one in all of England who can take charge of the team and lead them to greatness?
Maybe the problem is the fact that Capello has not been able to gel with his team and find a rhythm that can help them win matches on a regular basis. His handling of Beckham’s forced retirement was a clear case in point. One minute the injured footballer was sitting on the bench in South Africa supporting his team as part of Capello’s coaching staff and the next he was being pushed into retirement.
Admittedly it is not in any way an early retirement but the way it was handled was very poor and could have been done much better. Beckham is and has been a hero to England fans in the past and he is well liked. Capello on the other hand is not so well liked and is no hero in the country. This poorly handled affair will see the coach’s ratings drop even further.
Beckham should not despair. Once he is fit he can still look forward to playing at the club level. But for someone like Beckham who genuinely seems to have a strong desire to lead England to victory after victory and make his nation proud, this announcement will have been a heavy blow. Hopefully, Capello and his coaching staff can get their act together and fix whatever problems are going on at the moment before he finds himself looking for employment.
Tags: