WORLD CUP FOOTBALL 2010- England Manager Fabio Capello urges team to perform
England were firm favourites to win this year’s World Cup in South Africa after they booked their flight to Johannesburg, winning 9 out their 10 qualifying matches. With players like Gerrard, Rooney, Lampard and Terry in the ranks, they were out to damage any side with their power play, experience and sheer class of football. Pitted against USA, Algeria and Slovenia, England shouldn’t have had any problems qualifying to the next round.
In their opening bout, a disappointing fumble by Robert Green led USA to a draw after the English gained an early lead. They vowed to come back stronger in their next match against Algeria. However, the English never looked like the side which impressed in the qualifying campaign. Lazy, nervous and edgy, the English again drew without creating many opportunities. Rooney was perhaps the most disappointing of them all, given the fact that he enjoyed the form of his career with Manchester United earlier in the year. The English media and fans were outraged, putting Capello and his men under heavy fire. In their must win final Group stage match, the English truly out played Slovenia, and won 1-0 to pit them against Germany in the knockout stage.
Germany is a strong opponent however. Having thrashed Australia 4-0 in their opening match, the Germans lost 1-0 owing to an early red card to their star striker Klose against the Serbians. They however redeemed themselves quickly, and topped their group by overcoming Ghana. They are now all set to meet the English in what promises to be a truly physical contest between the two heavy weights.
England Manager Fabio Capello predicts that the match may not be decided in the prescribed 90 minutes plus nor the extra-time and may well have to be settled on penalties. His players have therefore been practicing penalties on a regular basis, with Rooney, Gerrard, Lampard, Barry and Milner tipped to be the top five. Although each of these players has been regular penalty takers with their club, both Gerrard and Lampard failed to convert their spot kicks in the 2006 quarter-finals against Portugal. This may be a huge point to note, and Capello has therefore taken the necessary steps.
“The manager is on to the penalty takers to make sure we're doing it properly in training and not messing around,” claimed the English Captain Steven Gerrard. He added that the manager wants them to do that in England’s training of what they will do in tough matches. This is the strategy being employed from England: pick a spot and not change your mind. Capello believes that the massive pressure will make him stronger than what he was back in 2006. Defoe, the man who is perhaps responsible of putting England into the next round is also a potential candidate for a spot kick, provided he is on pitch at that crucial moment. He however confirmed that the team practices penalties in every session.
Capello later explained how the coach actually trains them in taking the penalties. Fabio gets the goal keepers ready, and screams to the players if they are up for it? This puts the pressure on the players similar to that of the real deal. As soon as the manager blows the whistle, the players take the kick. If they score, he doesn’t say much. That is taken as a good sign, with the players believing that the manager thinks that the players are confident and ready.
The English are preparing for almost everything for their match against the Germans. These two teams enjoy a heritage not many teams possess on a collective basis. They have also been bitter rivals, whether it is at club level with Premier League football or the Bundesliga. Both teams play a similar muscle game, making this a very physical contest. Fabio is therefore being cautious and making his team train for everything possible angle to ensure a win. Failure to do so would bring him under heavy fire from the cruel British media and fans, which have only just calmed down after seeing their team qualify to the Round of 16. They may just start all over again, this time with much more intensity. Whatever may happen in Sunday’s encounter, one thing is for sure; both the teams will fight till the last second will not give up until there is a clear winner.
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