Capello admits England ‘dream’

When Sven Goran Eriksson was in charge of the England national team there were always questions about his commitment in the minds of many English fans.  A foreign manager for the national side never quite seemed to sit right but when Steve McLaren spectacularly messed things up we were all pretty pleased with the appointment of Fabio Capello.  Capello have enjoyed fruitful spells at AC Milan, Juventus, Real Madrid and Roma before he took the England job but there was still the question of could a foreign manager bring the passion required to manage England?  Capello has moved to ease England’s fears by stating it was always his dream to manage the Three Lions.

He said:  “The Italian national side was never something that appealed to me,

“I never had that desire. It’s because I like going abroad and doing something different.

“I had always dreamed of managing the England squad and it was always my goal.”

Why England?  I can’t quite work it out myself, as surely, even with Fabio, we won’t be the betting favourites to lift the World Cup in South Africa.  As a nation we have consistently underachieved in international football, though I have felt robbed on more than one occasion, and if he wants to add a World Cup to his winners medals you would think he would have a better chance with another nation.

However, I personally feel there is plenty of talent in the national side and with the right manager success is very possible.  Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard are amongst the best midfielders in the world.  Rio Ferdinand and John Terry may be the best central-defensive partnership in international football at the moment and Wayne Rooney is an exciting and effective forward.  These massive talents are backed up by the likes of Ashley Cole, David Beckham, Aaron Lennon, Joe Cole and more and the squad is there to do some serious damage.  It would seem that Capello does indeed see plenty of potential in England and believes they can go all the way in South Africa.

He added:  “Winning eight games out of eight and qualifying with two games to spare is a great achievement – but it was not easy,

“We started off with a handicap as we had not qualified for Euro 2008.

“But England is one of the best prepared teams who can make a good impression.

“We can play anyone. Other favourites would be Brazil, Germany, Italy, Argentina and Spain.”

As manager he has to say he thinks we can win it, but then again why would he take the job if he didn’t think England could go all the way?  I won’t be betting on England’s success and I don’t want to get carried away with the hype to be honest.  I know the pain will only be worse if we get dumped out in dubious circumstances but I can’t help feeling more optimistic than I have been about England’s chances in a long time.  I’m a little skeptical that it was always Capello’s ‘dream’ to manage England but who am I to question the man who led us through such a successful qualifying campaign.