Fabio Capello warned England's players he will introduce a tough new regime as their manager and no one will have an automatic place in his team. The 61-year-old Italian did not mince his words at his inaugural press conference on Tuesday, telling his under-achieving stars they must wear the England shirt with pride and meet his own high standards of 'behaviour and attitude'. Capello, who declared he will be fluent in English in time for the friendly against Switzerland al Wembley on February 6, said it was now his dream to guide England to a World Cup final with Italy in South Africa in 2010. 'I would enjoy nothing more,' he said. 'There is not enough faith in the national squad and what it can achieve,' said the all-conquering former AC Milan and Real Madrid manager. 'But a spot in the England squad needs to be deserved through behaviour and attitude.'
Capello spoke for the most part in Italian — only making an initial statement in English — but his message to his players was not lost in translation. On a day when it emerged that John Terry could be sidelined for as long as three months after a rash challenge from Arsenal's Emmanuel Eboue left him with three broken bones in his foot, Capello declined the opportunity to endorse Terry's England captaincy. 'I have just arrived,' he said. 'There are many things I have to think about, but I've got over a month to make a decision.'
That will make Terry nervous when he has been the subject of salacious tabloid headlines that may not impress a harsh disciplinarian like Capello. The fact that the Chelsea skipper will almost certainly miss the Italian's first game in charge will only fuel that anxiety. Capello may instead go for Steven Gerrard as skipper, or he could even be tempted to make David Beckham, 32, captain for what would be his 100th England cap.
While Capello will ask his staff to carefully assess Beckham's fitness, given that he is training with Arsenal during the winter close-season for Major League Soccer, the new England manager was gushing in praise for his former Real Madrid player. 'He was a great player at Madrid and a great asset,' said Capello. 'He is a very important player for England. We had a contrasting relationship at Real but he showed he is a great man and a great player.'
While insisting he still wanted an English coach to join his staff, Capello defended his decision to bring in four Italian assistants. 'The staff with me worked with me in Roma, Turin and Madrid and along with them I aim to create a staff including English coaches,' he said. 'When I manage, you need to be surrounded by people who understand my methods.'
In English, he said: 'I am very proud and honoured to be the England manager. It's a job that everybody wants and everybody knows there are great expectations and I will work to achieve these with the FA.'
Reverting to Italian, he added: 'I am convinced this is a great team and can go right to the top. I'm going to try to understand what's happened by talking to the players. Wearing the England shirt should be a matter of pride. I want to see all players play for England like they do for their clubs.'
In what, it is understood, will be England's new red away kit for his first game.