A proven pedigree

There isn’t a manager in world football that can rival Fabio Capello’s winning record. He has won league titles with every club he has managed. He has won the Italian Scudetto seven times and coached Real Madrid to the La Liga title in 1997 and 2007. He has a history of making an instant impact having delivered a league title in his first season on four separate occasions. His unprecedented success will demand the respect of the England players, something Steve McClaren’s flimsy trophy haul singularly failed to do. It’s safe to say that no England players will be asking Fabio to show them his medals.

Winning football comes first

Capello does not have a reputation for playing the most attractive brand of football. He is solely concerned with victory and, as Jose Mourinho proved in his first two years at Chelsea, no-one complains about a team’s quality of play when they are consistently winning. He best illustrated this point in the 1994 Champions League final where his seemingly pragmatic AC Milan side crushed Johan Cruyff’s expansive Barcelona 4-0. He also arguably invented the concept of the holding midfielder when he stationed centre back Marcel Desailly in front of the Milan back four.

No room for sentiment

While Sven-Goran Eriksson and Steve McClaren were both accused of pandering to the egos of England’s pampered stars, Capello has a history of making examples of big name players for the good of his teams. He fell out spectacularly with Italian legend Francesco Totti but his Roma side still won Serie A in 2001, their first title for 10 years.

Unlike Eriksson and McClaren, Capello has always understood that the best team doesn’t necessarily comprise the best individuals. He has no fear of upsetting superstars in order to create a team that suits his purposes. Expect under-achieving big name players to be dropped and new faces adaptable to Capello’s methods to be given their chance.

High standards and a set direction

Throughout his management career, Capello has set himself high standards of discipline and work rate and expects these standards to be reciprocated by his players. His attention to detail will ensure that inexperienced goalkeepers will not be thrown into high pressure situations and that players will be fully prepared for any tactical switches of formation. Overall, Capello will bring a new ethos to the England squad. The team will have an identity and a set style of play. Players will know their jobs and will be jettisoned if they fail to perform them.

Handling the press and the fans

Graham Taylor once referred to the England manager’s post as “the impossible job” because of the scrutiny the team are subjected to by the media and supporters. It is possible that Capello is the best qualified manager in the world to operate successfully under this level of pressure. At Real Madrid, he was pilloried for his defensive style of play. In Roma, he was hated by fans thanks to the suggestion that he had supported city rivals Lazio as a boy. He is still blamed by Juventus fans for secretly persuading key players to follow him to Madrid. On every occasion, he ignored such criticism, did things his way and, crucially, went on to have the last laugh by winning league titles.