LONDON: Entering the final season of his managerial career, Fabio Capello is still agonising over the perceived injustice of England’s World Cup exit as he tries to develop youngsters to deliver European glory.
The former Real Madrid and AC Milan coach is set to step down in July after the 2012 European Championship, although qualification is still to be clinched.
Even if England reaches the finals in Poland and Ukraine, Capello is frustrated that the same problems that afflicted the team in South Africa last year will not be solved: player fatigue and disallowed goals.
Capello remains fixated about what might have transpired at the World Cup had Frank Lampard’s equaliser against Germany not been disallowed when England was only trailing 2-1 before going out 4-1 in the last-16 phase.
“Possibly that would have changed England’s performance in South Africa,” Capello reflected ahead of England’s season-opening friendly against the Netherlands on Wednesday. “I have never understand why sometimes you can play well in the first half and be terrible in the second … “In 1966, England won the World Cup when it was not a goal, no? Little things make a difference. If we had gone from 2-0 to 2-2 at the end of the first half it would have been different for us and for Germany.”
The England players will still have been wearier than the Germans. But even more a year after the loss, Capello does not have a solution to ensure his players will be fitter come Euro 2012, with no changes to the domestic calendar put in place.
“To win, you need good players who arrive at the most important tournament at the top of their form,” Capello said. “But you play a lot in England. All the countries in Europe have a winter break. You also have one more competition than the other countries (the League Cup).”
Capello spoke to reporters at Wembley Stadium after attending the launch of The Football Association’s Mars-sponsored Just Play initiative, which aims to get 150,000 more people playing football at any level by 2013. (Agencies)