Fabio Capello

Fabio Capello (Italian pronunciation: [ˈfaːbjo kaˈpɛllo, -ˈpel-];^[2] born 18 June 1946) is an Italian former professional football manager and player.

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Fabio Capello

Capello in 2024
Personal information
Full name	Fabio Capello[1]
Date of birth	(1946-06-18) 18 June 1946 (age 78)
Place of birth	San Canzian d'Isonzo, Italy
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Youth career
1962–1964	SPAL
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1964–1967	SPAL	49	(3)
1967–1970	Roma	62	(11)
1970–1976	Juventus	165	(27)
1976–1980	AC Milan	65	(4)
Total		341	(45)
International career
1972–1976	Italy	32	(8)
Managerial career
1982–1986	AC Milan Primavera
1987	AC Milan (caretaker)
1991–1996	AC Milan
1996–1997	Real Madrid
1997–1998	AC Milan
1999–2004	Roma
2004–2006	Juventus
2006–2007	Real Madrid
2007–2012	England
2012–2015	Russia
2017–2018	Jiangsu Suning
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

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As a player, Capello represented SPAL, Roma, AC Milan and Juventus. He played as a midfielder and won several trophies during his career which lasted over 15 years. He won the Coppa Italia with Roma in 1969, though he was most successful with Juventus, winning three Serie A titles in 1972, 1973 and 1975. With Milan, he won the Coppa Italia again in 1977 and also won another Serie A in 1979. Capello also played internationally for Italy during his career, amassing 32 caps and scoring 8 goals.

In his first five seasons as a manager, Capello won four Serie A titles with Milan, where he also won the 1993–94 UEFA Champions League, defeating Barcelona 4–0 in a memorable final. He then spent a year at Real Madrid, where he won the La Liga title at his first attempt, and in 2001 led Roma to their first league title in 18 years. Capello also won two titles at Juventus (which were later stripped after the Calciopoli scandal), and in 2006 returned to Real Madrid, where he won another La Liga title. Overall, he has won a major league championship in seven (or nine, counting the two revoked titles with Juventus) of his 16 seasons as a coach. He is regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time.^[3][4]

Capello was appointed as manager of the England national team in December 2007. During his time as manager, he was successful in tournament qualification, guiding the team to the 2010 FIFA World Cup, where they were knocked out in the second round, and UEFA Euro 2012, where they were knocked out in the quarter-finals under new manager Roy Hodgson. In February 2012, he resigned as manager due to a dispute with The Football Association, before being appointed coach of the Russian national team in July 2012. On 14 July 2015, he was sacked by the Russian Football Union and replaced with Leonid Slutsky. In 2017, he was appointed as the coach of Chinese club Jiangsu Suning, but was sacked the following year, after which he subsequently retired from coaching.

Capello was signed by Paolo Mazza, the President of SPAL, for the fee of two million lire despite interest from Milan.^[5] In his second season in the youth team, he helped the club win the Italian Youth Championship and made his first-team debut in a 3–1 away defeat against Sampdoria in Serie A on 29 March 1964.^[6] A talented and tactically intelligent holding midfielder, with a good positional sense, he could read the play well and was strong both in the air and in the tackle, in spite of his lack of notable height and unorthodox physique. He usually operated as a deep-lying playmaker in midfield, however, due to his outstanding technique and vision, which enabled him to orchestrate his team's attacking moves or create chances for teammates, and furthermore was an excellent passer of the ball with both feet. Going forward he was also equally effective, and possessed an eye for goal from midfield, due to his powerful and accurate shot, as well as his ability at penalty kicks, but he lacked pace, and was notorious for not being particularly hard-working.^[7][8][9] With SPAL, he made four appearances for a struggling side that was relegated from Serie A.^[6] After returning to the top division at the first attempt, Capello became a key player in the 1965–66 season, taking penalties and helping them avoid a swift return to Serie B. He was also called up to the Italian under-23 side alongside teammate Edoardo Reja despite still being a teenager.^[10] However, injury to his left knee restricted him to just 16 appearances the following season.^[11]

In 1967, Capello moved to Roma where he became a key player for the club. In his first season, he helped them to first place after eight matches, including scoring the winner in a 1–0 victory over Juventus. A recurrence of the injury to his left knee, however, kept him out for the rest of the season and Roma eventually finished in tenth place, just five points away from relegation. The following season, under new manager Helenio Herrera, a fit Capello scored six goals as Roma finished eighth and won his first major trophy, the Coppa Italia.^[12] This qualified Roma to play the Anglo-Italian League Cup, where they played Swindon Town. Capello played in both legs against Swindon, Roma winning 2–1 at home in the first leg but losing 4–0 in the second leg at the County Ground. They also reached the semi-finals of the European Cup Winners' Cup, but were knocked out by Polish side Górnik Zabrze after losing the deciding coin toss following three draws.^[13]

He was then sold to Juventus in 1970. He had a poor start to his time there, as he publicly criticised manager Armando Picchi on the same day it was revealed that Picchi had been diagnosed with cancer.^[14] Capello escaped with a fine from the club after Picchi insisted that he not receive a suspension.^[15] Capello became an influential figure under new manager Čestmír Vycpálek, despite being only 24, and was assigned the number 10 shirt;^[16] he largely decided the team's tactics for the 1971 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup final against Leeds United.^[17] Capello scored at the Stadio Olimpico di Torino, but Juventus lost the tie on away goals. Juventus went on to win the league title in the 1971–72, 1972–73 and 1974–75 seasons. They also reached the 1973 European Cup final, where they were beaten 1–0 by the dominant "Total Football" approach of Ajax.^[18] They missed out on the chance of winning the double after losing to Milan on penalties in the 1973 Coppa Italia final.^[19] Reaching the semi-finals of the 1974–75 UEFA Cup, Juventus were surprisingly beaten by Dutch side Twente.

Juventus were concerned with Capello's knee injuries, and so traded him to Milan in exchange for Romeo Benetti and 100 million lire in 1976.^[20] He missed just two league starts in the 1976–77 season playing under influential manager Nils Liedholm.^[21] However, he was limited to just eight appearances in the 1978–79 title-winning season.^[22] He played just three games in the 1979–80 season, before finally accepting that he was unable to continue as a professional footballer.^[23]

Capello played 32 times for Italy between 1972 and 1978, scoring 8 goals; he made his international debut on 13 May 1972, in a 2–1 defeat to Belgium.^[24] He is particularly remembered for a goal with which Italy beat England 1–0 at Wembley Stadium for the first time in its history (14 November 1973), which he himself regarded as the highlight of his playing career.^[25] Capello scored the lone goal for Italy against Poland during the 1974 World Cup, though Italy lost the match 2–1 and failed to qualify for the second round of the competition.^[26] He was overlooked for the 1978 World Cup even after having good club form with Milan:^[27] the manager at that time, Enzo Bearzot, preferred other defensive-minded midfielders such as Marco Tardelli over the more attacking minded Capello.

Regarded as one of the best Italian players of his generation, Capello was a talented, dynamic, energetic, and tactically intelligent holding midfielder, with a good positional sense and excellent intuition. He could read the play well and was strong both in the air and in the tackle, in spite of his lack of notable height and unorthodox physique. He usually played in the centre of the pitch, however, where he operated as a deep-lying playmaker in midfield, due to his outstanding technique and vision, which enabled him to orchestrate his team's attacking moves or create chances for teammates, and was an excellent passer of the ball with both feet. In spite of his playing role, he was an offensive-minded midfielder. Indeed, going forward he was also equally effective as he was creatively and defensively, and possessed an eye for goal from midfield, due to his powerful and accurate shot, as well as his ability at penalty kicks. His offensive movement and ability to make late runs into the area from behind also made him an offensive threat, but at the same time he lacked pace, and was notorious for not being particularly hard-working.^{[7][8][9][24][28]}

After several years as a football pundit for Italian TV SPW and a brief spell as caretaker manager of Milan in 1987, Capello became a leading candidate to succeed Arrigo Sacchi as coach of the team, and he was formally appointed as manager of Milan in 1991.

'When Capello gets angry, hardly anyone dares to look him in the eye, and if he gives you an opportunity and you don't take it, you might as well be selling hot dogs outside the stadium, basically. You don't go to Capello with your problems. Capello isn't your mate. He doesn't chat with the players, not like that. He's the sergente di ferro, the iron sergeant, and it's not a good sign when he calls for you. Then again, you never know. He breaks people down and builds them up. [...] After the very first training session, all the others in the team had gone in to shower, and I was completely exhausted. I would have gladly called it a day as well. But a goalie from the youth team came over from the touchline, and I twigged what was going on. Italo was going to feed me balls – bam, bam! They came at me from all angles. There were crosses, passes, he chucked the ball, he gave me wall passes, and I shot at goal, one shot after another, and I was never allowed to leave the box, the penalty area. That was my area, he said. That's where I was supposed to be and shoot, shoot, and there was no chance of taking a break or taking it easy. The pace was relentless. [...] "I'm gonna knock Ajax out of your body," he [Capello] said. "I don't need that Dutch style. One, two, one, two, play the wall, play nice and technical. Dribble through the whole team. I can get by without that. I need goals. You understand? I need to get that Italian mindset into you. You've got to get that killer instinct." [...] Under Capello, I was transformed. His toughness was infectious, and I became less of an artiste and more of a bruiser who wanted to win at any price.' — Zlatan Ibrahimović, on how Capello trained his strikers at Juventus.^[167][168]

Considered to be one of the greatest and most successful football managers of all time,^[3][4] Capello has been described as being a "pragmatic" coach, and is known for his tactical versatility and ability to adapt his formations to tactical systems which best suit his players. He was nicknamed Don Fabio by the Spanish media during his time with Real Madrid.^[169] While he has drawn praise for his success, tactical awareness, leadership, and effectiveness as a manager, as well as for often developing several promising young players, he has also drawn criticism at times from both players and pundits for being overly strict and defensive minded as a coach, which has led to many well-publicised disagreements with several of his players, as well as other managers, including Dejan Savićević, Roberto Baggio, Antonio Cassano, Alessandro Del Piero, Ronaldo, Carlo Ancelotti and Arrigo Sacchi.^{[8][45][170][171][172][173][174][175][176][177][178][179][180]} However, he did like to have players with strong leadership qualities and dressing room personalities in his teams.^[181] Capello has described his own coaching philosophy as one of copying and developing.^[182] He has also occasionally been criticised by pundits for his perceived arrogance and stubbornness as a manager.^[4][183] In 2008, when writing for The Guardian, David Lacey likened Capello to Alf Ramsey for their shared belief in the importance of a solid defensive base, while also praising him for his ability to identify a problem and deal with it in a quick and successful manner, his ability to command respect in the dressing room and maintain a professional attitude with his players, and his ability to manage press conferences effectively.^[184] Capello was known for his defensive style, as well as his use of high pressing and quick counter-attacks to score goals.^{[185][186][187]} Due to his strong character and tough personality, Ibrahimović nicknamed Capello "sergente di ferro" in his autobiography (the "iron sergeant," in Italian).^[168][185]

In his highly successful first spell with Milan, Capello retained many of the players and the 4–4–2 tactical system put in place by Sacchi,^[39] although his style of management was less demanding and rigorous than Sacchi's, which initially gave his forwards more creative freedom to attack; he also introduced several younger players into the first team.^{[40][45][188]} In subsequent seasons, following injuries to several attacking players, he adopted a more conservative 4–1–4–1 formation, in which the team's strong defensive line, further protected by Marcel Desailly, a former centre back who was converted to a holding midfielder by Capello, provided the foundation for much of the team's success, and also gave the wingers and more creative, offensive-minded midfielders licence to attack.^[50][188] In the final season of his first spell at the club, Capello often rotated several of the team's attacking players in order to get the best out of each them without offsetting the balance within the team; he also abandoned the club's trademark 4–4–2 formation for a 4–3–2–1 formation at times, featuring an attacking trident that allowed the team's two offensive playmakers, Baggio and Savićević, to play alongside each other, behind the club's main striker George Weah.^{[45][70][173]}

In his first spell with Real Madrid, Capello once again built a title-winning side based on a strong defence and an efficient playing style, but also fielded three strikers – Davor Šuker, Predrag Mijatović, and Raúl – while promoting several other promising young players to the first team. A key component of the team's success was the club's new left-back Roberto Carlos, who excelled at making overlapping attacking runs to beat the opposition's defensive line and get on the end of Fernando Hierro's long balls from the back; the role gave him the freedom to either run on goal or look to deliver the ball to one of the team's strikers. He was also criticised in the media, however, for using striker Raúl as a left winger at times.^[45][73]

'When you talk about me and Capello, you talk about two personalities. If I have an opinion and I don't agree with you that's it, and he was the same. Capello used the guys with strong personalities – I remember he did it with [striker] Predrag Mijatovic as well – he motivated the team by creating a discussion with somebody, by looking for conflicts. And when he did, the team would go out and kick butt.' — Clarence Seedorf in 2010 on Capello's first spell at Real Madrid^[189]

During the 2000–01 title-winning season with Roma, Capello adopted a 3–4–1–2 formation, which made use of a three-man back-line and attacking wing-backs (Cafu and Vincent Candela), while Francesco Totti operated as the team's advanced playmaker behind a main striker and a more mobile, creative forward; the offensive trio was supported by two hard-working and aggressive defensive minded midfielders, namely Emerson, and Damiano Tommasi.^{[45][83][188]} Following the purchase of talented youngster Cassano the next season, Capello switched to a 3–5–2 formation.^[190]

At Juventus, Capello rejected the club's board members' requests to field a three-man front line and once again reverted to his preferred 4–4–2 formation. Capello won consecutive league titles, and put together a balanced and efficient side which was built upon a strong and highly organised back-line, which was further supported by two dynamic, defensive-minded box-to-box midfielders in the centre, such as Manuele Blasi, Stephen Appiah, Alessio Tacchinardi, Emerson, and later Patrick Vieira, who both alternated defensive and playmaking duties in midfield; the team's attacking wingers, Pavel Nedvěd and Mauro Camoranesi, were required both to drop back defensively and also assist the strikers from an offensive standpoint. Capello usually partnered the team's main striker David Trezeguet alongside the emerging Zlatan Ibrahimović up-front, with the latter playing in a more creative role, while the team's captain, Alessandro Del Piero, was used mostly as a substitute. Capello also introduced several younger players into the squad, such as the Romanian striker Adrian Mutu, and left-back Giorgio Chiellini; the latter's performances later prompted Capello to bench Jonathan Zebina and shift left-back Gianluca Zambrotta to right-back, in order to accommodate the youngster into the first team.^{[45][188][191][192][193]}

In his second spell with Real Madrid, Capello implemented a 4–2–3–1 formation, which made use of two defensive-minded full-backs, two defensive midfielders, and two wingers who also often tracked back; however, as a result, the club's main striker, Ruud van Nistelrooy, was often isolated, while the team's efficient playing style was described as being boring in the media, and Capello was frequently derided for his overly defensive tactics. Despite the criticism he endured, Capello made several bold decisions which allowed several talented players to co-exist, benching Ronaldo, and reinstating David Beckham into the starting line-up, as well as Brazilian forward Robinho, Spanish midfielder Guti, and centre-back Iván Helguera, who were initially out of favour with the manager at the start of the season. He was also able to get the best out of new signings van Nistelrooy, Emerson, Mahamadou Diarra and Fabio Cannavaro, despite their poor form at the beginning of the season. He was consequently able to create an organised, determined, and unified team environment through his disciplined and pragmatic approach; he ultimately led the club to an eight match unbeaten streak to come back from behind and claim the Liga title, although he was sacked at the end of the season.^{[45][188][194]}

Capello was born in San Canzian d'Isonzo, near Gorizia, in north-eastern Italy, in what was then the Allied-occupied Zone A of the Julian March. His parents were Guerrino and Evelina Capello. Capello is a devout Catholic who prays twice a day, and he has expressed admiration for Pope Benedict XVI.^[195] His father, a schoolteacher, played football, and his uncle Mario Tortul was also a football player; for Triestina, Padova, Sampdoria and the Italy national team during the 1960s. Capello has spent his entire adult life working in football.^[195] He has been married to his wife Laura, whom he first met on a bus as a teenager, for over 40 years. He is represented by his son Pier Filippo, who acts as his agent. In January 2008, Italian police announced that they were launching an investigation into tax irregularities by Capello.^[196] The probe, however, has been dismissed as routine by Capello's spokesmen, who said this was part of a wider investigation into a number of wealthy Italians.^[197] The FA revealed that they had known about the upcoming probe when they had appointed Capello, and expected no charges to be brought.^[198]

Capello is a fine art enthusiast. His art collection is estimated to be worth £10 million.^[199] His favourite artist is reportedly Wassily Kandinsky.^[200]

Capello holds right–wing political views, despite having previously been a self–described "socialist" in the 1960s, and subsequently a long–time supporter of the Christian Democrats; he was later a long–time supporter of Silvio Berlusconi and his centre–right party Forza Italia. He attracted controversy when he expressed admiration for Spanish dictator Francisco Franco in 2006 and the "legacy of order" he believed him to have left in Spain. He later distanced himself from these comments, however, stating that he did not intend to praise dictatorships. In 2002, he also admitted to having voted for the Northern Italian right–wing separatist political party La Lega once in the past, as well as the Italian Socialist Party and the Republicans in his youth. He has rejected the label of a "conservative," however, noting that he supported the trade unions, stating: "I have great respect for all they have done to alleviate the exploitation of workers."^{[195][201][202][203]}

As of 14 March 2018^[205]

More information Team, Nat ...

Managerial record by team and tenure

Team	Nat	From	To	Record
				G	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Milan (caretaker)		5 April 1987	3 July 1987	7	3	3	1	7	3	+4	042.86
Milan		20 June 1991	31 May 1996	249	142	77	30	410	169	+241	057.03
Real Madrid		31 May 1996	23 June 1997	48	31	12	5	96	41	+55	064.58
Milan		24 June 1997	20 May 1998	44	16	14	14	53	52	+1	036.36
Roma		6 June 1999	28 May 2004	241	118	73	50	402	222	+180	048.96
Juventus		28 May 2004	4 July 2006	105	68	24	13	181	81	+100	064.76
Real Madrid		6 July 2006	28 June 2007	50	28	12	10	91	55	+36	056.00
England		14 December 2007	8 February 2012	42	28	8	6	89	35	+54	066.67
Russia		16 July 2012	13 July 2015	33	17	11	5	56	22	+34	051.52
Jiangsu Suning		11 June 2017	28 March 2018	24	8	7	9	36	34	+2	033.33
Total				843	459	241	143	1,421	714	+707	054.45

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