England unveil new coach Capello

LONDON, England -- England's new national coach Fabio Capello was presented as a "winner with a capital W" when the Football Association introduced him at a media conference in London on Monday.

FA chief executive Brian Barwick said: "We knew the next appointment had to be somebody of world-class status, a man with a strong personality, vast experience, a coach used to handling big players, big matches and big in-match situations, a man who is tactically astute, adaptable, of proven pedigree, mature and who can handle a big job with the pressures that go with it.

"A winner with a capital W. That was the template, this is the man. Fabio Capello."

Former Milan, Roma, Juventus and Real Madrid coach Capello has signed a 41/2-year contract worth a reported $12 million a year, making him the highest paid national manager in world soccer.

The 61-year-old Italian replaces Steve McClaren who was fired last month after England failed to qualify for the 2008 European Championship. His first task is to make sure England qualifies for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

"It's an honor," Capello said at a packed news conference broadcast live in Britain. "It's a dream come true. It's a job that everyone wants and carries great expectations. We will work hard to achieve our objectives."

Capello, who starts officially on January 7, said he will meet with players and coaches to identify the problems which have affected the underachieving England team.

"I think this is a great team," he said in Italian. "I am convinced that we can have great results."

Capello said he was as surprised as anyone that England did not qualify for Euro 2008.

"The pride of wearing this (England) shirt should be a stimulus for all the players to give more," he said. "I want to see them play for their national team the way they play for their clubs."

Capello spoke mainly in Italian, with a few words in English. He said he will work hard to learn English in time for his first training session with the players next month before the February 6 friendly against Switzerland.

"I am convinced that in a month when I meet with the national team I'll speak English," he said.

Capello, who coached David Beckham at Real Madrid, was guarded about whether he will pick the former England captain for the national squad.

Beckham, now with the Los Angeles Galaxy, has made 99 national team appearances and hopes to reach the 100 mark against Switzerland.

"I think Beckham is an important player for England and I will take him into serious consideration," said Capello, who dropped Beckham from Madrid's lineup after the player announced his move to the Galaxy. "But we still have a month to make decisions."

Capello, who is bringing in four Italian assistants with him, spoke on Italian TV before leaving for London and said England needs to find more confidence.

"It's a team that needs to find itself and that will be my role," he said. "The England national team seems to have lost the determination and grit that they had in the past.

"We will have to create in a short time the right atmosphere and the right characteristics to get results."

He said he would add an Englishman to his coaching staff.

"It's very important to have somebody who knows the football from the country and knows the environment," he said.

Capello was confident of maintaining a healthy relationship with the high-profile club managers in England. "I've always had an excellent relationship with the likes of Arsene Wenger, Sir Alex Ferguson and the two Spanish managers in the Premier League, Rafael Benitez and Juande Ramos," he said.

"At the UEFA coaches' meetings I've always had a fantastic relationship with such individuals, it will be no problem in working alongside them."

Barwick said that the FA intended to press on with planned improvements to the game in England.

"We have talked about root and branch (reform) and there has been some skepticism about whether we'll see that through and whether it was just a smokescreen. It wasn't." he said.

"The FA's strategic review will be published in March 2008 and it will take us through the next five years. A direct part of it will be to work out how we take the England situation forward in a positive way.

"One of the ways is to make sure Fabio's skills are sucked out of him in terms of getting us to be a winning team and make sure we use his great skills across our whole coaching framework

"We also want to make sure the structure Trevor Brooking is building up has strong investment and we are giving people chances to become better coaches.

"Central to the review is coaching in this country.

"I think it should always be the ambition of the FA, when possible, to recruit an England manager from within our own country.

"On this occasion we felt it was important to get the right man whatever the nationality." E-mail to a friend