FA decides to keep Fabio Capello as coach despite poor World Cup performance

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This article was published 02/07/2010 (5939 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

LONDON – England will keep Fabio Capello as coach despite the national football team’s poor performance at the World Cup.

Five days after a 4-1 loss to Germany knocked the English side out of the tournament in South Africa, the Football Association said Friday that its board had unanimously agreed he was the best man to continue managing the England team.

England finished second behind the United States in Group C and advanced to the round of 16, but then lost to the Germans.

A day after the loss, Capello had talks with FA board officials amid speculation that he would be fired. They told him they would decide on his future in two weeks, but the decision to keep him on came much earlier.

“I am more determined than ever to succeed with the England team,” Capello said. “(Board chairman) Dave Richards has called me to tell me everyone at the FA wants me to continue. I explained it is very important we use the disappointment as a motivation in the future.

“I can assure the fans I am now fully focused on our European qualifying fixtures, starting with the friendly against Hungary in August. We will look to introduce new players to give the team new energy and I will use all my experience to take England forward. I am extremely proud to be the England manager, it means so much to me and I am determined to succeed.”

Richards said the four-man Club England board gained the approval of the FA Board to keep Capello on.

“We are all still extremely disappointed at our performance in South Africa, and we believed it was important that we took some time to reflect on everything in a calm and considered manner back in England,” Richards said. “After fully discussing our performance we remain convinced that Fabio is the best man for the job.

“He went into the World Cup with a reputation as one of world football’s finest managers and we are confident Fabio will benefit from his first international tournament experience and this will undoubtedly make us all stronger for the Euro 2012 campaign.”

The coach who guided AC Milan and Real Madrid to multiple titles started work in January 2008 after England failed to qualify for the 2008 European Championship under Steve McClaren. Capello has a contract through Euro 2012.

He led the team to the World Cup with an impressive record of nine wins in 10 qualifying games. But a squad that included Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and John Terry failed to produce their club form in South Africa.

Despite an early goal by Gerrard, England was held to a 1-1 draw by the United States after goalkeeper Robert Green spilled a routine shot by Clint Dempsey.

The team was then held to a 0-0 draw by Algeria, a team it was expected to beat easily, producing one of its worst ever World Cup performances. In their final group match, the English beat Slovenia 1-0.