Fabio Capello has spoken of his heavy heart in seeing England at Euro 2012 without him and also revealed he has since had other job offers.
The former Milan, Roma and Juventus tactician left his position as England manager earlier this year after a disagreement with the Football Association over the handling of removing John Terry as his captain whilst he faces allegations of racism.
Fabio Capello has spoken of his heavy heart in seeing England at Euro 2012 without him and also revealed he has since had other job offers.
The former Milan, Roma and Juventus tactician left his position as England manager earlier this year after a disagreement with the Football Association over the handling of removing John Terry as his captain whilst he faces allegations of racism.
Now at the European Championships in the role of UEFA delegate, the Italian has admitted that it hurts him to see the side he was in charge of for four years competing without him.
“When England’s players ran out against France, of course there was an emotion – I felt it,” the veteran told the Daily Mail on Wednesday.
“England is part of me now, the job was an attraction, the chance to win something after so long. Everybody wants it for this reason.
“That is why it is the job I wanted, that is why it is the job Roy Hodgson, my friend, wanted.
“It is difficult watching on television when you want to be on the bench of the national team. It is a big difference. The dream is to win trophies, to make people back home happy. I miss it. This is normal.
“This is my squad, they qualified under me and I know many of them so well. It is difficult to accept, but it has happened.
“England are part of my heart, I worked with the players and the people in the country for four years.”
In England’s last international tournament at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Capello was heavily criticised by the English media for launching the Capello Index, a player ratings system he had played a role in developing.
So much was made of the Capello Index in 2010, but you have to understand it is a statistical analysis.
“I worked on the project for two years, to understand the passes a player makes and their contribution. The index values players when they touch the ball and what they do with it.
“It created a problem in 2010 when I didn’t think there was one, but I have no problem now. It happens.
“It is good for the fans to understand the values of the players, but anyone can use it. It is just the start of the tournament, it will begin to have more meaning as the matches progress.”
Capello faced further criticism as the team struggled to progress from the group stages, before elimination to Germany in the Round of 32.
“If you win the opening game in the group, you make a big step forward. If you lose, or sometimes even draw, the pressure is on.
“At the World Cup in 2010 we drew the first game and it started. I represented the country and as manager I was really aware of that.
“Sometimes the problem is that the players don’t perform for their national team in the same way as they do for their club. It is difficult to solve.”
The Coach struggled during his spell with the Three Lions to fully get to grips with the English language, much to the ire of the Press.
“With the media in England, the role of the national team manager was so important to them.
“They loved the national team, but there was so many interviews – I had to do a Press conference after the match, then the Sunday newspapers, then a briefing and then something for the Monday newspapers.
“It was an interesting experience, a challenge and I began to understand why it means so much to the people working for those newspapers.
“The culture in England is different. In Italy, there are sports newspapers, but the real drive is the TV. In Spain, it is not the newspapers or the TV, but it is ruled by the radio. But I accept this, it is not a problem.”
Since leaving this position, Capello has been linked with a number of roles, but hinted that reports of a move to Russia may not resurface.
“I have had some offers, but some were too far away and my wife does not want me to go so far.
“If something interesting comes up at either international or club level then I am ready. If not, then I will be a television commentator.”