Filed under: Dave Clarke, Soccer Coaching, Soccer News, Soccer Team Management | Tags: FA, Fabio Capello, Juventus, Predrag Mijatovic, Real Madrid, Rio Ferdinand, Roberto Carlos, Roma, Steven Gerrard
So we know he’s good. But what is he worth? Well, his annual salary is £6m (around US$12m). That’s around £13,561 a day. Give or take. Plus expenses.And what does he do to earn his salary? Well, he watches lots of matches. He appears before the press every now and then. He fires and appoints other coaches and assistants on a regular basis. He does the occasional photo opportunity to help with his and the FA’s public profile.
Oh, and occasionally he gets together with the England players for a spot of coaching before a friendly. A total of five days since his appointment in January. At a cost of around £2.5m to the FA. He picks the team, he calls the tactics and he makes the substitutions.
And what of his coaching style? What is he bringing to the English game? The word most often associated with Capello is “discipline”. Predrag Mijatovic, who played under him at Real Madrid describes him as “A painful but necessary medicine”. Roberto Carlos at Real said of Capello’s style “There will be no spectacle, it will be 1-0…But the team will be there, correctly set up and balanced on the pitch. And always winning.”
I really hope so. I’m as disappointed as the next fan that England aren’t at Euro 2008 (and I’m Irish!). And maybe Capello can secure qualification for World Cup 2010. Clearly, the FA believe that if he can his astronomical salary will have been worth it.
But here’s the thing. Forget 2010 for a minute. What about 2022? If England are successful at that tournament it will have been down to the likes of you and me as youth coaches. Somewhere out there on the playing fields of England are the future generations of Steven Gerrards and Rio Ferdinands. Hopefully they’ll play a more expansive and open style than we’re used to from Capello. And we’ll have done it for a heck of a lot less than £6m a year. And we’ll spend an awful lot more time with our players.
That’s not me being bitter – that’s me being proud of what we’re doing for the future. I’m realistic about the commercial imperative of steadying the England ship and hiring the best available coach at whatever cost. In the short term England might even win something. But the long term is down to grassroots coaches doing it for free week in week out, year after year.
The FA know this. Let’s see some more support. Let’s see some action.
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Hope for the best for 2010 and 2022.
Comment by Soccer Uniform April 3, 2009 @ 11:23 amhttp://www.linkedin.com/in/hawkeyejackson
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Hawkeye Jackson
Comment by hawkeyejackson May 26, 2009 @ 6:42 pma coach really plays a major part in a team..he should have a lot of tactics to teach, well experienced and should be able to totally discipline the team..especially a coach should always give support and hope to the team..
Comment by Totally soccer June 3, 2009 @ 5:06 am