Capello to bring through young players before Euro 2012 finals
• Italian knew Wales match would be 'difficult' from warm-up
• Italian knew Wales match would be 'difficult' from warm-up
- guardian.co.uk,
- Article history
England's players during their warm-up before the 1-0 victory over Wales at Wembley in Euro 2012 qualifying. Photograph: Tom Jenkins
Fabio Capello has suggested the stuttering nature of England's unconvincing victory over Wales was evidence of mental fragility in his squad and will step up his attempts to reinvent the national team by integrating younger players once qualification for Euro 2012 has been achieved.
The Italian made the startling admission that he had sensed his players' minds were not on the task ahead while watching the pre-match five-a-side warm-up at Wembley on Tuesday, and his fears were proved correct as the team laboured for long periods. Ashley Young's winning goal, scored just before the interval in England's most convincing period of play, proved enough to defeat a side ranked 117th in the world, though the hosts appeared to lack focus and fortitude at times, and Wales were unfortunate not to earn a draw.
Capello said he had tried to gee up his players before kick-off, having been alarmed by the familiar signs picked up in the slack warm-up. When asked why it had been "impossible" to rouse them, though, he pointedly tapped his head by means of offering an explanation. "Today I understood something [before the match]," he said. "When I go out to the pitch before the game it is because I like to see the warm-up. Sometimes, in my career, I have understood a lot from the warm-up about what has then happened on the pitch. What I discovered is between the players and me. But, yes, I knew the game would be difficult."
Asked why he could not put things right when the squad returned to the changing room, Capello replied: "I tried to do that, I tried. I spoke with the players, said things, but it is impossible, with the things that I saw, to change. It was not too late, because it was not about giving the shirt to different players. The problem was here [tapping his head]."
While the sloppiness left England prone to accusations of complacency, particularly after the encouraging defeat of Bulgaria in Sofia last Friday, the national management staff point more to the psychological baggage carried by a number of players from recent traumas, most notably the failure to qualify for Euro 2008 and the toils at the 2010 World Cup. Capello inherited a group of players whose confidence had been shattered and, while the Italian's arrival heralded an upturn in form in qualification fixtures over his first two years in the job, there are fears that the disappointments endured in South Africa still linger and affect too many of those involved.
Recent problems at Wembley, where the national team had not won in a year, may also have contributed to the lacklustre display against the Welsh, with senior players struggling to thrive in these surroundings. The narrow victory nevertheless left England needing only a point to guarantee progress to the tournament in Poland and Ukraine, and the immediate priority remains avoiding defeat in next month's final fixture against Montenegro in Podgorica. Yet, once passage has been guaranteed, Capello intends to refresh the team by granting his younger players more opportunities to gain experience at this level in the hope that they prove their quality ahead of Euro 2012.
While the Italian had called up a number of youngsters for the games against Bulgaria and Wales, only Chris Smalling of the new contingent was given opportunities to make his mark, with Tom Cleverley and Phil Jones not involved. Yet these players and Jack Wilshere, currently injured, will if fit be granted chances to prove themselves in prestige friendlies against Spain in November – if a qualifying play-off is not required – and Holland next February, as well as in further fixtures likely to be arranged before the tournament itself.
As a club manager Capello apparently did not encounter problems of this nature and, even more than three years into his tenure, he is still contemplating how best to get more from his England team. He had witnessed similarly slack warm-ups in the past and then endured sloppy performances from his team, with the sense of helplessness felt on Tuesday night all too familiar. By the manager's admission, the team went on to play well only for 20 minutes, and brought back painful memories at times of their goalless draw with Algeria in Cape Town at the 2010 World Cup.
"Sometimes it is incredible to understand why [the players lack confidence]," the Italian said. "I told you, as a manager and as a player, I never understood what really happened in these moments. For 20 minutes we played well. So if you can do that for 20 minutes, why can't you do the same for the rest of the game? This is what I don't understand. Why not? The movement of the team wasn't good and they played without confidence. We will speak about some things in the performance. They can train very well, respect everything I tell them, and the players can be really good, but then they are here at the game it is different. I hope to find a solution. I need to find one."
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