Arrivederci Fabio!

via the Guardian

Fabio Capello resigned today as the manager of the England national team. To say there are mixed opinions about this Capello situation is an understatement.

One on hand, there are football (soccer) pundits who believe that the FA should have sacked Capello after his comments disapproving of John Terry being stripped of his captaincy. The logic that they used was that the FA and the manager need to be on the same page for the relationship to work. This logic works with the notion if you talk against your employer you’re bound to be fired.

On another hand, there are a few people who believe that Capello is a coward by quitting as the national team manager and should have stayed on at least through the EUROS. The English national team is in a bad spot after the dismissal of Terry as captain and Wayne Rooney being suspended for the first two matches of the EUROS. By quitting it makes it even more difficult because when a new national team manager is appointed, there will be a change in philosophy and not much time to implement that new strategy before the Championships start.

For the ineffectiveness that many England supposed believed that Capello had, Capello had the highest winning percentage of any permanent England manager.

This relationship between the FA and Capello didn’t work out in the end because Capello is a stubborn man. This shouldn’t be a surprise to the FA or English fans because throughout his whole coaching career he’s bumped head everywhere he managed. It’s unfortunate the straw which broke the camels back is this John Terry saga. Terry has been a divisive force since his affair with Wayne Bridge‘s ex-girlfriend. The racist abuse situation has been even more of a divisive issue with many of the English players being Black. The fact that Capello continued to back Terry in the midst of this situation likely caused an even greater disconnect between the players and the ex-manager.

Who will the next England manager be?

Related articles

• Fabio Capello resigns as England manager: live (telegraph.co.uk)
• Capello resigns as England manager (soccerbyives.net)
• Reaction to Capello’s resignation (bbc.co.uk)
• English Soccer’s Latest Chaotic Chapter (blogs.wsj.com)
• The John Terry Saga Continues… (sportsforaddicts.com)