Fabio Capello has told FourFourTwo about how he ended up quitting the England manager's job after the FA took John Terry's captaincy away from him.
Terry was alleged to have racially abused Anton Ferdinand in 2012. The disagreement that led to Capello walking away however was not over the incident itself but the authority of withdrawing the captaincy in the first place - something that Capello felt was his responsiblity and not his bosses'.
“I didn’t like that the FA took John Terry’s captain’s armband away without my consent.” Capello explains in the Euro 2020 preview issue of FourFourTwo, on sale now. “From the outset, that was my responsibility, so I felt the sanction was unauthorised.”
“When the alleged racist incident occurred with Rio Ferdinand’s brother [Anton], they phoned me to let me know that the board was determined to make that decision. No one had found John guilty at that point. He was my captain, but they told me he wasn’t going to be any more.”
“We’d qualified for Euro 2012 that summer, but then I made an appointment with the FA chairman, David Bernstein, to inform him of my resignation. Anyway, we ended up as good friends.”
Capello's time in charge of the England side was a familiar story, as the Three Lions underwhelmed in South Africa in 2010. Capello says that often, however, a lot of excuses are made for England when really, it's just a lack of confidence that burdens the side.
“[Another bad campaign] happened four years later in Brazil [in 2014],” Capello said. “The team is one thing before a World Cup or a European Championship, and another when the tournament begins.”
“In South Africa, it was said that the players were staying in a hotel in the suburbs and that they weren’t comfortable. In Brazil, though, I think they went to Copacabana and didn’t even pass the group stage. They are all excuses and are used to justify something when things aren’t going well.”
“Honestly, I think there is a lack of confidence with England. It looks like a kind of fear that usually blocks them in the relevant moments. I have the feeling that they carry the burden of responsibility knowing that the whole country is behind them, with massive expectations that haven’t been met for decades. I do hope it changes this summer, though.”
Read the full interview with Fabio Capello in the new issue of FourFourTwo, out now
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