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MOURINHO BACKED

Russia’s national team manager Fabio Capello has praised his Chelsea counterpart Jose Mourinho by saying that he should be given the manager of the year award. Mourinho recently came back to Chelsea where he had a lot of success during 2004-07. This was also the most successful period in Chelsea’s league history as they lifted two league titles. They are looking like adding to those league victories this campaign after managing to come top of the table at just the right stage in the season. Mourinho has also managed to get the best out of Eden Hazard, who has already become one of the Premier league’s best players.

The Belgian international has been spoken of as the next big thing in world football, but under the leadership of Mourinho, he is becoming truly consistent and capable of delivering in the big matches as well. Capello has taken note of the progress made by Hazard, while he says that Mourinho has done extremely well not only to revitalise the older players like Frank Lampard and John Terry, but he has also managed to do well in the transfer market as well. Chelsea bought Nemanja Matic from Benfica for £ 21 million. He is proving to be a world-class acquisition for the blues.

“I would say that till now Mourinho is going to be coach of the year because he has succeeded in a short time, a really difficult job: he has revitalised the old Chelsea, from Terry to Lampard, using the energy and quality of the new talent. They have not made a mistake with one buy and that is not normal. I have seen him mature, become convinced of his abilities. Mourinho can be proud of his work. I say this because his fingerprints are all over this, for sure,” said Capello about Chelsea and Hazard.

CAPELLO BACKS REAL

Russia’s national team manager Fabio Capello has said that his former club – Real Madrid – can win the Champions league this season. The club appointed Carlo Ancelotti, who has been managed by Capello in the past, as the club’s new manager to replace Jose Mourinho. Real Madrid are chasing the elusive 10th European cup for more than a decade. They already hold the record for winning the most number of European titles, but they are pressing keen on winning the 10th trophy. Capello is no stranger to success in Madrid after having won the league title during his one year at the club.

Currently the manager of the Russian national team, Capello has spoken about his former team’s chances of winning the Champions League. He believes that Real Madrid have one of the strongest teams in terms of balance, while they have an experienced coach in the form of Ancelotti. The Italian is one of the few to have won the title as a player and as a manager. Barcelona have been regarded as favourites for the Champions League up until now, but Capello says that the arrival of a new manager in the form of Gerardo Martino reduces their chances since they are going through a transitional period.

“Real is favourite to win La Liga and a tenth European Cup. The squad is extraordinary. The change of coach at Barcelona has brought something different. The team plays faster, attacking football and scores lots of goals, but it is still developing,” said Capello, who is focused now switches back to the national team. Having been grouped alongside Belgium, South Korea, and Algeria, Russia have a good chance of progressing to the knockout stage of the World Cup 2014.

Russia failed to qualify for the South African edition in 2010, which led to the appointment of Capello.

STELLAR JOB

Fabio Capello has been in charge of the Russian national team since and he has so far done a stellar job. He has managed to qualify for the World Cup 2014 automatically ahead of favourite Portugal. This seems to have increased his stock within the national team Federation, who are ready to offer him a new contract according to the sports minister Vitaly Mutko. He has revealed that Capello will be signing a new contract as early as in the next few weeks. Capello was criticised for his spell with the England national team, as he was unable to take them past to the quarter-final stage of major tournaments.

It is expected that the Italian will sign a new four-year contract, which will take them beyond the Euro 2016 in France. This was the first time that Russia have managed to sustain their expectations after Guus Hiddink took them to the Euro 2008 semifinals. The 67-year-old is one of the experienced coaches in the world after having overseen some of the biggest clubs in the world like Real Madrid and Juventus. However, this is only his second job in international football.

“I can say that an agreement in principle between the coach and the RFU has been reached. As far as I know, his lawyer will come to Moscow on November 21-22 and everything should be settled. There are several options for the date of the signing of the new agreement but probably everything will be officially formalised after the draw for the World Cup finals,” Mutko said. Russia are undefeated in all competitions since their 1-0 loss against Northern Ireland back in August of this year.

Russia are not expected to win the World Cup, but a place in the quarter-finals or even in the semifinals will be a great achievement.

CAPELLO SET TO RETIRE

Former AC Milan and Real Madrid manager Fabio Capello has revealed that he will not be continuing his career as a manager after his role as the Russian national team manager comes to an end. The Italian is a major favourite to take over from Cesare Prandelli after the end of the World Cup. Prandelli is widely expected to step down from the national team manager’s role after the end of this competition. Capello is regarded as one of the best Italian coaches alongside greats like Marcelo Lippi. As a result, he has been linked with taking over from Prandelli.

Despite his vast experience with club teams, Capello has only recently entered into international management. He has managed England before taking on Russia recently. Capello has said in a recent interview that his career as a manager will come to an end with the Russian national team job. The likes of Alberto Zaccheroni and Massimiliano Allegri have also been linked with the job. Prandelli, though, has dismissed speculation for now by saying that he will remain in charge even after the World Cup.

Italy recently secured qualification for the World Cup automatically after managing to win the group. Russia also expected to qualify automatically, as they lead group right now.

“I will not be leading the Italian national team after Prandelli. My career will end after the experience with Russia,” said Capello in a recent interview. The RFU is interested in further continuing its mutual cooperation with Fabio Capello. Work in this direction will be held in an atmosphere of mutual understanding, and a constructive and professional approach will be taken in addressing all the issues involved,” said Russian Football Federation president Nikolai Tolstykh in response to those comments.

Russia recently managed two consecutive victories in the latest round of World Cup qualifying matches.

CAPELLO: SPAIN’S ERA IS OVER

Former England boss Fabio Capello has said that Spain’s era of domination in world football is coming to an end after being defeated at the Confederations cup. Spain were beaten soundly 3-0 by Brazil in the final of the competition. Even though this was the second consecutive final defeat they have suffered in this competition, they have been quite brilliant in all the major tournaments. They have won two European championships and one World Cup during the last five years. However, Capello feels that the era of domination may come to an end after teams have found a way to play against Spain.

Spain’s passing style of football has been extremely difficult to play against in the last five years mainly because the opposition not have the ball long enough to hurt Spain. However, Italy were probably the first team to find a way past this possession style of football. Capello has stated that the three defender formation used by Prandelli in the semifinals of the Confederations cup is probably the blueprint to playing against Spain. Rather than use many defenders, Prandelli used only three and this allowed him to have more midfielders.

They restricted the space for the Spanish midfielders, which ultimately was close to securing a famous victory.

“I think Italy showed the way in the semi-finals of the Confederations Cup. They played with three defenders and that unsettled the Spanish, mainly because they closed down the space in midfield, fought hard for possession and avoided playing long balls. That’s why Spain suffered and it allowed other coaches to see how they might be beaten. It was an innovation back then, when the custom was for forwards not to do any pressing,” said Capello.

His job will be to guide Russia to a respectable place in the 2014 World Cup.

ALESSIO WANTS CAPELLO RECORD

Juventus assistant manager Angelo Alessio has said that the club are currently targeting the record set by former manager Fabio Capello of winning two league titles in two seasons. The current Russian national team manager, Capello managed to achieve this feat back in 2006. Even though the two titles were stripped of Juventus due to the match fixing scandal, it still remains a great achievement by the club. After winning the 29th league title in their history, Alessio has said that the club has already set their sights on the title next season.

Juventus have been one of the best teams in Italy for the last couple of years especially after the arrival of Antonio Conte. He has managed to assemble a team that is extremely powerful, which is also capable of playing in a number of ways as well. He has managed to assemble this team at a fraction of the cost due to the arrival of several free transfers like Pogba and Andrea Pirlo. Alessio has praised the manager Conte by saying that a lot of praise should go to him, as he has found it extremely difficult to reclaim the glory years for Juventus.

After being relegated to the Serie B, there were many doubts about Juventus coming back to this position.

“We will try in any manner possible to beat the record set by Capello. This is a formidable group of players that has worked extremely hard to achieve the plans of the coach. Credit must go to all the men who have been ready to give their all when called upon. We have done extraordinary things in these past two years and in order to move forward and become even more powerful we must continue to work hard; taking all the time that is necessary,” said Alessio.

CAPELLO IS COMMITTED

Russian national team manager Fabio Capello has said that he is extremely committed to his current job, and he has quashed any rumours of joining the Premier league club Chelsea in the summer. This is not the first time Chelsea have been linked with a former England manager. They came extremely close to getting Sven Goran Eriksson on several occasions. After failing with the England job, Capello is currently manager of the Russian national team. He is expecting a busy year ahead with the FIFA World Cup qualifying going on. Capello has recently in England as part of the Brazil vs Russia friendly match.

The match took place at Stamford Bridge – the home of Chelsea. Due to the fact that the current interim manager, Rafa Benitez, is widely expected to leave the club at the end of the season, Chelsea have been linked with several managers in the last few months. Former Chelsea man José Mourinho has been one of the names mentioned. Capello has also been a surprise inclusion in the possible candidates who can take over at Stamford Bridge. However, the former AC Milan and Juventus manager ruled out the possibility of returning to club football in the near future.

“I know nothing about this (link to Chelsea). I am really happy with Russia and focused to qualify for the World Cup. I am not concerned about the pitch, more about the wind than the pitch. If we play in this wind it will be a difficult game. I hope the wind will be lower or it will be a different type of game. They are a strong team and play a really combative game. They are dangerous from set-pieces. It is not an easy game but I have confidence in my team,” said Capello,, whose team lead the group F.

CAPELLO BACKS COLE

The former England manager Fabio Capello has said that he expects the Chelsea defender Ashley Cole to be named as the player of the year when the winner is announced later in the evening. Capello has backed the 32-year-old to win this award after an outstanding year, which has seen him lift the Champions League for the first time in his career. He has also become the first player to win more than seven FA Cup medals. He has won three FA Cup titles with Arsenal, while managing four with his current club Chelsea. Regarded to be one of the best left back in the world, Fabio Capello got the best out of him during his reign as the England manager.

Capello is currently with the Russian national team. Ashley Cole will be picking up his 100th cap in England take on Brazil in the friendly match. He will become only the second player to achieve this feat. Capello noted that Cole was given this award back in 2010 when he was the manager of the national team. Capello has praised the energy, strength, and great experience of Cole as one of the main reasons for trusting him in any situation. Capello has also praised the attitude of the player, who gives everything according to him.

“Ashley Cole for me would be the England Player of 2012. In my time as England Manager he won this same award for his performances in 2010, and he is always consistent in his output. He has fantastic energy, incredible experience and you can rely on him in any situation, he is world class. His attitude matches his ability, he gives everything for the team and he was a very important player during last year. Ashley is my choice,” said the Russian national team manager Capello.

JUVE UNDERACHIEVED

The Juventus manager Antonio Conte has increased the tension between him and the former manager Fabio Capello by saying that the Italian champions underachieved during the reign of the current Russian national team manager. The Russian manager Capello is regarded as one of the most successful Italian managers around. He has managed to lift two league titles with Juventus when he was in charge of the club from 2004 to 2006. Despite the two league titles, the club was not successful in the European competitions as they failed to get past the quarter-final stage in both occasions.

The two titles that was won by the club during this period was also stripped away from them after they were found guilty of match fixing. Conte has said that the club was extremely good in terms of the quality of players. Players like Alessandro del Piero, Fabio Cannavaro, and Pavel Nedved were in the team, while they were also at the peak of their powers. Despite possessing such a quality squad, the club failed to get past the quarter-final stage of the Champions League. Under the management of Conte, the club has once again found its old swagger and are in the last 16 stage of the Champions league. They will be facing Celtic in this round.

“I would say that he [Capello] did very little in the Champions League. Juve in those two years (2004-2005 and 2005-2006) were stratospheric in terms of quality. In fact, I’d say they were stronger than ever: eight players participated in the 2006 World Cup final, there were two Ballon d’Or winners (Pavel Nedved and Fabio Cannavaro) and we had Alessandro Del Piero and Adrian Mutu just on the bench,” said the Juventus manager. Capello has gone on to manage many great club teams and the England national team as well.

CAPELLO SLAMS TORRES

The Russian national team manager Fabio Capello has said that the Chelsea striker Fernando Torres has been in decline for quite a while now and he does not expect Chelsea to get past Juventus in the Champions League. The £ 50 million striker has been criticised for not scoring as many goals as he has been for Liverpool during the four seasons he spent at Anfield. He has managed just more than 20 goals in more than 80 appearances for Chelsea, as he comes closer to spending two years with the club. He was extremely poor in the weekend’s defeat against West Brom.

As a result, the Chelsea manager Roberto di Matteo has suggested that he will consider dropping the striker for the match against Juventus. This is an extremely crucial match for the team, as they have to at least draw it in order to progress to the next round of the cup. They are in danger of becoming the first Champions League title holders to miss out on the next stages of the competition at the group stages itself. The Russian manager Capello has said that Torres has been in a slow decline even when Benitez was the Liverpool manager. He has suggested that Juventus should be focusing on the three attacking midfielders for Chelsea in order to get the result.

“Fernando Torres is slowly losing it. I don’t know what is happening because he was very good when Rafael Benitez was the Liverpool manager. But he has not found inspiration [at Chelsea] and scored the goals that used to distinguish him. Before, he was unpredictable with Liverpool but now defences manage to beat him for speed and this is worrying,” said Fabio Capello. Capello has seen Russia gone defeated in the last five matches in all competitions.

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