Only In England: Fabio Capello Resigns A Mere Four Months Before Euro 2012

It's times like these that I wish I was still studying abroad in London for a semester.

The England national team is a constant source of drama and gossip but today it was bombarded with some wild news as head coach Fabio Capello resigned.

Apparently, he was upset with England taking John Terry's captaincy. Really Fabio? Please tell me there was more to it than this. Whatever the case may be, England is left without a manager only four months before Euro 2012 starts. Gee, do you think they'll do well in that?

The good news for English fans is that it sounds like Tottenham's Harry Redknapp is the frontrunner to get the position; not to sound xenophobic but why did they overthink it so much the last two times (Capello, Sven-Goran Eriksson) by not hiring an Englishman?

One of my main beliefs for national teams is that if you're a power, you should hire one of your own. Be that a former star player or a coach in your domestic league. So while it makes perfect sense for a place like the United States to reach out to somebody above its weight class (Jurgen Klinsmann), countries like England, Brazil, Spain, Italy, etc. should keep it simple and get somebody that understands the culture, speaks the language fluently and most importantly, can relate to the players.

Capello left England with a 28-8-6 record with the Three Lions. That looks great until you quickly remember that he didn't win any trophies and those numbers are padded from playing the dredge of Europe and losing to most worthy opposition.

As always, covering English soccer has to be one of the greatest writing jobs in the soccer world. You could devote a blog just to their national team and all the stuff that happens with them off the field.

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Wayne Rooney To Miss All Three Games In Euro 2012 Group Stage

England has qualified for Euro 2012 but they'll be without their best player for the group stage (3 matches) since striker Wayne Rooney was suspended for a sloppy challenge (red card) he committed against Montenegro last week.

Rooney won't be available until the quarterfinals of Euro 2012, should his country advance that far without him.

England have three days to appeal the decision, which seems a formality given the severity of the punishment.

A statement from UEFA read: "The UEFA Control and Disciplinary Body has today handed down a three-match suspension to England forward Wayne Rooney following his dismissal during the UEFA EURO 2012 qualifier in Montenegro last Friday, 7 October.

"Today's decision was taken in relation to the red card shown to Rooney for assault after 74 minutes of England's final Group G game, the 2-2 draw with Montenegro in Podgorica. The striker will now be suspended from playing in his country's next three UEFA national competition matches for which he would be eligible.

"An appeal may be lodged against the verdict of the UEFA Control and Disciplinary Body within three days of the dispatch of the reasoned decision."

The FA say they will look at the full reasons behind the UEFA decision before deciding whether to appeal.

An FA statement said: "Further to UEFA's decision to impose a three-match suspension on Wayne Rooney following his sending off against Montenegro, the FA await the full reasons from the disciplinary committee, and will give full consideration to the decision internally, before deciding on any response to UEFA or making any further public comment.''

England head coach Fabio Capello said that Rooney will not start any of England friendlies in the run-up to Euro 2012 as he tries to find a system that works without the Man U superstar. Still, if the three-match ban stands he may have to reconsider his place in the squad.

The draw for the Euro 2012 finals is on December 2.

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Capello booking his trip out of England in 2012

My extended break allowed me to ponder such deep questions as who do the English national team fans most remind me of (in American sports)? Well I have to say they are a combination of Cubs fans, Cowboys fans and Notre Dame football fans.

And don't misconstrue this since I love the Three Lions but the way they get way too high over a win and similarly way too low over a loss is quite reminiscent of our most bandwagon teams' fans (mentioned above).

That was a long-winded and random introduction to the news that England's coach Fabio Capello confirmed that he'll retire after Euro 2012.

England has looked good in Euro qualifiers this past week: beating Bulgaria 4-0 behind Jermain Defoe's hat trick and Switzerland 3-1. I would have written about those wins but I mean really, are they noteworthy?

Capello's contract ends after the tournament in two years' time, or earlier if England should fail to qualify, by which time he will be 66.

Speculation had been mounting the FA would be forced to end his £6million-a-year deal prematurely after a terrible World Cup but England's flying start to qualifying for Poland-Ukraine 2012 has made Capello comfortable to confirm he will see out his contract and then call it a day.

England's impressive victories over Bulgaria and Switzerland raised the possibility that Capello could consider another World Cup at the England helm to right some of the wrongs of South Africa.

But asked whether he would be finishing up after Euro 2012, he said: "Absolutely, yes. We have to qualify first of course but after that I will be too old. I want to enjoy my life as a pensioner.''

Meanwhile, Capello has hinted that Steven Gerrard could take on the captain's armband permanently. The Liverpool skipper took on the role when Rio Ferdinand, himself John Terry's replacement, suffered an injury before the World Cup which ruled him out of the tournament.

Gerrard has thrived as captain post-South Africa, playing a leading role in his preferred central midfield role. When asked whether Gerrard had done enough to get the job full time, Capello clearly didn't want to upset Ferdinand but he refused to rule anything out.

He said: "Is there another question? For me, the performance of the player is important, not the armband. It is not a priority for me. It is more about the players, the performance, the next game. Another question, please."

Capello was happy to discuss Gerrard's performance in midfield, where the injured Frank Lampard's absence has forced a reshuffle that has brought more balance to England's engine room.

Capello said: "I am playing him like a midfielder and, this season, he has started playing fantastically."

I'm going to take a wild guess and say England qualifies for Euro 2012, only to choke in it.

Sorry Becks, get off Capello's fine Italian lawn

Getting older is a fact of life, it happens to everyone. What separates professional athletes from you or I is that they rapidly age in the public eye, while I can sit behind a computer and seemingly never age.

Random tangent aside, David Beckham found out today that he was "too old to play for England," at least according to head coach Fabio Capello. Last I checked, his opinion was somewhat important in those matters for the Three Lions.

Capello said the 35-year-old midfielder will have the chance to play in a friendly "farewell game" but will not be part of England's team in qualifying for the 2012 European Championship.

Beckham has played 115 times for England, second behind only goalkeeper Peter Shilton's 125 from 1970-90.

Beckham has repeatedly said he has no plans of retiring from playing for England. He went to the World Cup in South Africa in June as a member of Capello's off-field staff after being sidelined following Achilles' tendon surgery.

Appearing on ITV television in Britain, Capello was asked whether Beckham would be part of the England squad in the qualifying campaign for Euro 2012.

Capello laughed and said, "Thank you for helping me during the World Cup, but probably (he) is a little bit old."

Later, after England's 2-1 victory over Hungary in a friendly at Wembley, Capello said: "I hope he can play one more friendly game to say bye bye."

"I won't be picking him for any more competitive matches," Capello added. "David is a fantastic player, he was really important, but we have to see the new players for the future because the age is important for a lot of people, not only for David."

Seeing Beckham on the bench (in a suit) in South Africa was depressing enough and Beckham's ill-fated MLS tour has only gotten worse (he's out until at least Sept. 4 with that achilles injury).

We wish Becks the best but let's not make this a mockery Brett Favre style. Hold your stylish head up and retire Beckham after you play this one corny game. It's what England wants, not a soap oprea. Then again, nothing moves the dial in England like Beckham so maybe he will hang around forever.

Capello's contract extended through Euro 2012

There's a great line in Pulp Fiction that goes "let's not all start jerking each other off quite yet."

The profane point of that memorable quote is that let's not get ahead of ourselves. I immediately thought of that line when I read that England had extended coach Fabio Capello's contract through Euro 2012.

Other than Maradona is their any coach heading into the 2010 World Cup with more pressure to win than Capello? We think that Bob Bradley has to deliver but imagine coming from a country (pretty much every one but the US) where soccer is the only thing that matters.

If Capello doesn't take England on a deep run, who wants to bet he'll be out of a job by August? Since winning the World Cup in 1966, England has become the Chicago Cubs. A talented team that finds new and different ways to fall short in every major tournament.

Capello thinks he'll be coaching England thru Euro 2012

You have to admire the balls on Fabio Capello. The 2010 World Cup hasn't even started and he's already saying that he'll stick around with England through Euro 2012.

This is all well and good and the right stuff for him to be saying at this moment but what happens if his team fails to live up to its almost impossible expectations? Hmm, maybe he won't be around that long after all.

Capello, who took charge of England in 2008, was due to meet Football Association officials after the World Cup to determine whether he would stay in charge.

But Capello's lawyers are removing that clause after the Italian pledged his future to FA chairman David Triesman in recent weeks.

It offers England confidence the 63-year-old won't walk away from the job after being linked with managerial positions throughout Europe.

"I have a contract with the FA and it will finish when they decide to sack me," Capello said. "I love this club and love this country but I don't think about my future. My future is the World Cup."

Capello transformed England after the team coached by Steve McClaren failed to qualify for the 2008 European Championship.

After breezing through World Cup qualifying, Capello is preparing for his team's opener against the United States on June 12.

"Managing a national team has been a new experience for me," said Capello, who previously coached Juventus and Real Madrid. "I discovered new things about what I have to do and the relationship between the players and the manager. Now we are arriving at the most important moment. I understand the pressure, the confidence of the country in this team, and it is really exciting. I am very focused."

Heading into the tournament, no team has had more drama or injury concerns (real or imagined) than England so if Capello can steer this mercurial squad deep then all will be forgotten. However, as we've noted numerous times, the Three Lions are masters of underachieving and they seem primed for another no-show this summer.

Capello says to England: stop being clowns like Terry and Cole

Who knew weeks ago when I first blogged about John Terry's affair with Wayne Bridge's ex-girlfriend that it would turn into such a huge story surrounding the English national team, which like it or not has a reputation for choking in big moments like the Buffalo Bills in the 90's.

With the most recent media circus surrounding injured defender Ashley Cole and his now ex-wife, Cheryl Cole (they separated!), Capello felt like he had to signal to the media his intentions with his bunch of Austin Powers wannabes. Haha, was that too dated?

Asked what will happen to players who step out of line after he spells out his code of conduct on their behavior, Capello said: "The players have to understand what I want if you want to stay with me."

Capello, who is renowned as a strict disciplinarian, does not want to see his players' private lives splashed across newspapers -- particularly as the Italian coach tries to deliver England's first World Cup since 1966.

"It will be very important because we need to create a group. The England shirt is very important. This will be one of the most important points we will speak about."

Capello will talk to his players next week when the team gathers before a friendly against Egypt on March 3.

The Italian head coach is saying the right things as England will all convene next week ahead of its friendly with Egypt. It's been four months since this troubled group was all together in the same dressing room. Should make for some awkward moments, huh?

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/soccer/02/23/capello.england.ap/index.html