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Coaches: Talking tactics
Fabio Capello and Marcello Lippi have been Italian football's master tacticians over the last 15 years. Antonio Labbate reports on the duo who seemingly ensure success



Who is the greatest Coach of the Calcio Italia era? It's arguably a question that the English FA have already provided an answer for. In appointing Fabio Capello and discounting Marcello Lippi, officials at Soho Square are confident they have hired the right man to make England world champions in 2010 - four years after Lippi did exactly the same thing for the Azzurri. Whether or not Capello is more gifted than Lippi or vice-versa, the pair have undeniably been Italian football's master tacticians over the last 15 years. Having won enough silverware to be mentioned in the same breath as legendary calcio icons such as Helenio Herrera, Nereo Rocco, Giovanni Trapattoni and Arrigo Sacchi, the duo are two former players who achieved more fame as off-the-field directors than playing practitioners of the beautiful game. During our magazine's lifespan, they have won 11 of the 15 Scudetti on offer - if we discount the Calciopoli verdicts. Capello was the first to leave his mark. A former midfielder with Roma and Juventus, the man from the Friuli area of the peninsula replaced Nils Liedholm at Milan for the last five League games of the 1986-87 campaign. Although he did enough to guide them into the UEFA Cup after a play-off victory over Sampdoria, he was not handed another coaching chance until President Silvio Berlusconi sacked Arrigo Sacchi over his Marco Van Basten ultimatum in 1991. Appointing a man who had spent some time as a television pundit was as big a risk for the Rossoneri as hiring Sacchi in the first place, but the results were even more remarkable. He immediately delivered three straight Scudetti in which he gave the San Siro giants an aura of invincibility that would see the rest of the Italian game crumble at their feet. After all, they went a record 58 League games without defeat under their iron-fisted ruler. Critics will argue that it was relatively easy for the former Italian international to succeed. Berlusconi had the funds to supply the tactician with a dream team, making them a clearly superior Serie A force, but Capello was still able to demonstrate his tactical know-how. His 1991-92 side breezed to the championship thanks to an attacking brand of football which saw the Rossoneri net 74 times in 34 games, but he was forced to go more defensive in 1993-94 when his side netted just 36 goals yet conceded a miserly 15. Capello won one more championship with Milan in 1996, a year after Lippi had delivered Juventus their first title for nine years, before quitting after being threatened with the chop should he not have delivered the Scudetto. He was to return a year later after winning La Liga during a Spanish stint with Real Madrid, but it proved to be a mistake as the Milanesi finished 10th - the lowest League position of his entire career. By now baptised as Don Fabio, he returned to Italian football after a sabbatical when he accepted the Roma call in 1999. It took him a year to implement his thoughts. Success duly, and perhaps inevitably, followed. The Giallorossi collected a rare championship and followed that up with two second-placed finishes. Capello was on the move again in 2004, but his destination caught everyone out. After helping to fuel the rivalry between Roma and Juventus by announcing in a Press conference that he would never boss La Vecchia Signora, he did exactly that - just a day after convincing Philippe Mexes to leave Auxerre for the Eternal City outfit. It was a move which infuriated the Roman public, but a piece of divine business by the Old Lady. Needing to substitute Lippi for the second time, Juventus replaced the best with the best. In his two years at the Stadio Delle Alpi, Capello brought an element of fear into the changing rooms, but was rewarded with two on-the-field championships during a period where his Juventus side were never off the top of the standings. He also became the first man to win Serie A with three different clubs from three different cities. The Calciopoli scandal saw him jump ship as he preferred a second shot at Real Madrid rather than helping to rebuild the Serie B bound Bianconeri. Another Liga honour duly followed to underline his ability, only for the Spaniards to axe him for daring to win with substance rather than style. He now finds himself in charge of an English national side which craves his Midas touch. While Capello was somewhat fortunate to be instantly handed a top job, Paul Newman look-a-like Lippi had to get to grips with lower level football first. But after impressive spells at mid-table outfits such as Atalanta and Napoli, he was handed the Juventus job in 1994 which shaped his now illustrious career. A Scudetto at the first attempt was just the start of world domination for the Turin giants as a Champions League title - which Capello had claimed in 1994 - and two more Scudetti duly followed. Despite losing two more European Cup Finals - again like Fabio - Lippi dramatically quit the club in February 1999 after a heavy home loss to Parma. “If I am the problem, then I'll leave,” he told reporters post-game before storming off. A Juve exit was already on the cards before that though after Inter owner Massimo Moratti had tied him down to a contract for the 1999-00 campaign. Hailed as the man to revive Inter's fortunes, Lippi was unable to recreate the kind of team spirit which any side designed to win major trophies needs. Problems in the changing room developed and he clashed with star players like Christian Panucci and Roberto Baggio. “He's a caudillo,” noted Baggio. “A man who used a military style to rule and attacked me with all of the power which he possessed.” A Champions League loss to Helsinborg was followed by an opening day defeat to Reggina in his second San Siro season. That reverse in Reggio Calabria saw Lippi erupt after the final whistle. “All of the players need a kick up the backside,” he declared. Having lost the dressing room, Moratti was forced to axe him. It was an old flame who re-launched Lippi's career, though. Juventus axed Carlo Ancelotti after finishing second in consecutive seasons. Defined as a loser, and even a pig by some Juventini followers, the club wanted a winner and Lippi was their man. Although there were doubts over his return - patron Gianni Agnelli described the appointment as a “warmed up dinner” - he won two more Serie A titles and lost another Champions League Final, this time to Ancelotti's Milan. The national team came calling in 2004 after he resigned from Juve again. Putting his faith in a squad of players with strong personalities and real ability, the Azzurri lifted the World Cup in Germany despite the shadow of Calciopoli. Having won the ultimate prize, there really was little sense in hanging around and he quit just days after France were beaten on penalties. As it stands, Capello just edges Lippi on the honours front with 15 major titles to 14. Capello sympathisers will argue that their man has won titles at a variety of clubs. Lippi followers can claim he's got his hands on a wider haul of trophies. The reality is that both have their pros and cons as men and Coaches, but the fact that they are not particularly good losers underlines that they are equally great winners.

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