Capello connections: who knows Fabio?
Updated on 11 June 2010
The football disciplinarian, the devout Catholic or the art lover? Who Knows Who examines Fabio Capello's inner circle.
Fabio's innermost circle is made up of four men. The "quartet" arrived in the England set-up when Capello (see his Who Knows Who map) was appointed manager in 2007. They are all Italian.
Capello's quartet
Franco Baldini, Capello's main aide and adviser, is known as "Mr Fix-it". His friendly persona serves as a counter-balance to the tough exterior of the manager. The pair are said to have a classic good-cop, bad-cop partnership. A noted talent scout, Baldini's are the "eyes" of the management team. He previously worked with Capello at Roma and Real Madrid.
Italo Galbiati is Capello's assistant coach. At 72 he is the oldest man to pull on an England tracksuit at the camp in Rustenburg. Described as the "silent partner" in the England top team, his focus is firmly planted on the training ground. Galbiati worked with Capello at Milan, Roma and Real Madrid.
Massimo Neri, the England fitness coach, is in charge of monitoring England players' fitness throughout the year. His regimes are famously tough. Players must sprint 50m uphill stretches repeatedly before going on longer endurance runs. He also helps players adjust to the different altitude. Neri has worked with Capello for nearly a decade, previously at Roma, Juventus and Real Madrid.
Franco Tancredi, Capello's main goalkeeping coach, is the fourth member of the England manager's Italian "quartet". The former Roma and Italy keeper went to Juventus with Capello and followed him to Madrid. Tancredi is a highly-respected figure in Italian football. He coached keeper Gianluigi Buffon, who won the World Cup with Italy in 2006.
Capello's men: the full England squad
Talismen and royalty
David Beckham, who was in the running for a place in the squad before picking up an Achilles injury, is Capello's "liason" man. His new role makes him the channel of communication between players and management in South Africa. Capello famously dropped Beckham from his team at Real Madrid but has since realised the former captain's value goes way beyond free kicks. Beckham is the "face of England" and ambassador for the UK's 2018 World Cup bid.
Stuart Pearce, Capello's assistant, is similar to Beckham in that he is a talisman to England. During his playing career he was nicknamed "Psycho" for his tough approach and never-say-die attitude. He is most famous for exorcising his penalty demons in heroic style at Euro '96 following his miss against West Germany at Italia '90. Pearce, the England under-21 manager, is often seen deep in conversation with Capello on the touchline and is a key man in training.
(Stuart Pearce and Fabio Capello watch the England team in training - Reuters)
Sir Trevor Brooking, another former player, attends England training sessions and speaks to the players. He is Capello's unofficial intepreter and like Beckham, a World Cup ambassador.
Ray Clemence, assistant goalkeeping coach, makes up the English contingent among the non-playing staff. He assists Tancredi with the three England keepers David James, Joe Hart and Robert Green.
Prince William, president of the Football Association, will also spend time with "Camp England" in Rustenburg during the tournament. He has already spoken to the players via videolink.
Family, art and the Pope
Capello was born in 1946. His father, who was a schoolteacher, was a keen footballer and the young Capello grew up with the game all around him. His uncle also played the beautiful game.
Capello's wife Laura Ghisi is the only Wag allowed at the England camp. The couple married 40 years ago after meeting on a bus in their teens. One of Capello's sons, Pierefilipo, a lawyer, acts as his agent.
The England manager is a devout Catholic, perhaps explaining his reputation as a disciplinarian and his decision to take the skipper's armband away from John Terry when the player's affair with a teammates ex-girlfriend became headline news. In 2007 he revealed he was a keen supporter of Pope Benedict XVI. He also votes for the tough-man of European politics, centre-right Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.
In 2006 Capello told La Repubblica newspaper that he admired the "legacy of order" left by dictator General Franco, whose regime presided over tens of thousands of executions in the Spanish civil war.
The England boss is a keen art collector. He owns works by Wassily Kandinsky, Mark Chagall and US abstractionist Cy Twombly.
