2010 FIFA World Cup: Is Fabio Capello's Legacy Tarnished?

In the days immediately following the appointment of Fabio Capello as the England manager, one word was used over and over again: winner.

His management record at club level is nothing short of astonishing, including:

Four Series A titles and a European Cup in five years at AC Milan, a league title in a one season spell at Real Madrid, then delivering AS Roma’s first Serie A title in 18 years, followed by two league titles in two years at Juventus, and another league title in another one-season spell back in Madrid.

The man is a born winner, that cannot be disputed, and many hold that he is also a master tactician. He has had talent at his disposal at all his clubs, but has repeatedly moulded them together to fit the situation with consistently profitable results.

His AC Milan team included Baresi, Maldini, van Basten, Gullit and Riijkard. Capello was at the helm when they produced arguably the most complete team performance of all-time to demolish Johan Cruyff’s Barcelona ‘Dream Team’ 4-0 in the 1994 European Cup final.

In his first spell at Madrid, he transformed his defensive image by playing an attacking system with a front three of Davor Suker, Pedrag Mijatovic, and Raul. He employed a similar system in Rome with a forward trio of Francesco Totti, Vincenzo Montella, and Gabriel Batistuta, before going back to a defensive master class with his Juventus side.

Given that pattern of success, Capello’s tactical nous has rarely been questioned.

That is, until now—in the wake of England's departure Sunday from the World Cup following its lopsided 4-1 loss to Germany in the Round of 16.

Capello was brought in to achieve what numerous predecessors had failed to do with England; take a collection of highly talented individual and create a team capable of lifting football’s biggest prize.

This time around, Capello has failed miserably.

England’s current group of players is arguably as good as any since 1966, at least, that’s what their club form would suggest. At club level, the likes of Ashley Cole, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, and Wayne Rooney are among the best in the world in their position.

Yet, when they come together for England, they have consistently struggled, particularly against the world’s best sides. England were completely outplayed by both Brazil and Spain in recent friendlies, while their 2-1 friendly win against Germany in late 2008 was far less impressive than Capello may claim.

Questioned about England’s ability to cope against the world’s top footballing nations, Capello pointed to the friendly win against the Germans.

Let’s take a look at that game. England beat a makeshift German side which contained only four of the team who had played the Euro 2008 final a few months prior, a side which had yet to feature the exciting young trio of Mesut Ozil, Sami Khedira, and Thomas Muller who so outclassed England in Sunday’s 4-1 victory.

For Capello to point to this victory as evidence is strange, but his post-match interviews have featured debatable claims throughout the tournament. After the opening draw with the USA he claimed the anonymous Frank Lampard had played "well," then after the Slovenia game he talked of how "well" the team had played.

His assessment of today’s embarrassment? England played "well."

Maybe some of this can be excused on the grounds of his slightly limited English vocabulary, but Capello’s claims are simply not true.

All four of England’s performances were a long way short of what is needed to succeed at the top level, with England’s group stage performances costing them the chance at a more favourable route into the latter stages, although with Sunday’s evidence it is unlikely they would have beaten Ghana.

This may be a step up from what Steve McLaren achieved, but it is a step back from the days of the much maligned Sven Goran Eriksson, who reached successive World Cup quarterfinals during his tenure as England boss.

Of course, much of the responsibility lies with the players, but Capello must also take his fair share of the blame. The squad had been together for over five weeks going into this game, yet looked clueless defensively.

He has also made a number of changes which have hampered the team’s continuity, some of which were enforced due to injury and suspension, while others were voluntary.

Capello brought Gareth Barry back into the side and kept him in the side, despite Barry being clearly off the pace in each encounter, as well as switching his wide men every game.

In the first game, it was Lennon and Milner to start, then the return of Barry meant Milner was dropped and Gerrard was inexplicably shifted out wide, despite being England’s best player in his central midfield role against the USA.

Next, it was Lennon’s turn to be dropped as Milner was recalled, while up front Heskey started the first two games before being replaced by Defoe in the final group game.

Capello is obviously a very proud man with a lot of reason to back his own judgment, but he really seemed to get it wrong tactically.

The media were crying out for the 4-2-3-1 formation employed by many of the world’s top sides at the moment, including Argentina, Brazil, Holland and the Germans. That would have allowed Gerrard to play just behind Rooney with two wide players in support, seemingly making the most of our available talent and allowing Rooney and Gerrard the ability to work in tandem.

This idea made a lot of sense, but it never happened.

Whether or not Capello considered it, only he knows. And whether or not he was affected by the media’s clamour for the change is also uncertain.

It is certainly possible, however, that a character as stubborn as Capello actually hardened his stance against the change the more that the media pushed, and ultimately it may have been to his and England’s downfall.

Who knows what would have happened had he played a system that allowed Gerrard to flourish, whether that would have brought more out of the hugely disappointing Rooney.

Who knows what would have happened if THAT goal had been given, but one thing is for sure; Capello’s reputation has taken a hit after England’s latest debacle.

His job is now under serious threat, with a media barrage likely to begin in the morning and meetings with the FA’s top executives to come in the next few weeks.

Capello’s managerial story at the club level reads like a fairytale, but his first venture into a major international tournament has been a nightmare.

Whether or not he’ll have the chance to write a happier future with England remains to be seen.