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Being England Manager is the Most ‘Important Challenge’ in My Life

The FIFA World Cup will be held in South Africa from June 11 to July 11 this year.

“I wanted to be England manager and I’m proud to be England manager. It is a challenge always to be England manager. But challenge, for me, is important. For me, without challenge, I should probably stay at home. And being England manager is the most important challenge of my life,” Capello said on Wednesday.

Capello is in Abu Dhabi for the Laureus World Sports Awards.

Capello said England look good for a semifinal berth and said he was banking on his players to take them through to the title.

“When I managed clubs, I always tried to win and it is the same now. I want to with England. My aim is to focus on the job and make the players to play their best. We hope to get to the semifinals of the World Cup. And then, we will take it on from there. We will try to win the World Cup. We have a good team with good players,” said Capello.

Capello rated Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney as the three best players in the world. “Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney are the three best players in the world at the moment. Rooney is strong and fast and has scored many goals. All the three are really young and they are the future,” he said.

The Italian reckoned Germany would be strong contenders for the World Cup. “Germany are strong contenders. They have been in the final stages of World Cups so many times. They are dangerous,” said Capello.

He said that the African teams too could pull off a surprise. “Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and also the hosts South Africa, one of the four could spring up a surprise,” he said.

Capello said that it was about time than an European team won outside of Europe. “It is time for an European team to win outside of Europe. The African teams too look strong. Four teams look strong. And we will be up against some very tough South American opponents as well,” Capello said.

Capello said that there was a massive difference between managing a club and a National team. “There is a huge difference working with a club and with a National team. Being the manager of a National team is a tough job. It is more of a psychological job. It is more important to train the mind, build confidence, create the mentality to win. But as a club manager, you train everyday. You can find solutions quickly. With the National team, you get very less time,” said Capello, who has managed Italian clubs AC Milan, Roma, Juventus and Spanish club Real Madrid.

Capello said football needed additional referees and technology because of the growing concerns over offsides and hand balls. “We need additional referees. I feel that technology is the future. We need technology,” he said.

The Italian said he would be happy if it was an England-Italy final at the World Cup. He said it would be tough but his loyalties will remain with England. “I hope to play Italy in the final. It won’t be easy for me but the most important thing for me will be the England shirt,” said Capello.

james@khaleejtimes.com