It’s hard to believe that England manager, Fabio Capello heads into England’s first World Cup qualifier against European minnows Andorra with his reputation on the line.
Capello was heralded as the saviour of English soccer when he took charge of England’s national team last year in a contract worth $13 million annually.
The FA (Football Association) looked at the Italian’s exemplary CV, which pointed out that he had won a domestic championship in every country he had managed in.
But winning domestic and European titles with AC Milan, Juventus and Real Madrid is no sure ticket to success with soccer’s so-called underachievers.
Last month’s friendly draw against the Czech Republic was greeted with jeers from the fans at London’s Wembley Stadium.
The Italian’s tactics were questioned by fans, pundits and other managers, most notably Portsmouth’s Harry Redknapp who blasted Capello for wasting Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard, playing the central midfielder out of position at left midfield.
Redknapp later clarified his tirade through his weekly column in The Sun.
"Let me get this straight - I think Fabio Capello is a great coach. He has been at the top of his game for years and I've no doubts he will get us to the World Cup finals. I certainly don't want to fall out with him."
"But no one can hide from the fact England's performance against the Czech Republic was poor. A massive disappointment and it was not good enough."
The match against minnows Andorra in Barcelona is an opportunity for Capello to instill some much needed morale in the England camp days before England’s grudge-match with Croatia in Zagreb.
With Gerrard injured, the eternal question surrounding England fans of whether Liverpool’s talisman and Chelsea’s Frank Lampard can play in the midfield together will be avoided.
Gareth Barry is likely to line up in midfield alongside Frank Lampard with Owen Hargreaves and Michael Carrick also ruled out due to injury.
Barry showed glimpses of what he can do in a Three Lions shirt, under Steve McLaren, but so far he has failed to reproduce that form for Capello.
"This is an important few days for us and hopefully we've done enough work to be ready," Barry told AFP.
"We know what type of game it's going to be.
“They'll get all bodies behind the ball. From experience last time they were tough to crack but we'll be looking for a good start to the campaign.
"We know these are the games we get judged on, so there is no chance of us not being sharp."
Is the criticism of Capello fair? Or are the English simply not as good as they think they are?
England may well be the home of soccer, but its domestic league is filled with foreigners, who whether the FA would like to admit it or not, are the driving force behind the EPL’s worldwide popularity.
Perhaps, as Euro 2008 qualifiers showed, it’s not the manager but the players who are not up to scratch, at least when they don the Three Lions shirt.
