Anyone looking for Sven-Göran Eriksson-style scandal in the life of Fabio Capello will be disappointed. Insiders say that he has a solid marriage to his wife, Laura, who is from Bologna, and dotes on their two children, who are in their twenties. When Real Madrid won the Spanish title in 1997, Capello dedicated the success “to my wife”.

Laura has been an avid supporter of her husband’s career and regularly attends matches across Europe. Getting away from it all for the Capello family means travelling around the world. “For me, it’s the most important thing in life for the family to be together and experience new places and cultures,” Capello said. “We’ve travelled all over the world and really enjoy seeing archaeological sites and places of historic interest.”

Capello has a reputation in Italy as an intelligent and impatient man who likes getting his own way. England supporters may be worried that he does not speak English, but Italian journalists who have crossed his path say he is so clever that he will be able to learn the language in a week. “Don’t worry,” one journalist said. “He is much brighter than Marcello Lippi or Claudio Ranieri. He speaks fluent Spanish and he will have no problem learning English.”

After leaving Real under a cloud last summer, Capello returned to Italy, where he has been working as a television pundit, and he is admired for speaking his mind and explaining the intricacies of the Italian game in a clear and concise style. In his spare time he collects art and his private collection is worth more than £10 million.

When he left AC Milan in 1996, he spent a year travelling around the world buying art. Architecture is another of his interests.

In Spain, where he managed Real for a second time until last summer, he was referred to as “Don Fabio”, a title of respect usually given to priests - although the phrase can also be invested with a hint of mockery. And Capello showed a most unholy flash of temper in January this year when he gave fans the finger at a Spanish league match against Real Zaragoza. He later apologised.

He is not immune to the showbiz side of football and models designer glasses made by Zerorh. The manufacturer’s website says “winning is in his DNA” and he embodies “tenacity, discipline, and elegance”.

In Italy it is widely believed that he will never coach the national team because of the enemies he made when he walked out on AS Roma to become the Juventus manager in 2004. He is perceived as being a man who always puts himself first and he remains a hate figure for Roma fans. Unusually for a manager, Capello’s agent is his son, Pier Filippo - a lawyer who is involved in image rights and who has recently been linked with Lionel Messi, the Barcelona and Argentina forward.

Capello’s tough-guy image has ruffled feathers at all the clubs he has coached and it is widely believed that he will try to employ an English-speaking go-between – possibly Gianfranco Zola, the former Chelsea forward – as his right-hand man if he is appointed England head coach. Capello has previously worked with Italo Galbiati, the former Roma player, as his assistant coach at Roma and Real Madrid. Some newspaper reports have speculated that Capello may want to employ Franco Baldini, the former Roma sporting director, as his assistant, but according to Italian sources Capello is unlikely to be thinking along those lines.

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