All you need to know about Fabio Capello

The Football Association board last night approved Fabio Capello’s appointment as England head coach, even though it has already received first-hand evidence of the uncompromising attitude that made him its top target. Capello will not sign his contract until he is satisfied by the terms offered to the four Italian members of his backroom staff, an early indication of the firm approach that he will bring to the job.

There were indications that Capello will find room for an English coach in his support staff – possibly David Platt, who speaks Italian, Alan Shearer or Stuart Pearce, the England Under21 head coach – and that he is likely to prolong the international career of David Beckham, who may even be made captain for what would be his 100th cap in the new coach’s first match in charge, the friendly match against Switzerland at Wembley on February 6.

Sources have indicated that Capello is well disposed towards Beckham, the former captain, despite freezing him out of his squad at Real Madrid for several weeks last season.

Capello has won one battle by persuading the FA to appoint Franco Baldini, the former AS Roma and Real sporting director, in a role working alongside or under Sir Trevor Brooking, the director of football development. Capello has also won permission to appoint Italo Galbiati as his assistant, Massimo Neri as fitness coach and Franco Tancredi as goal-keeping coach, as predicted in The Times yesterday, but he will not sign his contract, worth £4 million a year net, until he is satisfied with the “pot” to be shared between his staff.

That should not pose a problem, with FA officials indicating that they firmly expect Capello’s appointment to be confirmed in the next 48 hours. With the Italian now home in Lugano, Switzerland, the finer points of the appointment are being discussed by his son, Pier Filippo, a lawyer, with Brian Barwick, the FA chief executive, and Simon Johnson, the director of corporate affairs.

If anything, Barwick is likely to be impressed rather than alarmed by Capello’s intransigence. It should help the head coach as he tries to reestablish a sense of primacy to the national team, which has often been dictated to by the leading clubs in recent years.

Even the English media have had warning that Capello will not suffer fools – or intrusion – gladly. A reporter last night tracked him down to his home and arrived on his premises hoping for an exclusive first interview. It amounted to five words, an instruction barked in broken English: “You go outside my house.”

Capello is expected to be a little friendlier when he is finally paraded before the media, probably on Monday, and he is likely to find a few words for those former England players – Gareth Southgate, Tony Adams and Paul Ince – who expressed disapproval of his appointment yesterday.

Southgate, the Middlesbrough manager, said that everyone involved with the national team should be English, while Adams, the Portsmouth coach, said: “I’m a massive admirer of his, but I just wanted an Englishman to take the team forward.”

At least Capello’s grasp of English is better than had been thought. The majority of his meeting with Barwick and Brooking on Wednesday was conducted in English, dispelling the fears expressed by Rafael BenÍtez, the Liverpool manager. “Capello is a great manager,” BenÍtez said. “He is a winner. The one thing he will need to do is improve his English.

“When I came to Liverpool from Valencia, I found it very hard at first. The most difficult time is in the dressing-room at half-time because that is a difficult time for any manager.” By the sound of things, Capello will not leave too much open to interpretation.

Explore Football

• Premier League

• Football League

• Scotland

• European Football

• International Football

• TheGame

• Live Match Tracker

• The Fink Tank

• Fantasy Football