Fabio Capello last night spoke of his “dream come true” and the “final goal of my career” after England had made him the highest-paid coach in international football. The Italian maestro, in the first interview since his appointment was confirmed, said: “I’ve been close to this twice before, and this time it has happened. It’s an exciting adventure, there will be lots of hurdles to cross, but I’ve always liked to go against the grain.”

Speaking at his Milan home, the 61-year-old Italian said his mission was to put the pride back into English footballers after their failure to qualify for Euro 2008. He explained: “I’ll ask the players to make a big commitment. I really want them to recover the pride they used to have in wearing the shirt of the national team. I want them to show what they are capable of, not just when they are wearing the shirt of their club, but also when they wear the England shirt.

“All the teams in the world would want England’s players, there’s no reason for them not to give as much when they wear the England shirt as when they wear their club one. England is one of the great football countries, and it was very disappointing that they did not qualify for the European Championship. We now have to work very hard to make sure we qualify for the World Cup in South Africa.”

Capello has won titles wherever he has been, most recently at Real Madrid last season, and commands a salary commensurate with his reputation. He starts with England on £4.8m per year, before tax, which will rise incrementally throughout a contract scheduled to run for 4½ years, but which can be terminated by either party after the 2010 World Cup. He will earn a £5m bonus if England win the World Cup. The FA have learnt the hard way from the expensive mistake they made with Sven-Göran Eriksson, whom they were still paying 12 months after his dismissal last year, and have agreed a severance package of £2.5m should the new coach depart mid-contract.

Looking forward to his first day in charge on January 7, he told the state-owned Rai2 TV channel: “I am very proud and honoured be the England manager, it is one of the biggest jobs in world football. For me, it’s a dream come true, I really will train the England national team. Like with all dreams, I hope I don’t have a bad awakening but that I wake up happy, having achieved something.

“Brian Barwick and the FA have given me a great opportunity and I’m excited. I’ve got to work out precisely how to go about things because of course being an international manager is different from being on the pitch seven days a week, and there’s a lot of attention and pressure around the England team. In a country where soccer is a religion, everyone asks why this team doesn’t manage to win. Having club teams that achieve excellent results, the question is how we transfer this to the national team.

“I’m certain that the psychological factor is important because the feeling I have is that certain players, when they are on the pitch with a national shirt on, are a bit blocked. I want the players to play for England the way they do for their clubs. They need to have belief and not be afraid of big games.

“Every player now has a new start with me. Playing for your country is the biggest honour for a footballer. I know because I had that honour myself. I expect my players to be professional at all times. I know there is a lot of expectation, but I am prepared for that. There was big expectancy at the clubs I’ve managed [Milan, Juventus, Roma and Real Madrid], and I enjoy the challenge.

“I’m already planning for the first game, against Switzerland in February. I will move to England at the beginning of January. My English is not yet at the level that I would like, and I am starting lessons straight away. I will do everything I can to make England successful, and I expect the players and everyone involved with the team to do the same. I hope that with maximum commitment my group can succeed. It would be the final goal of my career. It would be something wonderful, very hard to obtain, so it would be good to finish on a high.”

Contrary to reports, Capello does not start on a salary less than Eriksson was receiving. The Swede negotiated rises from £2.5m to £4.25m over his five-year tenure. Capello’s remuneration is heavily incentivised, linked to results to such a degree that it will not increase next year unless England look like qualifying from a comparatively undemanding World Cup group that includes Croatia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Andorra.

A successful qualifying campaign will bring the coach a wage rise and bonus of £1m. There will be an additional bonus of £2m if England reach the semi-finals for the first time since 1990, and £5m in all if they win the World Cup.

There has been outrage at the money Capello stands to earn from managing a team that plays no more than 10 matches each year. Critics cite the fact that Otto Rehhagel received just £400,000 for winning the 2004 European Championship with Greece. FA chief executive Brian Barwick, who was in charge of the selection process, argues that they had to pay the going rate for a world class coach and that, having negotiated a new TV deal worth £575m, they can afford it.

There is greater concern over the fact that Capello is being allowed to bring in four Italian assistants at a further cost of £1.4m per year. His long-standing No 2, Italo Galbiati, was to be expected. But at least two members of the 10-man FA board, Sir David Richards and Lord Brian Mawhinney, objected to the recruitment of Franco Baldini as director of football and a goalkeeping coach, Franco Tancredi. Richards and Mawhinney were not alone at Soho Square in contending that these two posts were adequately filled by Trevor Brooking and Ray Clemence.

On that subject, Capello said: “While I have brought some Italian coaches to work with me in England, I will also be working with Sir Trevor Brooking to discuss English coaches. It is very important that we have English coaches working with the team.”

Brooking, the FA’s director of development, helped Barwick in the search, and favoured the appointment of an Englishman. He told BBC’s Football Focus yesterday: “I’ve always maintained we should have English coaches and, long term, that is what I still believe.”

Confirming that Mourinho had been sounded out before Capello was appointed, Brooking said: “As it progressed with Jose, through various advisers, we got to the nitty-gritty question: “Are you going to be interested in this job?”, and he wasn’t. After that, I don’t think there's any doubt that Brian [Barwick] got the man he wanted."

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