David Beckham expects Fabio Capello to bring an “aura” and a “fear factor” to the England job and believes that the players will enjoy playing for their new manager.

The former Real Madrid manager and Beckham did not always see eye to eye at the Bernabeu, where the midfielder fell out of favour for a time last year.

But the former England captain has likened the style of the Italian to that of Sir Alex Ferguson, who first helped him make his name at Manchester United.

“He has an aura that players will enjoy,” Beckham said. “They are going to enjoy playing under him. I enjoyed playing under him, even in the bad times.”

Beckham does not blame Capello for dropping him at Real. “There were ups and downs - and I said at the time it was higher than him, the things that were going on there,” Beckham said.

The midfielder, who hopes to win his 100th England cap against Switzerland at Wembley next month, also praised Capello for his commitment.

“Apart from Sir Alex Ferguson, I have never seen anyone so dedicated to watching football and learning about it,” he said. “He will do it his way - and that is a good thing. We had the fear factor the year we won La Liga. That is what all great managers have.

“The fear factor with a manager is important. We had it at Manchester United with Sir Alex Ferguson, and he had so much success and is still having it.”

Capello will be much more than a strict disciplinarian in his first job as an international manager, however. “He has been passionate about every team he has managed,” Beckham said. “His knowledge of football is one of the best - and he has the experience.”

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