Repentant Capello to let players rest before Euros
ENGLAND vs SWITZERLAND
ITV1, Kick-off 4:45pm
ENGLAND manager Fabio Capello has promised his players a lengthy holiday before next summer’s European Championships, as they prepare to take another step towards the tournament this afternoon at Wembley.
Capello insists he has learned lessons from last year’s World Cup, in which players appeared jaded by a lack of rest between the end of the regular season and the start of international duty.
“If we reach the European Championships I will not see the players for between 10 days and two weeks. They will go on holiday and afterwards we will start preparation for the games,” Capello said ahead of the qualifier against Switzerland.
“I learned a lot at the World Cup. I learned that the players were tired at the end of the season. Also I discovered that they don’t need a lot of games before they play their first match in a tournament.
“I trust them to be good. On holiday they can recover the mind. That is important. During the season they’re always focused. They need a break.”
Capello says he has now smoothed over any ill-feeling with Rio Ferdinand, relating to the manager’s decision to withdraw the captaincy from the Manchester United defender and hand it back to Chelsea’s John Terry earlier this year.
“My relationship with Rio is all resolved,” he added. “I spoke with him on Tuesday, one-to-one. I explained my decision and he told me what he thought. At the end we shook hands. There are no problems for him, with me or John Terry.”
Skipper Terry added that the issue had not affected his relationship with Ferdinand, saying: “There are no problems between us, like there wasn’t when he got the armband.”
Terry and Ferdinand are set to play together in the centre of defence in a competitive match for the first time since October 2009 as England look to cement their place at the top of Group G. Aston Villa striker Darren Bent is also expected to start, having apparently convinced Capello of his ability at the top level with goals in his last two England outings.
“Darren Bent is a good player,” said Capello. “I hope he will be the same player I saw in the last games. Some players are good around the pitch and around the box. He is really focused in front of the goal.”