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Fabio Capello: England will hit 2012 target
By Henry Winter
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Target man: Fabio Capello is expected to reach
the semi-finals of the next two major tournaments (telegraph.co.uk)
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Fabio Capello last night reacted positively to Football
Association demands that England qualify for the 2010 World Cup and reach
the semi-finals of 2012 European Championship. "The team is capable
of reaching these targets," Capello said.
The FA's ambitious scheme for England was the No 1 mission in their 14-point
"Vision 2008-12" strategy announced at Wembley yesterday. Also
included were plans for a performance director, the go-ahead for the National
Football Centre and a commitment to have Wembley making an operating profit
by 2012.
But it is the FA's very public pronouncement on what they expect from
Capello's England that will cause most debate, particularly as they failed
to qualify for Euro 2008.
"I'm not going to talk about failure," the FA's chairman, Lord
Triesman, said. "The first thing people want will be to see us qualify
and do well at 2010. I have that ambition. I want us to go out and win
every time, like Fabio does."
Dismissing talk that the FA had published a blueprint in 2001 committed
to winning the 2006 World Cup, Triesman defended the decision to focus
on the semi-final. "I don't think we have gone backwards. I don't
want us to be in a position again where we haven't qualified for a tournament.
I want to feel we're in the real mix at the end of it. I want to win every
tournament."
Capello, who is paid ?6 million a year to revive English fortunes, said:
"My personal objective with every team I have coached, and managed,
was to go to the top. I'm not surprised that these targets have been set.
There is no problem.
advertisement"I believe it is important to have these targets, and
work towards them. We should all be confident with these. I am not under
any pressure - I came here to become England manager with the view and
the intent of doing things and I think we can achieve good things because
we have got a good team.
"You need to work all the time knowing that the road is long and
you need to improve from one day to the next with the view of achieving
the targets that we have set."
Capello clearly believes he has the players. "As for English football
in general, it is obviously at the top level at the moment and it is proved
by the fact there are two English teams in the Champions League final.
There are a lot of English players involved for both teams."
Telegraph.co.uk,
07/05/2008
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