GROUP SIX:FABIO CAPELLO has moved to ensure there will be no repeat of the circus that engulfed England's stay in Baden-Baden at the last World Cup by confirming the players' wives and girlfriends will only be permitted to visit the camp after each game, with anyone objecting to his rules advised to "stay at home".
Sven-Goran Eriksson’s decision to allow the Wags to stay in the same German spa town, and spend time with their partners, provoked a paparazzi frenzy three years ago, with England’s players subsequently conceding it had served as a distraction during a tournament in which England were eliminated in the quarter-finals. Rio Ferdinand admitted “football became a secondary element”, adding that it was “like a circus”, and Capello is adamant things will be very different at the team’s base in Rustenburg, South Africa.
“I hope we will be there for a very long period but the players will have one day with their family, with the girls and with their friends,” said Capello, whose side will play Brazil in Qatar in November as part of the preparation. “It will be one day a week, after each game, and that is enough. That’s it. We are there to play football, not for a holiday.”
Asked whether it would descend into a carnival as in Baden-Baden, he added with a tut: “No, absolutely not. Please. If they do not want to come for the day, then they should stay at home.”
The Italian, who suggested Wayne Rooney’s apparently new-found maturity was directly linked to the striker having married last year, offered David Beckham renewed hope that he will be involved in a fourth World Cup finals next summer by stating that the former England captain offers more to the squad than cameos from the bench. “He is good for the group and in every moment in training,” he said. “Some players are important for the position of the group, and David is an important player.”
While Capello heaped praise on his players, having seen them secure England’s qualification for a major finals with two games remaining for the first time, senior figures within the set-up united in acknowledging his influence as key. Although there were calls for realism ahead of the tournament in South Africa there is a belief within the squad that the Italian, with the experience he has gained at Milan, Real Madrid, Roma and Juventus, could be the man to propel England beyond the quarter-finals.
“History now says that Fabio gets all the big decisions right,” said the midfielder Frank Lampard.
“He’s had great success and it’s not by chance. He is fantastic manager and his biggest Midas touch has been getting us working together as a team and as a unit. You can see the results of that pretty much in every game of the qualifying round. That gives us the confidence that he will get it right at a tournament, when a decision needs to be made on team selection or on a substitution.
“We will play under a different pressure now because of the expectations, but we’re a little bit immune to that – you have to be. When we get together, no matter what the results have been in the previous games, the manager will still keep working and still keep the discipline with us.
“There is a level-headed atmosphere because we went through quite a low two years ago but, in a way, it helps we experienced that.
“Basically the same players are in the squad from those times, it’s just that we’re working together and we’re working very hard. It shows the difference that can be made with little detail and changes.”
John Terry, the captain, added: “We know we have another level and maybe two to get to before South Africa, and the manager knows that too. It’s important we don’t get carried away.”
South Africa yesterday promised England fans a warm welcome at the World Cup but fears persist over a high crime rate, extortionate hotel prices and inadequate public transport. As the scramble for flights, accommodation and match tickets began in earnest, visitors were urged to use official tour operators and beware scams.
The local World Cup organising committee insisted that all fans were welcome and space would be found for everyone. “We are very excited about England qualifying,” said Rich Mkhondo, a spokesman for the committee. “We are happy for any England fan to come: those who have tickets and those who don’t, who will be accommodated in the fan parks.”
Fifa’s accommodation agency is believed to be facing a deficit of 9,000 hotel rooms for the half-million international visitors expected and a shock could be in store for impulsive fans who pitch up with a tent and hope for the best. The tournament will take place during the South African winter when temperatures can plunge well below zero at night.
Guardian Service
