England Football Association chief executive Ian Watmore expects Fabio Capello to remain as England coach until after UEFA Euro 2012. Capello's planning for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ is now in full swing, with assistant Franco Baldini due to head to Angola later this month to see Group C opponents Algeria in action at the African Cup of Nations.
Yet there is already plenty of speculation that Capello will stand down once the Three Lions return from South Africa. Fulham manager Roy Hodgson is widely viewed as a leading contender to replace the Italian, a belief that has only been fuelled by the 62-year-old's decision to sign a new rolling contract with the Craven Cottage club, which includes a release clause.
However, Capello has hinted himself that he has no plans to stand down ahead of the next European Championships, the qualifying draw for which will be held in Warsaw on 7 February. And Watmore is certainly not planning for a succession.
"Reports linking Roy Hodgson or any manager with the England job post the World Cup are just not true," said Watmore. "We expect Fabio Capello to remain in the post for the duration of his contract, which runs through to the summer of 2012.
"Fabio Capello has also made it clear that he expects to continue in the role after the World Cup and throughout the [UEFA] Euro 2012 campaign."
Capello has already arranged a friendly with Egypt at Wembley on 3 March in preparation for the Algeria encounter in Cape Town on 18 June. Negotiations are ongoing with Mexico about meeting up at Wembley in May, as Capello views them as the ideal opponents for the opening game against the United States.
England will conclude their pre-tournament build-up with an altitude training camp in Austria that is set to end against Japan before the Three Lions head to their base in Rustenburg at the beginning of June.
Source: FIFA.com
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment