From Russia with loathing: Fabio Capello’s message to the FA
• Capello claims FA was in breach of contract
• Italian unveiled as Russia manager
Fabio Capello has claimed the Football Association was in breach of contract by stripping John Terry of the England captaincy against the Italian’s wishes earlier this year, interference that left the then national coach “pissed off” and prompted his resignation from the position he had held for four years.
The 66-year-old, who departed the England job in February, was unveiled as the new Russia manager in Moscow on Thursday after signing a £7.8m-a-year contract that will take him initially through to the World Cup in Brazil in 2014.
Capello insisted he was “forbidden” to speak about his time with England under the terms of his severance package, but he could not disguise his frustration that he was not in charge of the national team at Euro 2012 and even suggested he would have taken the side further than the quarter-final achieved by his successor, Roy Hodgson.
“If I were with your guys [England] during the European Championships, it would have been even better,” Capello said. “We had qualified for the finals and it was only the John Terry story that meant I couldn’t go to the finals. On that issue with the English federation [the FA], with my contract, it was put down on paper that the decision as to who would be captain should be made by only the coach. It was down on paper, in the contract, in black and white.”