The draw for the European Championships can be expected to stimulate the pragmatic instincts of England's head coach
Whatever else happens at the Euro 2012 finals England are unlikely to be taken by surprise. It is familiarity that will present problems. No matter how Friday's draw for the tournament takes shape, Fabio Capello is likely to find himself speaking of previous encounters on his watch because he has already met so many of these sides. The manager assumed his duties in January 2008 but there is already a considerable history trailing behind him.
During his tenure he has faced nine of the 15 other teams who are to gather in Poland and Ukraine and the total will climb to 10 should a mooted friendly with the Republic of Ireland take place. It is natural that the better line-ups should be clustered at a competition. That is part of the appeal that will be diminished when two dozen sides contest the trophy in 2016.
Euro 2012 has the air of a select and , in certain regards, ominous grouping. Capello's England, for instance, have twice taken on France, losing each fixture even if they were friendlies. Repetitiveness in the programme is inevitable when games with nothing at stake except self-respect often need a dash of glamour.
Such occasions can have a galvanising effect. The momentum of the happy, early times under Capello helped the side to victory over Germany in a Berlin friendly played in November 2008. That phase may have reached its climax 10 months later with a 5-1 drubbing of former nemeses Croatia. By then those opponents were the backdrop against which England strutted.
Theo Walcott had taken his Zagreb hat-trick against them in September 2008. To the exasperation of Capello that match epitomised the promise in a squad that ultimately went into decline. The meaning of occasions such as those encounters with Croatia has become ambiguous. Those were the first international goals for the winger but he is yet to add to them. Although Walcott's form has lately picked up with Arsenal, his talent continues to look unfulfilled.
Capello, like any other person in such a role, is prey to frustration over such topics. The rout by Germany at last year's World Cup caused fulminations but the notion of sending the line-up into permanent exile could never be more than a daydream. Of the line-up trounced by Germany in Bloemfontein last year Glen Johnson, Ashley Cole, John Terry, James Milner, Gareth Barry, Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney, despite his three-match ban that will be appealed, continue to have some prominence in the manager's thoughts, just as Steven Gerrard may well do so if he regains full fitness and dynamism.
Capello is trying to find a balance between the know-how of the old guard and the vitality of emerging talents such as Kyle Walker and, when over his ankle trouble, Jack Wilshere. We now see a Capello who depicts himself as a nurturer. He has received deserved credit for this high-mindedness but it is much simpler to slip into that role once the competitive fixtures are, for the moment, at an end. A tournament such as Euro 2012 will make him sense the appeal of the pragmatism that is at the core of a person who has always found ways to endure.
The manager cannot overlook the brittleness that must lie in the up-and-coming contenders. He does strive to impart confidence but his eulogy to the teenager Phil Jones was curious when, as a buccaneering right-back, he had allowed plenty of scope to Montenegro in the 2-2 draw in Podgorica. It is tricky to assess Capello's true views and intentions. This is a person with a perfect grasp of reality. The acclaim for Jones has been merited to a degree but the manager also grasps that the country wants to be told about a 19-year-old who will pass for an embodiment of regeneration for England. As results and appreciation have waned a little over his tenure, Capello's willingness to play to the gallery is on the rise.
His stance is unaltered. His aim is to win by whatever means are required and he is genuinely delighted by the resilience Scott Parker now adds to the midfield. Capello could not have emphasised his realism more than when he came up with a scheme for England somehow to defend their way to victory over Spain in the recent friendly. The Italian is no more of a cynic than the multitudes who loved the result and ignored the tactics.
The teams he meets at Euro 2012 will know everything about him and many have encountered his methods at first hand. If no element of surprise is located, England will turn to the practicality that is the core of the manager's being.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/dec/01/fabio-capello-euro-2012-draw
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