Capello ‘to quit’ after Euro 2012
England’s Italian manager ‘wants to enjoy life as a pensioner’ while Gerard Houllier arrives at Aston Villa.
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| Italian veteran Capello says he will be too old to continue in football once Euro 2012 is over [GALLO/GETTY] |
England manager Fabio Capello will quit his job after the European Championships in 2012.
The Italian, who has seen mounting pressure on himself and his team ease off after two resounding wins in qualifiers for the tournament, was quoted in British media as saying that the England role would be his last job.
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“We have to qualify first of course but after that I will be too old. I want to enjoy my life as a pensioner” Fabio Capello, England manager |
It came as another foreign manager arrived in the country, with Liverpool’s former coach Gerard Houllier taking over at Aston Villa after six years abroad.
Capello, 64, was quoted by Sky News as responding to a question on whether he would quit after the continental finals in Poland and Ukraine by saying: “Absolutely. Yes. We have to qualify first of course but after that I will be too old. I want to enjoy my life as a pensioner.”
The former AC Milan and Real Madrid boss has been England coach since January 2008 and signed a new contract before the World Cup in South Africa.
But he was severely criticised following the team’s woeful World Cup campaign which ended with a 4-1 second-round defeat by Germany.
They have started their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign with two victories over Bulgaria and Switzerland, scoring seven goals and conceding one, and look a good bet to reach the finals.
Houllier to Villa
Former France coach Houllier was named the new manager of English Premier League side Villa on Wednesday.
The 63-year-old, who coached Liverpool between 1998 and 2004, has been working as National Coaching Director at the French Football Federation since leaving his last top club, Lyon, in 2007.
He takes over from caretaker Kevin MacDonald, who had been in charge since Martin O’Neill surprisingly left on August 9 just days before the start of the season.
Houllier, who stepped down as France coach when they failed to qualify for the 1994 World Cup finals, losing their final two matches, will be formally presented to the media on Friday, with his first game in charge away to Stoke on September 13.
He guided Liverpool to the FA Cup, League Cup and Uefa Cup treble in 2001 but lost the faith of the fans and was deeply unpopular when he left by mutual consent in 2004.