SA Editorial: Should The Capello-Roma Marriage End?
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Capello wants to stay with Roma (ALLSPORT)
01/19/2003. The past week has seen a heavy dosage of speculation cast on the Roma-Fabio Capello marriage. A marriage that started with the best of intentions and which enjoyed a lengthy honeymoon period culminating in the 'gialorossi' capturing their first Scudetto in 16 years during the 2000-2001 season. Who can forget the scenes of the jubilant fans entering the pitch and stripping the clothes off players like Totti and Antonioli during the last game of the season against Parma? That year the squad included many of the players that are in the present side, stars like Totti, Batistuta, and Cafu, etc. The great individual talent was molded into a team by Capello as he won his fifth Scudetto. In 2002, Roma lost out on the title by one point and finished second spot. Though many were disappointed, finishing second in Serie A, one of the world's toughest leagues, is no small feat. Capello had indeed made the club a protagonist once again as he solidified his status as one of the best managers around. How quickly things can change. A bad start to the 2002-2003 season however has been blamed mostly on Capello, and there have been calls to sack the accomplished manager. This just goes to show that in world football and Europe especially, the pressure to win means that the accomplishments of yesterday are forgotten and only how one is faring presently is what matters.
When examining the situation closer one can see that Capello is not the sole reason for Roma's poor start to the season. That being said, it is true that Capello has made mistakes, but to be fair the coach has recently admitted to these. Roma have given up a bevy of late goals this season and have been surprisingly vulnerable at home, where they were undefeated last year. It seems that Capello is to blame for this. The lack of concentration and mental strength of Roma or any club for that matter is a reflection on the manager's work. It is Capello's job to instill a certain type of attitude and mindset within the team and make sure that they will be ready to handle pressure situations. Roma have dealt with pressure very poorly this season and it is the responsibility of Capello to fix this problem. Capello can't be made the scapegoat for all of Roma's troubles though. It goes deeper than that.
Though Totti is having a good season and carrying the squad on his shoulders, the rest of the stars are performing well under par. Gabriel Batistuta was out of form for most of the first part of the season. I won't agree with those that whistled him, however when a player of his caliber underperforms it certainly affects the club. Then there is the case of Antonio Cassano, who is quickly becoming Roma's 'enfant terrible'. The talented youngster whose skills promise so much has produced so very little. Instead of trying to make a name for himself on the pitch, Cassano has chosen a simpler route to stardom- public rifts with the manager. His numerous clashes with Capello this season has won him lots of newspaper space but few sympathizers. Perhaps, Capello should be more nurturing of a talent like this, though who can blame him when Cassano has repeatedly caused trouble and disrupted the atmosphere within the team camp? What has Cassano accomplished? Nothing. And he won't accomplish anything unless he changes his attitude. It is surely good for a footballer to have a little fire, a little temper, but great footballers become so with great performances on the pitch and a professional attitude. On the field the club has had problems in all areas. The defense has been shaky, while the midfield has also not had the bite it had in previous seasons however that could change somewhat with the purchase of highly rated Frenchman Olivier Dacourt. Up front, Totti has had to do nearly all the scoring and losing Batistuta to Inter means that the rest of the attackers, who have scored sparingly, must now step it up.
So as we can see Capello is only part of the problem. And he is only part of the problem because the manager is always to blame when the team fares poorly. The speculation about his future with the club was premature at best and for all intents and purposed squashed this week when he announced that he was staying with the club and honoring his contract (through 2005). He and Roma president Franco Sensi have never been accused of being the best of friends, but they both have Roma's success as a priority and have learned to co-exist despite their differences. According to Capello, he and Sensi are already planning for next season- a time which should see wholesale changes in the club's personnel.
Love him or hate him, Capello must be admired. One of football's great coaches, he has had success everywhere he has gone. He is a winner, and the stats are there to prove it. He should also be admired for wanting to honor his contract and staying with Roma even through this difficult period. If he did leave, there would be no shortage of job offers for the in-demand manager. Other managers and players may have run when the going got tough seeking greener pastures. Capello admitted he is not perfect, and this is true. He has made errors this season and needs to find a way to motivate his club in order to get back into contention for a Champions' League spot (which will be mighty hard to do). He also has attacked the referees too often as of late, pointing to a conspiracy against Roma. Things like this are not worthy of such a great coach. Many coaches however will turn to the referees a bit if things aren't going right and blame them. This doesn't make it right, but it does happen. Nevertheless, Capello doesn't deserve the kind of treatment he has been dealt with as of late. The calls for his resignation or sacking were uncalled for. Media and fans alike must be more patient especially when dealing with a manager of Capello's quality. He has helped bring success to the club and thus joy to the fans. The fact that he wants to stay with Roma should warrant some respect for 'Don Fabio' from the fans and media. Everyone involved with football needs to be more patient with coaches like Capello. The constant musical chairs of coaches in leagues across Europe and the rest of the world is only bad for the game and leads many clubs into disarray. More emphasis and value needs to be placed on patience and slower but steadier team progress rather than quick and temporary successes and results. Capello should stay.
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