Capello to leave England post after Euro 2012

FABIO CAPELLO last night confirmed he will quit his position as England coach after Euro 2012.

After an abysmal World Cup performance, many pundits believe Capello was fortunate to remain in his £6million-a-year post.

Heading into England’s opening Euro 2012 qualifiers, there were still huge doubts over the 64-year-old’s tenure, with most observers believing two poor results would force the FA to take decisive action.

Those concerns have now been removed after a couple of excellent performances against Bulgaria and Switzerland that have yielded six points and seven goals.

That the tally has been achieved despite the absence of skipper Rio Ferdinand and Chelsea duo John Terry and Frank Lampard through injury is even more impressive.

Another victory against Montenegro at Wembley next month would put England in an excellent position to secure a place at the next European Championships in Poland and the Ukraine.

It raised a theory that Capello might be persuaded to stay on, particularly as there is no obvious current replacement that fits the FA’s stated desire for an Englishman. Given the flak he has received recently, Capello was presumably bemused to be addressing questions about a new contract. But, he insisted there will not be one.

“Absolutely. Yes,” he said when asked whether he would be leaving after Euro 2012, repeating the assertion to make sure everyone understood.

“We have to qualify first of course but after that I will be too old.

“I want to enjoy my life as a pensioner.”

Capello also described the first-half display against Switzerland as England’s best under his tenure.

“It is the best first half since I have been England manager,” he said. “We have to know the value of the opponents. To play here against Switzerland is not easy. The fans and the stadium and the pitch made it really difficult for us to play.

“We played very well, with confidence. The players are fresh. They play quickly. They run fast. For this moment we are a good team.”