Ok, so the Football Association has set Fabio Capello the goal of getting England into the semi-finals of a major championships – the World Cup or Euros – by 2012. But what to make of such a target? In some ways it’s pretty ambitious as England have only gone this far once in the last 38 years – and that was when they hosted the European Championships in 1996 – and the next World Cup is in South Africa with the following Euros being held in Ukraine and Poland. Hardly, all-round, the easiest of places to go. Plus the fact that they didn’t even qualify for Euro 2008.
But in other ways it’s pretty defeatist...
One can imagine Don Fabio with his record of ruthless serial success - after all this is a man who was fired by Real Madrid after winning La Liga last season – raising an eyebrow when that "milestone" was proposed by the FA. For the Italian winning is everything, second is nothing. And that’s it. It’s the mentality the FA has surely bought into – and bought into at a hefty price given Capello’s remuneration – so if a target is to be set it should be to win, surely.
Maybe the FA shouldn’t have bothered at all. A miss is as good as a mile and it’s hard to imagine the football federations of Germany or France, Italy or Brazil accepting that they had hit their "target" if they went out of a competition at the last four stage. But they emblazoned it as the first in their list of "major milestones" published as part of their "vision" for the future of the game.
It’s also a hostage to fortune as previous FA regimes – most noticeably that led by Adam Crozier who, in 2001, famously "tasked" Sven Goran Eriksson with winning the 2006 World Cup – have found. The suspicion is that only the English would set themselves up for such a fall. And only the English would do so without even setting that goal in the first place to actually win a tournament.
The saving grace for England is that they do have Capello. He supported the goals launched by the FA, as of course he would, and easily accepted the targets, as of course he would. He also launched impassioned pleas for the establishment of the new National Football Centre at Burton-upon-Trent and the appointment of a performance director to help with the national team.
The last two initiatives Capello will have deemed helpful. The first? Well, for him, it’s not a goal, a milestone or a target. It’s a failure. He only wants to win and is probably, in private, still shaking his head now at the FA.
Jason, think you forgot about Gazza tear's and Pearce/Waddle penalty misses, semi-final Italia '90. I suggest you ask your employers for a P45!!
Posted by: Phil | 07 May 2008 at 12:19 PM
Jason, think you forgot about Gazza tears and Pearce/Waddle penalty misses, semi-final Italia '90. I suggest you ask your employers for a P45!!
Posted by: Phil | 07 May 2008 at 12:20 PM
"it’s hard to imagine the football federations of Germany or France, Italy or Brazil accepting that they had hit their "target" if they went out of a competition at the last four stage"
At the moment England are nowhere near Germany, France, Italy or Brazil. Once you lot understand that then you can move on and start improving.
Posted by: Jorge Silva | 07 May 2008 at 12:36 PM
Can we have a sports journalist who knows a little bit about football please Independent. Very amateurish.
Posted by: Neil | 07 May 2008 at 12:42 PM
Sorry what was the point of this article you kind of lost me at "England have only gone this far once in the last 38 years". On one had it is bad and on the other hand good. Please let me have your job!
Posted by: Nathan Marriott | 07 May 2008 at 01:35 PM
"At the moment England are nowhere near Germany, France, Italy or Brazil. Once you lot understand that then you can move on and start improving"
Jorge, this is the whole point of the article. And this point is understood by every single England fan. A little less arrogance and a little more actually reading the articles you comment on, please.
Posted by: Alan | 07 May 2008 at 02:14 PM
I think thats a realistic target. England have the right players, they just never managed to gell together as a team. They do however need every single first team player fit in order to play any team. They do have a lot to prove but I do see them challenging the likes of Germany, France, Italy, Brazil and Argentina.
Posted by: Manchester United Credit Card | 13 May 2008 at 01:24 AM