Man with the Midas touch

Could Capello succeed Sir Alex Ferguson at Man Utd?

BBC Sport Online's Simon Austin profiles Roma coach Fabio Capello, who is interested in managing in England.

Fabio Capello is a pragmatic, unfussy man, but he makes dreams come true.

Before he arrived at Roma they had not won the Serie A title for 18 years.

But in June, the club's fans celebrated winning the scudetto after an emphatic 3-1 win over Parma at the Olympic Stadium.

During five years at AC Milan, Capello masterminded a period of almost total domination for the Rossoneri, in which they won four championships and the 1994 European Cup.

And in just one season with Real Madrid in 1996/1997 Capello transformed an underachieving side into winners of La Liga.

Capello's teams have always been built on the tenets of organisation, defensive stability and relentless hard work.

The man himself, who was capped by Italy during an auspicious playing career, has said: "I am not a dreamer, I am a practical man."

Capello celebrates with Weah (l) and Desailly (r) at Milan

His Milan side was renowned for winning matches 1-0 and the square-jawed Italian has often been compared to George Graham.

When Roma announced that Capello would be replacing Zdenek Zemen as manager in the summer of 1999, there was disquiet among the club's fans.

Zemen's side had been the most exciting and free-scoring in Serie A and there were worries that Capello would turn them into a dull and defensively minded outfit.

But the fans were soon seduced by Capello's winning ways.

During February's home game against Parma they chanted, "Let's kidnap Capello", because they were worried by reports linking him with Barcelona and Manchester United.

Admittedly, Capello's footballing principles have been different at Roma than at his previous clubs.

Confrontation

Before arriving at the Olympic Stadium he had a year away from football, during which he spent a lot of time on the beach "thinking about football".

Whereas he used to stick rigidly to a 4-4-2 formation, he now adopts a more flexible 3-4-1-2.

Roma still have a formidably strong defence but also have the awesome attacking triumvirate of Vincenzo Montella, Francesco Totti and Gabriel Batistuta.

Capello has never shied away from confrontation. At Milan he once threatened to lock the players in their training camp for two weeks if they lost a crucial game to Juventus.

He also kept Italy's prodigal son Roberto Baggio on the bench for long periods at Milan, despite protestations from the fans and media.

And he had a very public and angry altercation with Montella on the pitch after the recent game against Napoli.

Capello was an Italian international

He had left the £20m striker out of his line-up and the youngster was unhappy.

After the game Capello said: "This is not about me or Montella. This is about Roma and certain games need certain choices.

"The team is bigger than any individual."

Capello is not one to stay at a club once he has tasted success there.

So who knows where he will travel to after Roma?

He has said he would be interested in taking over from Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United.

The Old Trafford faithful must surely be hoping that the man with the Midas touch does come to them.